255 Best Sights in Pennsylvania, USA

This stunning destination for the international wood-art community cultivates and promotes education and creative expression of the form. Rebranded in 2023 to include the word "museum" in its name, this space features a two-floor, light-filled museum showcasing more than a thousand beautiful pieces of artwork all made from wood. The gift shop is stocked with gorgeous handmade works, some by accomplished artists whose works are on display, including those who are a part of the organization's annual Windgate Wood Arts Residency Program (WARP).

Skulls, antique microscopes, and a cancerous tumor removed from President Grover Cleveland's mouth in 1893 form just part of the unusual medical collection in the Mütter Museum, at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The museum has hundreds of anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments, and organs removed from patients, including a piece of John Wilkes Booth's neck tissue. The collection contains 139 skulls; items that belonged to Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, and Joseph Lister; and a 7-foot, 6-inch skeleton, the tallest on public exhibition in the United States.

The has a wide variety of bird species, including parrots, bald eagles, and flamingos. Some of the raptors are in room-sized cages, but other species occupy tree-filled aviaries that visitors can walk through.

Using interactive exhibits, video, and works of art, the museum aims to combat bigotry in the United States by putting a spotlight on the nation's rich traditions of freedom and diversity. Galleries celebrate outstanding Americans and contemporaries abroad. The "Heroes from around the World" exhibit celebrates everyday heroes, including teachers, first responders, and extraordinary children working to better their communities. The museum's collection of glass art is symbolic of the fragility of peace; its highlight is Dale Chihuly's 21-foot-tall red glass sculpture Flame of Liberty. Sandy Skoglund's colorful Jellybean Kids wall is a reminder that many of our differences are only skin deep.

Driving up to the shrine, you can't help but realize that you're not in Kansas anymore. This enormous Polish spiritual center has drawn millions of pilgrims, including the late Pope John Paul II, since its opening in 1966. The complex includes a modern church with huge stained-glass panels depicting the history of Christianity in Poland and the United States. The gift shop and bookstore sell religious gifts, many imported from Poland, and the cafeteria serves hot Polish and American food on Sunday from 10 to 3:30.

The showplace of the Train Collectors Association, this museum displays both antique and modern toy trains and is a must for toy train buffs. The museum has five huge train operating layouts, with toy trains from the 1800s to the present, plus nostalgic films and hundreds of locomotives and cars in display cases.

When it was originally built in 1791, this building housed the U.S. Department of War. Today’s reconstruction outlines early American military history and the formation of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. On display are Revolutionary uniforms, medals, and authentic weapons, including powder horns, swords, and a blunderbuss. Dioramas depict highlights from the Revolutionary War through the late 18th century, and there are several scale models of warships and frigates as well. This museum is typically open for special events and occasions only.

Pulled by an authentic steam locomotive or vintage diesel, this heritage passenger train makes a 9-mile, 45-minute (an hour in fall) scenic round-trip between New Hope and Lahaska, and standard trips are narrated. Among many special events are Halloween-theme trips, holiday excursions in December, and a Wine & Tapas train. Trips get pricey for a family and may be best for those who love old trains. Advance reservations are encouraged, and required for special events. Parking in the on-site lot is expensive, so find a spot on the street or in a town lot.

Seven miles west of Marietta, this family-owned winery grows 14 varieties of French-hybrid and American grapes and produces 30 different wines, from dry to very sweet, plus some fruit wines. There are tours, tastings, and a shop with bottles for sale. You can picnic on the grounds, and in the summer there's a popular open-air concert series on the lawn.

Independence Hall is flanked by Congress Hall to the west and Old City Hall to the east: three distinctive Federal-style buildings erected to house the city's growing government. But when Philadelphia became the nation's capital in 1790, the just-completed city hall was lent to the federal government. It housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1791 to 1800; John Jay was the Chief Justice. Later, the boxlike building with a peaked roof and cupola was used as the city hall. Today an exhibit presents information about the early days of the federal judiciary.

Easily the spookiest attraction in Jim Thorpe, mostly because it’s reputedly haunted, this gray stone structure housed inmates from its construction in 1871 until it was turned into a tourist attraction in 1995. Visitors to the former prison have reported paranormal experiences, and many have had ghoulish images appear in their photos of the attraction, leading the management to start running ghost tours on Saturdays in October. The tours that take place throughout the rest of the season focus more heavily on the prison’s early history, with special focus on the execution of prisoners accused of membership in the Molly Maguire secret society.

