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The Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps are undeniably two of the most popular and quintessential stops in Philadelphia.
A steady flow of people arrives daily at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to run up the steps and snap a picture with the statue, a bona fide monument to the celluloid hero and the City of Brotherly Love’s favorite fictional son.
New for 2026: The Rocky Statue is now located at the top of the Rocky Steps. The former statue location — near the bottom of the Rocky Steps — is slated to become home to the statue of real-life Philadelphian and boxing legend Smokin’ Joe Frazier, coming later in the year.
Visitors often hustle up the museum’s grand stairway to try their hand at Rocky’s famous two-arms-raised salute — all while soaking up picture-perfect views of the Philadelphia skyline.
In short, running up the steps, visiting the statue and taking a picture at the top is a must on any visit to Philadelphia. Consider it a rite of passage.
Best of all: Visiting the Rocky Steps and snapping a photo with the Rocky Statue is free.
Here’s how to do it.
The Rocky Statue — depicting a larger-than-life boxer — is one of Philadelphia’s most famous pieces of public art.
The fictional Rocky Balboa of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky movies was immortalized in bronze by artist A. Thomas Schomberg in 1980 for a scene in the film Rocky III. After filming was complete, Stallone donated the statue to the City of Philadelphia.
Run up the Rocky Steps to snap a photo with the Rocky Statue — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
The statue awaiting visitors at the top of the steps — on loan from Sly Stallone’s private collection — replaces the City of Philadelphia’s statue that once stood near the bottom of the steps. That statue can now be found on display inside the museum’s new Rocky exhibition, Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments (April 25 to August 2, 2026).
Come August 2026, the City of Philadelphia’s statue returns to replace Stallone’s at the top of the stairs permanently.
Just as famous as the statue are the steps leading to the east entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, aka the Rocky Steps.
Each year, tens of thousands of people recreate the scene from the legendary movie and make the trek up the steps.
— Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia
Just be prepared to work for it — those 72 steps don’t climb themselves.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has extensive info on getting to the museum area, which is accessible via walking, biking, public transit, ride share or driving.
Find the perfect gift for the Rocky fan in your life, or don officially licensed Rocky merchandise — including Italian Stallion robes and Rocky’s stars-and-stripes boxing trunks — before making your trek up the steps. It’s all available at the Parkway Visitor Center & Rocky Shop at the base of the famous staircase.
Also available in the modular store: Philly-themed merch, visitor information and tickets to some of Philly’s top museums and attractions.
Want to follow in Rocky’s actual footsteps? Check out our Rocky & Creed Tour of Philadelphia for a self-guided trek to city attractions and locations seen in the Rocky films.
Recreate the boxer’s famous run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps; grab an authentic cheesesteak at Pat’s, the very place where he stopped in the original Rocky; walk through the Italian Market and then stop by an old-school butcher shop, where (sorry) they’re probably not going to let visitors go to the back in order to use the hanging meat as a punching bag.
Also included: famous stops from the popular Creed films, starring Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan.
Once the jog up the steps and photoshoot are complete, visitors should head inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the largest art museums in the country.
Rising majestically at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the museum houses vast collections of Renaissance, American and impressionist art, as well as spaces and galleries designed by the late legendary architect Frank Gehry.
Bonus: On the first Sunday of the month, the Philadelphia Museum of Art offers pay-what-you-wish admission. Plus, from April 10 through September 4, 2026, the museum offers Independent Fridays — pay-what-you-wish admission every Friday night in honor of the museum’s 150th anniversary in 2026.
On the first Sunday of each month, and on Independent Fridays between April 10 and September 4, 2026, the Philadelphia Museum of art offers pay-what-you-wish admission. — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
A general admission ticket grants two consecutive days of admission to the museum along with complimentary admission to the nearby Rodin Museum (Monday through Friday tickets only), which houses one of the largest public collections of Auguste Rodin’s works outside of Paris, including bronze casts of The Thinker and The Gates of Hell.
It’s Philly’s biggest year yet!
Make the most of it by booking the Visit Philly Overnight Package, which comes with free hotel parking and complimentary tickets to some of the most popular attractions in each of Greater Philadelphia’s five counties including Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition at The Franklin Institute, the Mercer Museum in Bucks County, Longwood Gardens in Chester County, the Brandywine Museum of Art in Delaware County and Elmwood Park Zoo in Montgomery County.
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