255 Best Sights in Pennsylvania, USA

The basilica of the archdiocese of Philadelphia is the spiritual center for the Philadelphia area's 1½ million Roman Catholics. Topped by a huge, distinctive copper dome, the large brownstone building was built between 1846 and 1864 in the Italian Renaissance style. Many of the interior decorations are by Constantino Brumidi, who painted the dome of the U.S. Capitol. Several Philadelphia bishops and archbishops are buried beneath the altar. Pick up a brochure for a self-guided tour by the entrance or gift shop, or see the website.

Chanticleer, the onetime estate of the owner of a local pharmaceutical company, is now a 30-acre garden that bursts with color in the spring when 10,000 bulbs bloom. The grounds offer a range of settings, including lush woodlands with rare Asian specimens, a formal house garden, and a serpentine-shaped "avenue" lined with young junipers, wheat and barley, and gingko trees.

Spread out across 55,000 square feet, the multiuse Cherry Street Pier is among the newer gems of Philadelphia’s slow but gradual Delaware River revitalization efforts. It's a great place to explore and soak in views of the Ben Franklin Bridge, waterfront scenery, and beyond, especially during the warmer months. It's free to walk around, but there's plenty to purchase here, as it's home to artists’ studios, artisan craft fairs, and continually changing exhibits throughout the versatile space. There's a diversity of snacks, too. Popular concessions include a variety of sweets, local brews, and comfort foods.

Becoming Chester County, the center's excellent permanent exhibition, uses its collection of 70,000 historical objects and modern interactive displays to tell compelling stories of the challenges and opportunities Delaware Valley inhabitants faced from the late 1600s to today. Galleries address the Lenape people, the American Revolution, slavery, industrialization, women's suffrage, immigration, and other issues, often using the examples of local residents. The collections are gorgeous, including furniture, quilts, period clothing, tall-case clocks, and cross-stitch samplers. A hands-on history lab lets kids try some old-style tools and dress up in a hoop skirt, and the center's library has extensive records and photographs. The society's two-building complex includes a former horticultural hall that was the site of the first women's rights convention in Pennsylvania.

Conceptualized by the late Sabrina Soong, a Chinese-American architect/artist and Philadelphia resident, the 40-foot-tall, 88-ton “China Gate” has welcomed visitors to historic Chinatown since its introduction in 1984. Designed in a manner reminiscent of China’s Qing dynasty, it features materials and cultural flourishes fabricated by artisans from Philadelphia’s sister city of Tianjin, China. The Chinese characters emblazoned on the “Friendship Arch” translate simply to “Philadelphia Chinatown,” a paean to the neighborhood’s historic importance and resilience.

This 1,700-square-foot display of Lancaster County in miniature has 22 model trains, mainly O-gauge, with 150 animated figures in scenes such as an Amish barn raising, a three-ring circus, and a blazing house fire with fire engines. Periodically, the overhead lights dim and the scene turns to night, with streetlights and locomotive headlights glowing in the darkness.

The Anglicans of the Church of England built a wooden church on this site in 1697. When they outgrew it, they erected a new church, the most sumptuous in the colonies, probably designed by Dr. John Kearsley and modeled on the work of famed English architect Sir Christopher Wren. The symmetrical, classical facade with arched windows, completed in 1754, is a fine example of Georgian architecture; the church is one of the city's treasures. The congregation included 15 signers of the Declaration of Independence. The bells and the soaring 196-foot steeple, the tallest in the colonies, were financed by lotteries run by Benjamin Franklin. Brass plaques mark the pews of George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Betsy Ross, and others. Two blocks west of the church is Christ Church Burial Ground. Guided tours are available throughout the day.

Weathered gravestones fill the resting place of five signers of the Declaration of Independence and other Colonial patriots. The best known is Benjamin Franklin; he lies alongside his wife, Deborah, and their son, Francis, who died at age four. According to local legend, throwing a penny onto Franklin's grave will bring you good luck. The burial ground is open to the public—except in January and February—for regular visits.

Since 2004, the Philadelphia Phillies have played in Citizens Bank Park, a 42,792-seat stadium that has a 13,000-square-foot interactive kids' baseball experience called The Yard. Ticketed tours are available all year long and feature stops in the Phillies’ dugout, the Diamond Club, the Hall of Fame Club, the broadcast booth, and the media room.