Designed by Robert Smith in 1768, Old Pine is the only remaining Colonial Presbyterian church and churchyard in Philadelphia. Badly damaged during the Revolution, it served as a hospital and then a stable. In the mid–19th century, its exterior had a Greek Revival facelift that introduced Corinthian columns. In the 1980s, the interior walls and ceiling were stenciled with thistle and wave motifs, a reminder of Old Pine's true name—Third, Scots, and Mariners Presbyterian Church—which documented the congregation's mergers. The beautifully restored church is painted in soft shades of periwinkle and yellow. In the churchyard are the graves of 100 Hessian soldiers from the Revolution, and that of Eugene Ormandy, former conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In 1733 a tiny chapel was established by Jesuits for Philadelphia's 11 Catholic families. It was one of the first places in the English-speaking colonies where Catholic mass could be legally celebrated, a right granted under William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, which guaranteed religious freedom. But freedom didn't come easy; on one occasion Quakers had to patrol St. Joseph's to prevent a Protestant mob from disrupting services. The present church, built in 1839, is the third on this site. The late-19th-century stained-glass windows are notable.

The city's second-oldest Catholic church, circa 1763, became its first cathedral when the city's archdiocese was formed in 1810. Though the interior was renovated in the 1960s, the stained-glass windows and brass chandeliers that once hung in the Founders Room of Independence Hall are historic highlights. Commodore John Barry, a Revolutionary War naval hero, and other famous Philadelphians are buried in the small churchyard.

In Philadelphia's main public library building, the grand entrance hall, marble staircase, and enormous reading rooms make the 1927 Greek Revival building look the way libraries should, but it also serves people with facilities such as an area for community gatherings and a Culinary Literacy Center with a kitchen. The children's department houses the city's largest collection of children's books in a made-for-kids setting, and there's a special area for teens. The rare-book department is a beautiful suite of rooms with first editions of Dickens, ancient Sumerian clay tablets, and medieval and other manuscripts, including the only known handwritten copy of Poe's "The Raven." Also here is a taxidermied Grip, Dickens's pet raven. Another treasure, the Edwin S. Fleisher Collection (visitors welcome, but researchers must make appointments), has more than 22,000 circulating orchestral performance sets (a full score and other parts) and is the largest of its kind in the world.   Check the website for events such as author readings, timely special exhibits, and tours of parts of the library.

Writer Pearl S. Buck, best known for her novel The Good Earth, lived at Green Hills Farm, a country house not too far from Doylestown. Here she wrote nearly 1,000 novels, children's books, and works of nonfiction while raising seven adopted children and caring for many others. The house, now a National Historic Landmark, still bears the imprint of the girl who grew up in China and became the first American woman to win both the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes. The house also contains the writer's collection of Asian and American antiques and personal belongings.

This 24-acre park stretches along the western side of the Schuylkill River and is managed by the University of Pennsylvania. The park has natural grass and turf playing fields, 12 tennis courts for public use, and bike and walking trails; its most striking feature is an elevated walk offering pedestrians panoramic views of the Philadelphia skyline. A friendly culture of pickup soccer exists here on the weekends, with small nets to accommodate games.

A family-run business founded in 2001, this winery produces award-winning wines from Pennsylvania-grown grapes that range from sweet and floral Moscato to bold Bordeaux-style wines. It's one of the state's more than 400 wineries, and part of a cluster around the Brandywine Valley. The 30-acre property is a great place to bring a picnic, a dog, and the family, but dogs and those under 21 cannot enter the tasting room and pavilion, and outside food is not permitted in those areas. About 100 outdoor tables on the pretty grounds overlook the vineyard, and you can also bring your own chairs and blanket. An outdoor wine bar is open on weekends April through October. A short menu of cheeses, crackers, and charcuterie is offered.  Check the website, as there's live music and other events many weekends.

On a gentle rise 150 yards from the Delaware River, Pennsbury Manor is a 1939 reconstruction of the Georgian-style mansion William Penn built in the 1680s. Living-history demonstrations on 43 of the estate's original 8,400 acres provide a glimpse of everyday life in 17th-century America. The property, including formal gardens, an icehouse, a smokehouse, and a bake-and-brew house, helps paint a picture of the life of an English gentleman 300 years ago. The plantation also shows that although history portrays Penn as a dour Quaker, as governor of the colony he enjoyed the good life by importing the finest provisions and keeping a vast retinue of servants. These extravagances led to financial difficulties that resulted in Penn's spending nine months in a debtor's prison. Though you can wander about the grounds on your own, the house can be seen only on a tour. On Sundays from April to October there are special programs, including those devoted to historic trades, living history theater and open-hearth cooking, to name a few. To get here, follow the blue-and-yellow historical markers.

Covering 20 acres of central Philadelphia, the convention center is big, and it's beautiful. The 2.3 million square feet of space is punctuated by the largest permanent collection of contemporary art in a building of its kind. Many city and state artists are represented in the niches, nooks, and galleries built to house their multimedia works. To see the architectural highlight of the building—the Reading Terminal's magnificently restored four-story-high Victorian train shed, which has been transformed into the Convention Center's Grand Hall—enter the building through the century-old Italian Renaissance Headhouse structure on Market Street between 11th and 12th streets and ride up the escalator.

