Philly Voted Best City in America for Street Art by USA Today — Again!

From the Lombardi trophy to larger-than-life murals, Philly is on a mean, green winning streak, bringing home the 2025 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Award for Best City for Street Art in America (for the second time!).

Philly’s expansive collection of public art pieces has long garnered national and international acclaim, previously winning the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Award in 2023.

Nominated once again by the experts at USA Today and 10Best.com, Philadelphia went head-to-head against nine other artistic powerhouse cities for the accolade. Over the last few weeks, travelers from across the nation voted — and Philly rose to the top.

This win — along with Philly’s other recent USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Award for the Most Walkable City in America — joins the city’s growing list of recent awards, accolades and, ahem, championships. In the past year alone, the City of Brotherly Love has been named a top travel destination by Tripadvisor, one of the 50 best cities in the world by Time Out, and one of the nation’s best food cities by Condé Nast Traveler.

Philly’s Street Art Scene

With breathtaking murals (more than 4,000!), sculptures, installations and other public art displays adorning city squares, parks and walls, Philadelphia is home to one of the largest (and most accessible) collections of public art in the world, earning the city international recognition as the “Mural Capital of the World.”

Much of Philadelphia’s evergrowing street art collection can be credited to the nation’s largest public art program Mural Arts Philadelphia — which just celebrated its milestone 40th anniversary in 2024 — and the Association for Public Art (APA). Talented independent artists often add their own works to the eclectic mix.

Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters by Felix St. Fort and Gabe Tiberino   — Photo by S. Weinik

Want to learn more? Mural Arts offers guided tours, while the APA has compiled a robust selection of self-guided tours. Streets Dept, a platform specifically dedicated to Philadelphia’s public art collection, runs tours monthly, as well.

32 Essential Pieces of Public Art in Philly

Philly’s public art scene is overflowing with both icons (Rocky Statue, LOVE sculpture) and hidden gems (Electric Street, Water Under the Bridge).

Alone, Mural Arts works on 50 to 100 public art projects each year, so there’s always something new to discover.

OY/YO Sculpture by Deborah Kass   — Photo by Visit Philadelphia

Click the button below to read our guide to just some of Philly’s most essential pieces of public art.

essential public art in philly

2025 and Beyond

Philly’s expansive outdoor gallery of street art complements its robust collection of storied cultural institutions, ranging from the classic (Philadelphia Art Museum) to the eclectic (Magic Gardens).

And area art lovers are in for a very eventful couple of years.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin   — Photo by Visit Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway — home to the iconic Philadelphia Art Museum, Rodin Museum and Barnes Foundation — is set to gain another artistic gem this fall in Calder Gardens, a gallery and garden dedicated to native Philadelphia artist and scientist Alexander Calder.

  — Rendering by bloomimages © Herzog & de Meuron

And in 2026, the Greater Philadelphia region erupts in celebrations marking the historic 250th anniversary of the nation — aka the Semiquincentennial.

Among the many, many special events, festivals and major exhibitions taking place, Mural Arts is debuting a new, collaborative mural project titled Printmaking by the People: Citywide Voices of 2026, while a major, multi-disciplinary art festival, ArtPhilly, is set to activate neighborhoods and cultural institutions across the city.

Celebrate 2026 in Philadelphia