✈️ TRAVEL MODE · METRO AREA

Philadelphia Metro Area

Top things to do for visitors, each linked to its official source.

Photo: 颐园居 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

48 things to do. Best for visitors first.

GardenFREE

Awbury Arboretum

📍 Germantown

Once the home of a prominent Quaker family, the Arboretum has been free and open to the public for over 100 years.

🕑 Grounds daily, dawn to dusk

Official site ↗
GardenFREE

Bartram's Garden

📍 Southwest Philly

This public park spans nearly 50 acres in Southwest Philadelphia, offering peace, rest, and connection.

🕑 Welcome Center Thu–Mon 9:30am–4:30pm

Official site ↗
WaterfrontFREE

Cherry Street Pier

📍 Delaware River Waterfront

The Pier is free to enter and open to the public.

🕑 Mon–Thu 12–9pm, Fri 12–11pm, Sat 11am–11pm

Official site ↗
LandmarkFREE

Congress Hall

📍 Independence Square

Presidents Washington and Adams were both inaugurated in this building.

🕑 Daily: open house 9–10am, tours every 20 min 10am–4:40pm (no tickets needed)

Official site ↗
MuseumFREE

Fairmount Water Works

📍 Fairmount

Learn about the Water Works’ noteworthy beginnings in the early 19th century as Philadelphia’s water pumping station

🕑 Wed–Sat 10am–5pm

Official site ↗
LandmarkFREE

Independence Hall

📍 Old City

See the room where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were both signed.

🕑 Daily 9am–5pm (timed free tickets after 10:40am)

Official site ↗
ParkFREE

Laurel Hill Cemetery

📍 East Falls

While active burial sites, Laurel Hill is also an arboretum that provides public green space for recreation and education.

🕑 Gates 7am–7pm (EDT) / 7am–5pm (EST)

Official site ↗
MuseumFREE

Wagner Free Institute of Science

📍 North Philadelphia

Our upstairs exhibit hall houses over 100,000 natural specimens, including ancient fossils, glowing minerals and animals from around the globe!

🕑 Tue–Fri 9:30am–4:30pm; select 1st Saturdays

Official site ↗

Things to do only: no hotels or places to stay. Every listing links to its official source.