Inside the fine 18th-century original buildings of the oldest hospital in the United States are the nation's first medical library and first surgical amphitheater (an 1804 innovation, with a skylight). The hospital also has a portrait gallery, early medical instruments, art objects, and a rare-book library with items dating from 1762. The artwork includes the 1817 Benjamin West painting Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple. Today Pennsylvania Hospital is a full-service modern medical center four blocks southwest of the Athenaeum. Guided tours are available on weekdays and by appointment (via phone) 48 hours in advance only.

The seasonal Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, on the grounds of the Mount Hope Estate and Winery, transforms the property into a 16th-century English village ruled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I. The lively action includes street performers, human chess matches, jousting and fencing tournaments, knighthood ceremonies, street performances, craft demonstrations, battling pirates, jesters, medieval food, and Shakespearean plays performed on outdoor stages. Fun for all ages, but definitely more A Kid in King Arthur's Court than Game of Thrones.

Built in 1885, the brewery building originally housed the Weisbrod & Hess Oriental Brewing Company.  Since 2001, the brewery has been the headquarters of the Philadelphia Brewing Company, which produces year-round beers like Pennsylvania Pale Ale and Newbold IPA, as well as seasonal and specialty brews. For non-beer drinkers, there's the Phizzie hard seltzer. Free brewery tours are offered every third Saturday at noon and 2 pm; reservations are recommended. 

The Contributionship, the nation's oldest fire insurance company, was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1752; the present Greek Revival building with fluted marble Corinthian columns dates from 1836 and has some magnificently elegant salons (particularly the boardroom, where a seating plan on the wall lists Benjamin Franklin as the first incumbent of seat Number One). The architect, Thomas U. Walter, was also responsible for the dome and House and Senate wings of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. This is still an active business, but a small museum is open to the public by appointment.

Erected in 2003 to honor the victims of the Irish Famine (1845–1849), the memorial features 35 life-size bronze figures that depict the famine in Ireland, as well as people moving to and arriving in America; more than 1 million people died in the famine and more than 1 million people left the country. The memorial was designed by Glenna Goodacre. (Note: the statue is currently in a temporary location at 109 Spruce Street, until the construction project at Penn's Landing is completed). 

Designed by the well-known Philadelphia architect William Strickland and built in 1832, this impressive Greek Revival building served as the city's commercial center for 50 years. It was both the stock exchange and a place where merchants met to trade goods. In the tower a watchman scanned the Delaware River and notified merchants of arriving ships. The exchange stands behind Dock Street, a cobblestone thoroughfare. The building houses a small exhibit on its history and now serves as the headquarters for Independence National Park.

Opened in 1874, the 42 acres of America's first zoo are home to more than 1,900 animals representing six continents. Small and well landscaped, it has naturalistic habitats that allow you to get close enough to hear the animals breathe, though it's easy to feel some animals might like more space. Remember to look up: some animals travel around the grounds via see-through overhead trails called Zoo360. Conservation information boards and talks by keepers are excellent. At this writing, a major Bear Country exhibit will open in spring 2026. There's plenty to see, with some areas, such as the interactive Flamingo Cove habitat, more modern than others. The Reptile and Amphibian House houses species from 15-foot-long snakes to seven Western Santa Cruz Galápagos tortoise hatchlings (born in 2025), and the 2½-acre Primate Reserve is home to species such as gorillas and orangutans. Other attractions include the McNeil Avian Center, a state-of-the-art nest for birds; and African Plains, with giraffes, rhinoceroses, and zebras. The children's zoo, KidZooU, has indoor and outdoor learning areas. The Wild Explorer VR experience (extra charge) takes visitors from the depths of the ocean to the African plains.   It takes two or three hours to explore the exhibits. Advance online ticket purchase (timed entrance) recommended for general admission.  

This is the headquarters of the American Philosophical Society, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743 to promote "useful knowledge." The members of the oldest learned society in America have included Washington, Jefferson, Lafayette, Emerson, Darwin, Edison, Churchill, and Einstein. Erected between 1785 and 1789 in what has been called a "restrained Federal style" (designed to complement, not outshine, adjacent Independence Hall), Philosophical Hall is brick with marble trim, has a handsome arched entrance, and houses the Society's museum, open to the public Friday to Sunday. The society's library is across the street in Library Hall.

Focusing on the history of Lenape (aka Delaware) Indians, this museum and shop chronicles the story of the first inhabitants of what is now northeastern Pennsylvania up until their civilization was virtually wiped out by white settlers. Artifacts such as peace pipes, traditional weaponry, and day-to-day items are on display. An audio guide allows visitors to explore the small museum at their own pace. The shop sells T-shirts, moccasins, sage smudge sticks, CDs of native music, dream catchers, and books on Native American history and cultures.