From ballet to theater to the orchestra and beyond, it's no wonder Philadelphia was ranked America's No. 1 city for culture by Travel + Leisure magazine. Explore our galleries, hear world-class music or discover something altogether new.

Museum Mile

Philadelphia's vast collection of art museums is located along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, also dubbed “Museum Mile”. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the third-largest art museum in the United States, is situated on the west side of the avenue modelled after the Champs-Élysées.
The striking, neoclassical building is an oasis of beauty featuring more than 2,000 years of human creativity in paintings, sculpture, decorative arts and architectural settings from Europe, Asia and the Americas.

A few steps away, The Rodin Museum houses the largest collection of Rodin sculptures outside of Paris. “The Thinker” sits in front of the museum contemplating two of the many masterpieces within the intimate museum's gates, “The Burghers of Calais” and “The Gates of Hell.”

Another not-to-miss museum along the Parkway is The Barnes Foundation where visitors will find the world's largest private collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces. This extraordinary collection is definitely worth a trip, featuring masterpieces by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse, which provide a depth of work by these artists unavailable elsewhere. Works by Picasso, Seurat, Rousseau, Modigliani, Soutine, Monet, Manet and Degas complement Native American pottery, Pennsylvania German decorative furniture and various ceramics and metalwork, as well as sculpture and art from Mexico, China, Africa, early Greece and Rome. The Barnes Foundation invites visitors to explore connections between masterpieces by way of “wall installations” inspired by its founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes.

America's first art museum and school of fine arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, is set between the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The high Victorian Gothic building, designed by architect Frank Furness, opened in 1876 and is a National Historic Landmark. The collection of American paintings and sculpture spans three centuries and includes works by America's greatest artists.

Those with an edgier bent will enjoy the work of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Started as an anti-graffiti initiative, the program has morphed into an ambitious effort that's beautified thousands of blank walls around the city. There are almost 4,000 murals around the city. You can explore these by joining tours that are as varied as the murals. You can choose by theme, neighborhood, or transportation mode.

Avenue of the Arts
The Avenue of the Arts (Broad Street) is home to more than 20 major educational and performing arts facilities, including venues for opera, ballet, jazz and orchestral music plus classic drama and musical theater. The three-mile-long avenue, which passes through the heart of the city and intersects City Hall, is the site of the Academy of Music, the world-class Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre and the Wilma Theatre.

The magnificent glass-domed Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts opened in 2001 and blends technical excellence with architectural beauty. The Center houses the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall especially designed for The Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as a 650-seat Perelman Theater for a variety of smaller performances. The Kimmel Center hosts eight resident companies, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and American Theater Arts for Youth.

The Academy of Music, a National Historic Landmark, is the oldest opera house in the U.S., built in 1857. The opulent hall is home to the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Opera Company of Philadelphia and a full season of performances by various artists.

Other highlights of the Avenue of the Arts include Freedom Theatre, Inc., the leading venue for African American theater in the U.S.; the Wilma Theater, which strives to engage audiences in a look at the complexities of contemporary life; and the Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, which is Philadelphia's only major music institution solely devoted to the great American art form of jazz music.

For more information, visit discoverPHL.com.