255 Best Sights in Pennsylvania, USA

After bringing visitors through the hidden back entrance of this 1768 home, guides retrace the experience of slaves who found a haven here when the Johnson House was a key station on the Underground Railroad. They weave the story of the Johnson family, Quakers who worked to abolish slavery, with that of Harriet Tubman, who was sheltered here with runaway slaves and later guided them to freedom. Visitors see hiding places, including the third-floor attic hatch that runaways used to hide on the roof when the sheriff came by, learn Underground Railroad code words, and view slavery artifacts, such as ankle shackles and collars. It is the stories contained within the home that are the most captivating, as opposed to the house itself. In 1777 the house was in the line of fire during the Battle of Germantown; the shutters still show the impact of the musket rounds. In the early 1900s it was saved from demolition when it became a women's club, along with what is now the Mennonite church behind it. 

Friday and Saturday tours are offered year-round by online appointment only.

In 1861, pretzel maker Julius Sturgis opened America's first pretzel bakery. These days, the original site, a stone house on the National Register of Historic Places, operates guided tours and a hands-on lesson in pretzel twisting. An on-site bakeshop has souvenirs and fresh pretzels. Tours with lessons are by appointment only.

Proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line helped make Kennett Square particularly active in the Underground Railroad: slavery was legal in nearby Delaware, so Pennsylvania was the first free state encountered by many escaping enslavement. Among the area's abolitionists were Quakers and members of the local African American community. The Kennett Underground Railroad Center, based in one room in the Kennett Heritage Center, preserves this history, offering a two-hour guided bus tour of related sites on one Sunday a month most of the year. The tours are family-friendly and stop at historic houses, Quaker meetinghouses, and documented Underground Railroad sites. The Kennett Heritage Center ( kennettheritagecenter.org), located downtown in a 1901 house, presents town history with modern, information-packed panels and also has some photographs and artifacts. The focus is on the Battle of Brandywine in 1777, the Underground Railroad, and agricultural history. 

One of America's oldest amusement parks and a National Historic Landmark, contains water rides and several roller coasters—including three wooden coasters dating from the 1920s. The park is 10 mi southeast of Downtown.

One of the nation's largest shopping complexes is a tourist destination in itself, with some 400 stores and more than 50 restaurants and fast food spots. From department stores such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus to chain retailers both upscale (Jimmy Choo and Cartier) and more accessible (Club Monaco and Zara), there's plenty for all shoppers. Dining and drinking options include Morton's The Steakhouse, Eataly, and a Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar. There's also the store and children's play area CAMP, and Netflix House, an "experiential entertainment venue" in a former department store space, that opened in 2025. 

The southernmost pristine glacial lake in the United States, Lake Lacawac is an important center for ecological research. It’s surrounded by a nonprofit nature sanctuary that’s popular with hikers and walkers; trails range from the quarter-mile Meadow Trail to the relatively strenuous Big Lake Trail, almost 3 miles long. The sanctuary is also home to the 1903 Great Camp, the former estate of coal-baron congressman William Connell. Free hour-long educational tours of the sanctuary and the Great Camp are conducted every Wednesday and Saturday at 1 pm.

The modern architecture of this museum belies the deep collection of Lancaster County artifacts within. Exhibits illuminate the history of Lancaster County going back 350 years. Furniture, tools, crafts, and Native American objects are on display. On the grounds, the peaceful Tanger Arboretum features 250 kinds of trees. Also on the grounds is Wheatland, the home of President James Buchanan, which you see up close on a tour run by LancasterHistory.

John Notman, architect of the Athenaeum and other noted local buildings, designed Laurel Hill's eastern section in 1836; it is an important example of an early rural burial ground and the first cemetery in America designed by an architect. The striking, hilly location overlooking the Schuylkill River, rare trees, and impressive monuments and mausoleums made it a popular picnic spot in the 19th century, and today it is an accredited arboretum as well as a cemetery. The 78-acre eastern necropolis in Philadelphia has a visitor center and exhibition space at the Ridge Avenue entrance. It's a tranquil place to stroll or bike, take a guided thematic tour on history or nature (fee; see website for all programs), or download an app for a self-guided tour. Among the notables buried here or in the 200-acre western section in suburban Bala Cynwood (opened in 1869 across the river) are General George Meade and 39 other Civil War–era generals. Burials still take place, so visit respectfully.

