A Walking Guide to the Museums & Cultural Landmarks of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
The sweeping yet highly walkable Benjamin Franklin Parkway is lined with many of Philadelphia’s most important art museums. This tree-lined avenue is anchored by the venerable Philadelphia Museum of Art, with its famous "Rocky" statue standing at the top of the museum's monumental stone staircase, while at the other end sits Logan Square's Swann Memorial Fountain with City Hall as a backdrop. Modeled after Paris's Champs-Élysées, the parkway links the city's premier cultural landmarks into an easy, single walk.
PARKWAY MUSEUMS DISTRICT MAP
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
The spectacular Philadelphia Museum of Art features a fine art collection so rich, deep, and encyclopedic that it may be one of our absolute favorite museums in America. Inside, you'll discover magnificent works by Old Masters alongside modern titans like Piet Mondrian, Marcel Duchamp, and Vincent van Gogh. It also houses one of the finest collections in the country of exquisite early American silverware, furniture, and decorative arts, all gorgeously exhibited. Outside, a "main event" takes place on the museum's grand steps, where visitors gather for pictures with the iconic statue of "Rocky."
RODIN MUSEUM
The Beaux-Arts facade of the museum welcomes you to a lovely tree-lined courtyard, where the main entrance is dominated by the monumental "Gates of Hell." Inside, visitors can explore the largest collection of Auguste Rodin's masterpieces outside of Paris, while the surrounding gardens feature iconic bronzes like "The Burghers of Calais" and "The Thinker."
The collection of 150 artworks was donated by movie theater magnate Jules Mastbaum and his family. As an affiliate of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, admission to one includes entry to the other.
THE BARNES FOUNDATION
The venerable Barnes Foundation is home to one of the finest private art collections ever assembled. Its founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes, made his fortune inventing an early 20th-century antiseptic medicine, called Argyrol, before turning his focus to art. Idiosyncratic to his core, Barnes stipulated in his will that the precise arrangement of the artworks on the walls could never be altered.
Today, this sleek modern museum faithfully recreates the original ensemble layouts of his suburban Merion mansion. The sheer scale of Barnes' collecting is staggering: 181 Renoirs, 59 Matisses, 69 Cézannes, and 16 Modiglianis — making it an absolute must-see on the global art circuit.
CALDER GARDENS
Dedicated to the monumental work of Alexander Calder, this contemporary architectural gem seamlessly integrates the mirrored facade building into stepped-up flowering hill. While compact in scale, its addition along the Parkway adds immense strength to Philadelphia's world-class art offerings with a collection of 26 paintings and sculptures.
THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE
A celebrated interactive science museum, The Franklin Institute is a hands-on delight for families and curious minds. Visitors of all ages will appreciate its most famous classic exhibit: a massive, two-story walk-through replica of the human heart.
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES
Situated directly on Logan Square across from The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences is America's oldest natural history museum. Visitors can walk among giant dinosaur skeletons, explore rare gems and minerals, and view famous historic wildlife dioramas that bring nature to life.
SWANN MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN
Positioned at the center of Logan Square, this expansive 1924 bronze and granite fountain serves as a tribute to three local waterways: the Delaware River, the Schuylkill River, and the Wissahickon Creek—each represented by giant human figures sculpted by Alexander Stirling Calder.
LOVE PARK
Perfectly situated in the "City of Brotherly Love," John F. Kennedy Plaza (affectionately known as LOVE Park) is named for its world-famous LOVE sculpture, installed in 1976, and created by Pop artist Robert Indiana.
CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER & PAUL
Rising just off Logan Square, the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul, built in 1864, is a grand Neo-classical brownstone masterpiece and the head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Its imposing facade and copper dome stand as a magnificent architectural anchor along the Parkway corridor.
CITY HALL
Anchoring the eastern vista of the Parkway, Philadelphia City Hall is a magnificent Second Empire masonry structure. The building is crowned with its famous 37-foot bronze sculpture of William Penn—weighing 53,000 pounds and standing nearly three stories tall from head to toe.
OTHER MUST-SEE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUMS
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS (PAFA)
Located just two blocks east of the Parkway on North Broad Street, PAFA is America's first art museum and school. Housed in Frank Furness's striking Victorian Gothic building, the museum features a world-class collection of 19th- and 20th-century American art, including works by Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, and Benjamin West.
PENN MUSEUM
Located on the University of Pennsylvania campus in University City, the renowned Penn Museum is well worth the short trip across the Schuylkill River. While distinct from traditional picture galleries, this world-class institution houses an extraordinary array of ancient fine art, monumental sculpture, and archaeological treasures spanning thousands of years—including the largest granite sphinx in the Western Hemisphere, monumental Egyptian artifacts, and famous reliefs from across Asia and the Mediterranean.
EXPLORE all that historic and culturally rich Philadelphia has to offer with the complete Red Map—featuring major landmarks like Independence National Historical Park and the Liberty Bell, dining, interesting neighborhoods, theater, shopping, and hotels.
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