Claes Oldenburg's 45-foot-high, 10-ton steel sculpture stands in front of the Center Square Building, above one of the entrances to SEPTA's City Hall subway station. Lauded by some and scorned by others, this pop-art piece contrasts with the traditional statuary so common in Philadelphia.

Looking for something other than colonial history? This museum was created to tell the herstory of Black girls through personal objects used and cherished in everyday life. Established in 2015, the unique museum embraces the value of intimate spaces and the experiences of Black girls and their home life, with the aim to also be a research facility, exhibition space, gathering place, and think tank. The space hosts special exhibitions, and currently only Saturday tours are available via online reservation.

Congress Hall was the meeting place of the U.S. Congress from 1790 to 1800, one of the most important decades in our nation's history. Here the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution; Alexander Hamilton's proposals for a mint and a national bank were enacted; and Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee became the first new states after the original colonies. On the first floor you can find the House of Representatives, where President John Adams was inaugurated in 1797. On the second floor is the Senate chamber, where in 1793 George Washington was inaugurated for his second term. Both chambers have been authentically restored.

On a 200-year-old estate a mile from Washington Crossing Historic Park, this family-run vineyard started with an old barn and expanded to a spacious modern building with rooms overlooking the vineyards and garden. In a 45-minute tasting, the staff lets you know what to expect from 10 different types of wines. Tastings require reservations, but otherwise they aren't needed for the tasting room or wine bar. Look for Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and other varieties, including sweet wines like a popular port-style Chocolate Cherry Truffle. You can order light bites from cheeses to sandwiches. Concerts and public events take place year-round.

The lobby of the Curtis Publishing Company building has a great treasure: a 16-by-50-foot glass mosaic mural, The Dream Garden, based on a Maxfield Parrish painting. It was executed by the Louis C. Tiffany Studios in 1916. The work's 260 colors and 100,000 pieces of opalescent hand-fired glass laced with gold leaf make it perhaps the finest Tiffany mural in the world. The beautiful mural was also designated a "historic object" by the Philadelphia Historical Commission after its owner, the estate of a local art patron, put it up for sale for $9 million in 1998; the designation, the first in the city's history, stopped the sale and the mural remains in public view, under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Graduates of this tuition-free school for outstanding students include Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Ned Rorem, and Anna Moffo. The school occupies four former private homes and Lenfest Hall for student housing and practice rooms; the main building is in the mansion that belonged to banker George W. Childs Drexel. Built in 1893 by the distinguished Boston firm of Peabody and Stearns, it's notable for Romanesque and Renaissance architectural details. Free student and faculty concerts are given from October through May, usually on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings.

The David Wills House is where Abraham Lincoln stayed and completed his Gettysburg Address on November 18, 1863. The restored building features seven galleries, including the bedroom where Lincoln slept and worked on the final versions of his speech, as well as the office of Wills, a prominent lawyer who was a leading force behind the creation of the national cemetery.

Thomas Jefferson and his enslaved servant Robert Hemings lived and worked in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. Jefferson rented rooms on the second floor of the home of bricklayer Jacob Graff, where he drafted the Declaration of Independence; Hemings likely lived in the attic. The home was reconstructed for the Bicentennial celebration; the bedroom and parlor in which Jefferson lived that summer were re-created with period furnishings. The first floor has a Jefferson exhibition. The display on the Declaration of Independence shows some of the changes Jefferson made while writing it. You can see Jefferson's original version—which would have abolished slavery had the passage not been stricken by the committee that included Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.

Cypress Street, north of Delancey Place, and Panama Street (especially the 1900 block, one block south of Delancey) are two of the many intimate streets lined with trees and town houses characteristic of the area. At No. 2010 is the Rosenbach Museum and Library.

This museum includes the restored 18th-century home, studio, and garden of Charles Demuth (1883–1935), one of America's first modernist artists, who lived in the city of Lancaster for most of his life. A watercolorist, Demuth found inspiration in the geometric shapes of machines and modern technology, as well as the flowers in his mother's garden. Items from the 42-piece collection of Demuth's works are displayed on a rotating basis; one gallery is dedicated to changing exhibits of regional and national artists. Next door is the now-shuttered Demuth Tobacco Shop, which dates to 1770.