Built around 1767, this Georgian house on a laurel-covered hill overlooking the Schuylkill River once belonged to Dr. Philip Syng Physick, who was also owner of Society Hill's Hill-Physick House. Admission includes a history-focused guided tour; the house furnishings are from a variety of periods. Women for Greater Philadelphia sponsors summer candlelight chamber music concerts here; there are other events, too, including ones planned for the 2026 celebration of America's 250th birthday. Call before visiting.

This 33,000-square-foot space, one of 14 Discovery Centers in the United States, is chock-full of all things LEGO, including a kid-sized race car that was made with more than 100,000 LEGO bricks. Miniland Philadelphia contains 50 of the city’s iconic landmarks brought to life with nearly 1½ million LEGO bricks—Independence Hall, Boathouse Row (with crew boats you can race), the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Lincoln Financial Field, just to name a few. Other highlights include the interactive LEGO Ninjago Training Camp; a LEGO 4-D Cinema; a LEGO-themed pirate ship play area called Pirate Adventure Island; the LEGO Meet & Greet in the Build Challenge area, where kids can “meet” their favorite characters (weekends only); and Imagination Express, an interactive ride through a LEGO world.  Note that adults must be accompanied by a child 17 or under to visit the attractions except on occasional adult nights (check website). 

An impressive example of a Federal-style country house, Lemon Hill was built in 1800 on a 350-acre farm and has distinctive oval parlors with concave doors and an entrance hall with a checkerboard floor of Valley Forge marble. It was purchased by the city in 1844 and became part of Fairmount Park. The renovated house is not furnished, but docents provide historical information; its location at the start of Kelly Drive makes it a convenient way to sample the park houses. Lemon Hill itself—the surrounding park area, but not the house—will be the site of the free FIFA World Cup Fan Festival from June 11 to July 19, 2026, with giant screens, food, and entertainment. Work may be done in the area before the event, and house tours will likely be unavailable during the Fan Festival, so check ahead. 

One Liberty Place is the 945-foot office building designed by Helmut Jahn that propelled Philadelphia into the "ultrahigh" skyscraper era. Built in 1987, it became the city's tallest structure; however, that distinction now belongs to the 975-foot Comcast Center. Vaguely reminiscent of a modern version of New York's Chrysler Building, One Liberty Place is visible from almost everywhere in the city. The building is now mostly home to apartments and offices, while downstairs are dozens of stores and a food court. In 1990 the adjacent tower, Two Liberty Place, opened. Zeidler Roberts designed this second building with Murphy & Jahn, which now holds the Westin Philadelphia, luxury condominiums, and a restaurant on the 37th floor.

This 20th-century building is a reconstruction of Franklin's Library Company of Philadelphia, the first public library in the colonies. The American Philosophical Society, one of the country's leading institutions for the study of science, has its library here. The vaults contain such treasures as a copy of the Declaration of Independence handwritten by Thomas Jefferson, William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, and journals from the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803–06. The library's collection also includes first editions of Newton's Principia Mathematica, Franklin's Experiments and Observations, and Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The APS also offers a small, rotating exhibit of its rare books and manuscripts in the lobby of its first floor.

The Linc, as it's locally known, is a state-of-the-art facility with a grass playing field. It holds nearly 68,000 passionate Philadelphia Eagles fans, as well as supporters of the Temple Owls football team; the stadium also plays host to other sports, plus large-scale events and concerts. Tours are available.

The focal point of Logan Circle, one of the city's gems, is the Swann Memorial Fountain of 1920, designed by Alexander Stirling Calder, son of Alexander Milne Calder, who created the William Penn statue atop City Hall. You can find works by a third generation of the family, modern sculptor Alexander Calder (1898–1976), the mobile- and stabile-maker, in the nearby Philadelphia Art Museum and in Calder Gardens (opened 2025). The main figures in the fountain, three Native American figures in the form of river gods, symbolize Philadelphia's leading waterways: the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers and Wissahickon Creek. One of William Penn's five squares, Logan Circle was originally a graveyard and execution grounds. In 1825, the square was named for James Logan, Penn's secretary and a mayor of Philadelphia; in the 20th century it became a traffic circle.

