Things to Do
Minutes to Center City, Moments to Manayunk; Ironworks offers an urban experience at a new, unexpected riverfront destination. With activities for all ages, our location is perfect for both exploring the excitement of the city or enjoying the tranquility of our amenities along the Schuylkill River.
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There are dozens of miles of trails in Wissahickon Valley Park, a lush, 1,800-acre gorge, crossing forest and meadow before plunging down to the sun-dappled waters of the Wissahickon Creek.
Visitors find themselves lost in a feeling of wilderness as they walk, bike or ride horses through this undisputed gem of Philadelphia’s park system.
Permits are required to use the upper trails for off-road biking or horseback riding.
Designed by architect Junzo Yoshimura, Shofuso was built in Japan in 1953 using traditional techniques and materials. It was shipped to New York and exhibited in the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art in New York before moving to West Fairmount Park in 1958. In 2007, international artist Hiroshi Senju, inspired by the garden’s waterfall, donated 20 contemporary murals to Shofuso, which are permanently displayed inside the house. This historic site and museum includes a hill and pond garden with a tiered waterfall, island, and koi fish, a tea garden featuring a traditional tea house, and a courtyard garden leading to a bathhouse.
One of the best laid-out and most animal-packed zoos in the country, the Philadelphia Zoo is set among a charming 42-acre Victorian garden with tree-lined walks, formal shrubbery and animal sculptures.
In addition to its animals, the zoo is known for its historic architecture, which includes the country home of William Penn’s grandson, its botanical collections of over 500 plant species, its groundbreaking research and its fine veterinary facilities.
Local boating clubs take great pride in their historic 19th-century boathouses, which line the Schuylkill River just west of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. At night, lights outline one of the city’s loveliest views, aptly named Boathouse Row.
Like Philadelphia’s own Parthenon, the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Art sits majestically on a rise at the end of the city’s famous Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The vast collections of this temple of art make it one of the largest art museums in the country — and an absolute must-see on the city’s cultural circuit.
The museum’s holdings encompass more than 240,000 works spanning 2,000 years, including pieces from the ancient world, medieval times, the Renaissance, the Impressionist movement and modern day. On the same trip, visitors can check out paintings by Renoir, van Gogh and Picasso; a collection of suits of armor; a one-acre outdoor sculpture garden; a complete 14th-century Buddhist temple; and more.
When Eastern State Penitentiary opened in 1829, spectators from around the world marveled at its grand architecture and radical philosophy.
The experiment, to reform criminals through strict isolation other than daily visits from the warden and guards, soon became a model for prison design worldwide.
Once built, it was the most expensive construction in the United States at the time.
After 142 years in use, Eastern State finally closed its doors as a prison in 1971. It has since been named a National Historic Landmark.
Created in 1922, the Barnes Foundation originated with Dr. Albert Barnes’ mission to foster cognitive development through new approaches to education and to heighten critical-thinking and problem-solving skills through the study of art.
The 93,000-square-foot, two-story building, one of the key anchors of the Parkway Museum District, features a textured grey-and-gold Ramon limestone exterior and a glass canopy that glows at night.
Set on four-and-a-half acres of landscaped grounds, the museum boasts sustainable features including a green roof and permeable surfaces that allow for rain and grey water re-use.
The repository of the largest collection of works by Auguste Rodin outside of Paris features treasures such as The Gates of Hell and a bronze caste of The Thinker. All told, you’ll find more than 120 of the French master’s sculptures here, as well as a fascinating collection of drawings, paintings and studies.
The variety of works on hand offers the perfect opportunity to contrast and compare the ways in which Rodin used and re-used the same stances, and even body parts, throughout his work. The surrounding gardens are also a great place to find artistic inspiration.
An innovator in designing hands-on exhibits before “interactive” became a buzzword, The Franklin Institute offers an experience as unique as its namesake, Benjamin Franklin.
Its eminently touchable attractions explore science in disciplines ranging from sports to space.
Films assume grand proportions on the Tuttleman IMAX Theater’s 79-foot domed screen, and galaxies become formed and deep space explored in The Fels Planetarium.
People of all ages experience natural science in a fun and engaging way at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the oldest natural sciences institution in the Western Hemisphere.
The attraction — located on Logan Square along the museum-rich Benjamin Franklin Parkway — allows visitors to get face-to-face with towering dinosaur skeletons, dig for fossils, wander through a tropical garden filled with live butterflies, meet live animals, oogle historic animal dioramas showcasing three continents of wildlife and even meet scientists.
Rotating exhibits enhance and complement the museum’s offerings. Past exhibits have explored frogs, crocodiles, bugs and baby dinosaurs.
Reading Terminal Market, one of the nation’s oldest and largest public markets, first opened in 1893.
Today, it stands out as one of the greatest public markets in the country.
Visitors can enjoy eating a wide swath of different cuisines, from sublime soul food and exquisite Asian and Middle Eastern dishes to authentic Philly cheesesteaks and traditional Pennsylvania Dutch fare — all available from largely locally owned, family-run stands.
An architectural treasure inside and out, City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States, with over 14.5 acres of floor space.
Topped with an iconic statue of William Penn, the 548-foot tower is the tallest masonry structure in the world without a steel frame; it was the tallest building in Philadelphia until 1987.
Visitors can join guided tours to learn about the building’s history and view the city from above from the open-air observation deck.
Located in Independence National Historical Park, right across the street from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, the Independence Visitor Center offers the perfect place to start any visit to the Philadelphia region.
The center sits just a stone’s throw from some of the most popular attractions in Philadelphia’s Historic District, including the National Museum of American Jewish History, the National Constitution Center and the Museum of American Revolution.
Sometime before his death in 1859, Philadelphia physician Thomas Mütter donated $30,000 and his 1,700-item personal museum of bones, plaster casts, medical illustrations and other pathological artifacts to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which was used to create the first incarnation of the museum in 1863.
The College has continued to add to the collection ever since, now boasting more than 20,000 items of interest in the medical field.
Covering an indoor and outdoor space equivalent to half a city block, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens glistens with creativity, urban renaissance and a hint of madness.
Isaiah Zagar, a local artist who began tiling South Street in the 1960s and never stopped, constructed the space out of cement, bicycle spokes, bottles, ceramic shards and other artistic knick-knacks.
The tiled passages of the Magic Gardens weave over- and underground — and, perhaps more than anything, through the mind of a dedicated and inspired artist.
Beyond the colorful Chinatown Friendship Gate at 10th and Arch streets lies Philly’s vibrant Asian enclave, originally settled in the mid-19th century by Cantonese immigrants.
On any given day or night, Chinatown pulses with sensory pleasures, including fantastic food and an abundance of activities. Visitors can look forward to acclaimed chefs serving steaming platters of hand-stretched noodles seasonal street festivals the locally guided tours and more.
Discover the wonders of life underwater at Adventure Aquarium, sitting just across the Delaware River from downtown Philadelphia in Camden, New Jersey.
This celebrated attraction features one-of-a-kind exhibits comprised of more than 8,500 aquatic species and two million gallons of water.