The 11 Best Museums in Philadelphia

Philadelphia takes great pride in its lineup not only of hugely significant historical sites, but also of its world-class museums that cover everything from history to art to hands-on STEM learning.

When planning a trip to the city of brotherly love it can be easy to be overwhelmed with options. Below we’ve narrowed down the 11 best museums in Philadelphia, to help your plan an ideal visit.

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The National Constitution Center is a 160,000-square-foot museum dedicated to the story of the U.S. Constitution, drafted just a stone’s throw away in 1787 at what’s now called Independence Hall. Exhibits include an original copy of the Bill of Rights and, in Signers’ Hall, 42 life-sized bronze statues of the Constitutional Convention delegates. A live narrator and wraparound screen present the stirring Freedom Rising multimedia presentation, held on the hour in the museum’s 350-seat Kimmel Theater.

Although the Constitution takes center stage in the National Constitution Center, its collection includes some other notable materials: not least one of the scarce original copies of President Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

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Another of the top museums in Philadelphia, this long-standing institution also ranks among the biggest art museums in the country. The Philadelphia Museum of Art lays claim to a globe-spanning collection over 240,000 pieces strong, ranging from classics by Picasso to a 14th-century Buddhist temple and the Carl Otto Kretzschumar von Kienbusch Collection of armor.

The museum features 2021-renovated interior galleries designed by legendary architect Frank Gehry and a one-acre outdoor sculpture garden. The stone stairs out in the front of the museum, meanwhile, are the famous “Rocky Steps” immortalized in the classic 1976 film.

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The Philadelphia Museum of Art also runs the nearby Rodin Museum, which boasts the largest collection of French sculptor Auguste Rodin’s works—more than 120 of them—on public display outside of Paris. Among the holdings are casts of the defining works The Gates of Hell and The Thinker (the latter mulling things over in the museum’s garden).

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Another of the best museums in Philadelphia, the Museum of the American Revolution covers 118,000 engrossing square feet in the Old City District. Delving into the leadup, contest and legacy of the American Revolutionary War, the facility includes a remarkable collection of period artifacts, including vintage weaponry from American, French and British forces, as well as soldier’s letters, artwork and other treasures. The centerpiece is General George Washington’s Headquarters Tent (aka War Tent).

You’ll also find multiple theaters, interactive exhibits (such as a council of the Oneida Nation) and a grand replica of the Liberty Tree, the elm under which Boston patriots gathered in protest of the Stamp Act in 1765.

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Opened during Philly’s celebration of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, the African American Museum in Philadelphia was the first of its kind. Thoughtful and well-designed exhibits within tell the stories of the African American experience and the broader context of the African Diaspora. The flagship permanent installation is Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia 1776-1876.

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One of the leading collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modernist art forms the heart of the Barnes Foundation, including the most extensive share of Renoir paintings anywhere and many pieces by Cézanne and Matisse as well. But this 1922-established facility, among the nicest museums in Philadelphia, also has plenty of art from other time periods, styles and geographies, including a notable collection of African art. Well-curated special exhibitions (entry to which is included in General Admission) also distinguish the Barnes.

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Situated in the Old City, the National Liberty Museum invites visitors “to explore and advance the complex practice of liberty”: an appropriate focus for Philadelphia, where some of the very cornerstones of American liberty were laid. It’s not just the story of the U.S. under consideration across the museum’s four floors of exhibitions and galleries: Global struggles and heroes are celebrated as well.

Highlights include a replica of the Liberty Bell (the real version being located two blocks away) and a 21-foot Dale Chihuly glass sculpture, Flame of Liberty.

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Another of the best museums in Philadelphia happens to be one of the country’s top science museums: the Franklin Institute, which has been around (rather remarkably) since 1824.

A noble marble statue of the museum’s namesake Founding Father—part of the (Ben) Franklin Memorial—is a defining feature. Permanent exhibits include Wondrous Space, Your Brain and SportsZone, while top tier traveling and temporary exhibitions reliably delight. There’s also an on-site planetarium and multiple theaters onsite.

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Established in 1887, the Penn Museum has a rich history of archaeological and anthropological expeditions across the globe. It boasts an impressive collection of artifacts from the ancient world and antiquity. Among its many treasures, the 3,000-year-old Sphinx of Ramses II stands prominently in the Main Entrance Hall, serving as a remarkable highlight of the museum's extensive Ancient Egypt exhibit.

The museum also claims the largest collection of Mayan artifacts in the country as part of its Mexico & Central America Gallery, showcases nearly two dozen countries in its 4,000-square-foot Africa Galleries and displays such wonders as cuneiform tablets and the 4,500-year-old headdress of the Mesopotamian Queen Puabi in its Middle East Galleries.

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The most morbid (in a fascinating and illuminating way) of Philadelphia top museums, the Mütter Museum was established in the early 1860s based on a private collection of skeletal remains, anatomical diagrams and other items donated by Philadelphia doctor Thomas Mütter. Its holdings have since expanded to harbor better than 30,000 pieces.

These include preserved organs, diseased tissues and no shortage of skulls and skeletons. Notable items include slides of Albert Einstein’s brain, the death cast of conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker and the striking case of a “saponified” body known as the Soap Lady.

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Kicking off as it did in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University ranks as the oldest natural-history museum not only in the country, but in the entire Western Hemisphere. Get up close and personal with Tyrannosaurus rex in Dinosaur Hall, fraternize with live critters in the hands-on Outside-In exhibit and marvel at birds, beasts and landscapes from around the world in several dozen magnificent dioramas.

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