This welcoming outdoor space has a café and a spacious Great Lawn for relaxing. There's a fountain for cooling off in the summer, and the space transforms into the Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink in the winter. It's also home to free events throughout the year, including the Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market.

Built in 1775 by John Dilworth, Todd House has been restored to its 1790s appearance, when its best-known resident, Dolley Payne Todd (1768–1849), lived here. She lost her husband, the Quaker lawyer John Todd, to yellow fever in 1793. The widow later married James Madison, our fourth president. Her time as a hostess in the White House was quite a contrast to her years in this simple home. There's an 18th-century garden next to Todd House.  Open by tour only; free tickets available at the Independence Visitor Center in advance.

A short walk or drive away is the Both 19th-century funiculars edge up ever-so-steep hillsides. The view at the top is well worth the $3.50 round-trip. Several restaurants at the top have great views.

A self-proclaimed "Kingdom for Kids," this 44-acre amusement park features rides and activities suited for families with younger children. Most rides, such as the roller coaster, merry-go-round, and giant slide, are quite tame. The adjacent water park (no separate admission), Duke's Lagoon, is open weekends, Memorial Day through Labor Day. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, the park is open for its "Dutch Winter Wonderland," with holiday-themed rides and a light show. The Cartoon Network Hotel is next door; hotel guests get special park admission discounts and early access to the park and rides.

Philadelphia's only mid-19th-century house-museum is a Victorian Gothic extravaganza of elongated windows and arches that are used to illustrate the way Victorian social mores were reflected through its decoration. The downstairs highlights the Rococo Revival (circa 1860), the upstairs is fashioned after the Renaissance Revival (1880s), and the difference is striking, especially the art deco–like wall details you may not associate with the time. Throughout the year there are a number of special teas and holiday-themed events, and occasionally music and period-appropriate theater productions. Sign up online for tours (noon, 1 pm, and 2 pm) that are available Thursday through Sunday.

One of America's most original writers, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49), lived here from 1843 to 1844; it's the only one of his Philadelphia residences still standing. During that time some of his best-known short stories were published: "The Telltale Heart," "The Black Cat," and "The Gold Bug." You can tour the three-story brick house; to evoke the spirit of Poe, the National Park Service displays first-edition manuscripts and other rare books and offers interactive exhibits as well. An adjoining house has exhibits on Poe and his family, his work habits, and his literary contemporaries; there's also an eight-minute film and a small Poe library and reading room. A statue of a raven helps set the mood. The site is five blocks north of Market Street and just a stone's throw away from Spring Garden Street. SEPTA bus 47 travels on 7th Street to Green Street, where you should disembark.

The farm residence of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who bought it in 1950, was a weekend retreat and a meeting place for world leaders. The property adjoins the battlefield and the brick-and-stone farmhouse is preserved in 1950s style. Free home tours are conducted Thursday through Sunday, and seasonal walking tours of the farm are offered once a week.

In the early 1900s, 4th Street, today's Fabric Row, was teeming with pushcarts selling calico, notions, and trimming. It was known as "der Ferder," or "the Fourth" in Yiddish. Today, several century-old fabric stores still stand, like stalwart Fleishman Fabrics and Supplies, but many of the storefronts are home to locals selling wares from European-label shoes to fair-trade coffee.

A nonprofit arts organization runs this center and store dedicated to creating new work in fabric and other materials, working with emerging and nationally and internationally recognized artists.

Designed by Frederick Graff to look like a country estate, this National Historic Landmark completed in 1815 was the country's first steam-pumping station of its kind, and the assemblage of Greek Revival buildings is one of the city's most beautiful sights. The waterworks, down the hill behind the Philadelphia Art Museum, include a small interpretive center with historical features such as an 1851 turbine and family-friendly exhibits about the region's water and wildlife. A short film on the site's history, a mussel hatchery (seasonal progagation Mar.–Aug.), and changing exhibits are other attractions. Nearby paths provide good views of the waterworks.