Also known as John F. Kennedy Plaza, LOVE Park at the start of the Parkway is the place to get your photo with LOVE, Robert Indiana's iconic red sculpture, although you may need to wait in line to do so. The 6-foot sculpture, standing atop a 7-foot base, was placed in this area for the City of Brotherly Love's Bicentennial celebrations in 1976. (Another iteration of the sculpture is on the University of Pennsylvania campus.) Today the plaza has green spaces and seating, a fountain, views of City Hall and the Parkway, and the LOVE Park Visitor Center kiosk. It serves as the site of civic happenings like the Christmas Village Market, too. The southwest corner has a flying saucer–like building (a former visitor center) that is not in use at this writing.

One of the restored 18th-century houses in this lovely court was once home to Benjamin Loxley, a carpenter who worked on Independence Hall. The court's claim to fame, according to its residents, is as the spot where Benjamin Franklin flew his kite in his experiment with lightning; the key tied to it was the key to Loxley's front door. Peer through the icon gates to see the home, as it is private and can be admired only from the outside.

Stroll around South Street and it won’t be long before you come across the work of mosaic muralist Isaiah Zagar, recognizable by its intricate, irreverent mix of found materials and folk motifs. The Magic Gardens is home base for Zagar’s eye-catching art, which he’s been creating around here since he and wife, Julia, a fellow artist, moved there in the 1960s. Consisting of two indoor galleries and an outdoor sculpture garden, it’s an impressive and immersive visual feat. It’s a popular spot with tourists and groups, so it’s best to purchase tickets in advance; tickets go on sale online for visits one month in advance.

An old train trestle was revamped into a pedestrian- and bike-only bridge, now with lighting for night walkers, with pleasant views of Manayunk and the Schuylkill River Valley. It connects to the Cynwyd Heritage trail, an easy 2-mile “rail trail" for biking, jogging, and walking that leads past Laurel Hill Cemetery West and ends at Cynwyd Station. You can also connect to a trail that takes you to the Ironworks at Pencoyd Landing, where there are two restaurants, a beer garden of sorts, a Residence Inn by Marriott, and a different crossing back to Manayunk.

Just off Main Street, the welcome center is a recent addition, run and staffed by the Manayunk Development Corporation. It's a good spot to get oriented, ask questions, look at some historical photos, and buy MNYK (Manayunk) T-shirts.

One of the city's architectural jewels, this temple remains a hidden treasure even to many Philadelphians. Historically, Freemasons were skilled stoneworkers who relied on secret signs and passwords. Their worldwide fraternal order—the Free and Accepted Masons—included men in the building trades, plus many honorary members; the secret society prospered in Philadelphia during Colonial times. Brother James Windrim designed this elaborate temple as a home for the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. The ceremonial gavel used here at the laying of the cornerstone in 1868, while 10,000 brothers looked on, was the same one that Brother George Washington used to set the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. The temple's ornate interior consists of seven lavishly decorated lodge halls built to exemplify specific styles of architecture: Corinthian, Ionic, Italian Renaissance, Norman, Gothic, Oriental, and Egyptian. The Egyptian hall, with its accurate hieroglyphics, is the most famous. The temple also houses an interesting museum of Masonic items, including Benjamin Franklin's printing of the first book on Freemasonry published in America and George Washington's Masonic apron.

The in the North Side's historic Mexican War Streets District, is devoted to contemporary installation and experimental art, often with an environmental theme. The space gets its unusual name from its location, a former Stearns & Foster mattress factory warehouse. The rock garden outside, designed by Winifred Lutz, is breathtaking. Check for special events on the Web site.

This small but first-rate museum about Mennonite history and culture has exhibits of furniture, needlework, tools, and photographs. The highlight of the center is a reproduction of the tabernacle carried by the Hebrews on their journey through the wilderness; a 35-minute multimedia presentation tells the story. There is also an extensive bookstore and a gift shop selling international crafts. Don't miss the Fraktur—elaborate, usually illustrated, works of Gothic calligraphy on paper (think needlework samplers).

Located downtown, this eccentric museum opened in 1916. It displays a selection of the 50,000 pre-industrial, mostly American tools and objects collected by archaeologist and Arts and Crafts tile maker Henry Chapman Mercer, who worried that industrialization would wipe out evidence of the past. To house them, Mercer built a concrete, castle-like building similar to his nearby home, Fonthill Castle. The result is Instagrammable but tricky to navigate; use the museum's map. Boats, tables, chairs, and more hang from the six-story central court's ceiling; elsewhere, rooms are packed with objects organized by trade or purpose. A modern wing has a helpful introduction to Mercer and galleries for changing exhibits. The engaging The Doan Gang: Outlaws of the Revolution, about a local Loyalist family, will be on display throughout 2026. 

Nathan Levy, a Colonial merchant whose ship, the Myrtilla, brought the Liberty Bell to America, helped found this Jewish congregation in 1740, making it the oldest in Philadelphia and the second oldest in the United States. The original synagogue was at 3rd and Cherry streets; the congregation's current space, where it has been since 1976, is in the Sephardic style (following Spanish and Portuguese Jewish ritual). The synagogue's Spruce Street Cemetery (about eight blocks away, beyond Old City) dates from 1740 and is the oldest surviving Jewish site in Philadelphia. It was the burial ground for the Spanish-Portuguese Jewish community. Guided tours of the synagogue and the cemetery are available by appointment.

On the grounds of the Fonthill estate, the tile works still produces Arts and Crafts–style tiles from Mercer's designs. These tiles adorn such well-known structures as Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, as well as many of the homes and sidewalks of Doylestown. The late author and Bucks County resident James Michener described them as follows: "Using scenes from the Bible, mythology, and history, Henry Chapman Mercer produced wonderfully archaic tiles about 12 or 14 inches square in powerful earth colors that glowed with intensity and unforgettable imagery." You can watch a 17-minute video and take a partially guided tour (every half-hour) past artisans at work in the 1912 factory, which resembles a Spanish mission. You can also purchase tiles at the works.

One of the country's best arboretums, more than 3,500 trees and shrubs from around the world inhabit this 92-acre arboretum that's based on Victorian-era garden and landscape design, with romantic winding paths, a hidden grotto, a fernery, a koi pond, and natural woodland. The highlights are the spectacular rose garden, the swan pond, and "Out on a Limb," a 50-foot-high canopy where you can commune with the birds—and gleeful children. Large modern sculptures, some of which are spectacular, are sprinkled throughout the property, with outdoor sculptural exhibits during the year such as October's Scarecrow Walk. Twice annually, the popular Garden Railway exhibit features an elaborate model railroad surrounded by miniature replicas of historic Philadelphia landmarks. You'll want to drive, as the entrance is a good hike from the top of Chestnut Hill. Various tours, workshops, and events are happening year-round.

In 1787, Rev. Richard Allen, a former slave, galvanized fellow black congregants who left St. George's Methodist Church in a protest against segregated worship. Allen purchased this site in 1791, and it's believed to be the country's oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans. When the African Methodist Episcopal Church, America’s first black congregation, was formed in 1816, Allen was its first bishop. The current church is an example of the 19th-century Romanesque Revival style, with broad arches, opalescent stained glass, and stunning woodwork. An earlier building on these grounds was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Allen's tomb and a small museum are on the lower level.

Stop in at the winery's tasting room to sniff, sip, and savor the Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and other wines produced at the northern edge of Lancaster County. Fruit wines (elderberry, plum, and others) are a specialty, and mead is another. The centerpiece of the estate is the curious Federal-Victorian mansion and its formal gardens, flanked by medieval-style crenelated towers. Also on the grounds are the winery's Swashbuckler Brewing Company, Spirits Distilling Company, and Lancaster County Cider, so most every category of adult beverage can be had here. Each summer the estate hosts the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

Even if you aren't in Philadelphia on January 1, you can still get a feel for one of the city’s unique traditions by stopping by this museum. Famous for their extravagant sequin-and-feather costumes and boisterous behavior, the Mummers spend all year practicing for their New Year’s Day parade down Broad Street, a tradition since 1901. With roots in old European folk performance traditions, today’s Mummers clubs fall into several different categories, including satirical Comics, musical String Bands, and theatrical Fancies. All this and more is covered at the museum, which features family-friendly exhibits on Mummers culture; there are outdoor concerts in the summer.