Best of Philadelphia
Celebrating the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene.
Some of my earliest and fondest memories stem from visits to Philadelphia’s most recognizable cultural and educational institutions: patrolling the Philadelphia Zoo’s Reptile House, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, in awe of king cobras, anacondas, and other creatures that had existed only in my mind until then; being in the stands at the Vet as Pete Rose smashed Stan Musial’s National League hit record; countless visits to the Spectrum for Flyers games, WWF house shows, and concerts from the likes of The Cure, Def Leppard, Metallica, and Slayer; wandering the stacks of the Free Library of Philadelphia on the Parkway and taking home a weathered hardcover about Hollywood’s most influential monsters; being riveted by a dance performance at the Painted Bride. The Vet, the Spectrum, and the Painted Bride have since faded into history, but the institutions featured here prove that Philadelphia’s cultural scene remains as alive and robust as ever.
Everyone knows The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, but the ballets staged by BalletX are of a completely different feather. A first-class boundary pusher, BalletX focuses on expression, exploration, experimentation, essentially infusing classical ballet with a healthy dose of adventurism. The company commissions several world premieres each season, and all of them strive to test new ideas, promote diverse voices, and redefine what the artform can be. balletx.org
Philly abounds with exceptional venues to partake in live theater: the Kimmel Center, The Met, Suzanne Roberts, Walnut Street, The Wilma, etc. One of our favorites is EgoPo Classic Theater, founded by Lane Savadove, which has been reintroducing and reimagining productions since 1993. With each new production, EgoPo aims to educate, inform, and entertain, while fostering connections “across cultures and communities”—local theater at its finest. egopo.org
Having been featured in several Hollywood films, Laurel Hill is perhaps Philly’s most iconic place of eternal rest. The hallowed grounds include the graves of many famous people, from the historical (Civil War General George Gordon Meade) to the contemporary (legendary Phillies announcer Harry Kalas). But there’s so much more than history here, including a world-class arboretum, plenty of quiet places to appreciate Laurel Hill’s abundant natural beauty, and year-round programming—film screenings and unique concerts, a 5K run, and the fittingly popular Market of the Macabre. laurelhillphl.com
Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is one of those places that will make a visitor stop, stare, and utter the phrase, “How did something like this come to be?” Visionary artist Isaiah Zagar spent years transforming this once-empty lot on South Street into a jaw-dropping labyrinth of pieced-together mirrors, tiles, bottles, sculptures, and pretty much anything else he could get his hands on to create a sprawling open-air mosaic. It’s a place that begs to be explored at least once in a lifetime. phillymagicgardens.org
First-time visitors to Philly quickly realize that our fine city lives and breathes the arts, as proven by the network of outsized murals from neighborhood to neighborhood. Thank Jane Golden, the creative force behind Mural Arts Philadelphia for making Philly the “Mural Capital of the World,” at 4,000 and counting. Golden intends to retire in the summer of 2026, but the work she started more than 40 years ago—with the goal of using public art as a building block for civic dialogue—will continue. Sign up for a private tour, or take a self-guided tour by following the helpful instructions on the organization’s website. muralarts.org
First-time visitors to Philly quickly realize that our fine city lives and breathes the arts, as proven by the network of outsized murals from neighborhood to neighborhood. Thank Jane Golden, the creative force behind Mural Arts Philadelphia for making Philly the “Mural Capital of the World,” at 4,000 and counting. Golden intends to retire in the summer of 2026, but the work she started more than 40 years ago—with the goal of using public art as a building block for civic dialogue—will continue. Sign up for a private tour, or take a self-guided tour by following the helpful instructions on the organization’s website. muralarts.org
The Mütter Museum holds a rather unique place in Philadelphia’s cultural landscape. Whereas some see it as a spectacle—its collections include a wide-ranging assortment of anatomical specimens, medical instruments, and much more—the Mütter sees its mission rather clearly: “to advance the science of medicine, and thereby to lessen human misery,” per 1787 constitution of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which operates the museum. With a multimillion-dollar campus expansion in the works, patrons will soon have even more reasons to pay a visit. muttermuseum.org
It may have undergone a recent rebranding, but the Philadelphia Art Museum’s status as a world-class cultural institution has remained unchanged since its earliest iterations, starting way back in the 1870s. The museum’s collection includes hundreds of thousands of artworks, from the ancient to the contemporary, created by artists both well-known and obscure. It also lays claim to an iconic limestone staircase, as well as the statue of a certain fictitious pugilist who once frequented its steps, that folks from near and far seem to like a whole heck of a lot. visitpham.org
Anyone with an appreciation of the written word will want to patronize the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Rittenhouse. The Rosenbach’s collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts includes those penned by some of the biggest names from history and literature: Robert Burns, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Thomas Jefferson, Herman Melville, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, George Washington, etc. The exhaustive list grows from one year to the next, so there are always some new and exciting pages to pore through. rosenbach.org
The horror genre gets a bad rap, often misunderstood by those who do not read or watch it. Those who do partake in the genre tend to have a rabid appreciation of their favorite books, movies, and other iterations of the genre. That’s why so many horror devotees got so excited about the recent opening of Thrillerdelphia, a bookstore on Manayunk’s Main Street devoted to horror, dark thrillers, and true crime. Whether you swear by genre standard-bearers like Barker, King, and Lovecraft, or you prefer the works of Adam Cesare, Jonathan Maberry, and other contemporary horror icons with local roots, you’ll find some red meat to sink your teeth into here. thrillerdelphia.com
Ask us to describe the perfect museum and The Rodin Museum on the Ben Franklin Parkway or the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, come to mind. Both include world-class art, presented in spaces that are small enough to navigate in a relatively short amount of time. The Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill is cut from the same cloth, featuring paintings, sculptures, and other artworks of Philadelphian provenance. That said, the Woodmere got a little bigger with the recent opening of the Frances M. Maguire Hall for Art and Education, which enabled the museum to significantly expand its gallery space. You won’t hear us complaining. woodmereartmuseum.org
More to Love About Philly
These professionals and service providers add to the exceptional quality of life for anyone who lives, works, and plays in Philly: Best Dentist 4 Kids (bestdentist4kids.com), Gross & Kenny LLP (philaworkerscomp.com), La Belle Mariée Bridal (labellemarieebridal.com), La Famiglia Ristorante (lafamiglia.com), NS.Aesthetics (nsaestheticsrn.com), and Richard Eidelson, D.D.S., FAGD (openyourmouth.com | dentistphiladelphia.com).
These professionals and service providers add to the exceptional quality of life for anyone who lives, works, and plays in Philly: Best Dentist 4 Kids (bestdentist4kids.com), Gross & Kenny LLP (philaworkerscomp.com), La Belle Mariée Bridal (labellemarieebridal.com), La Famiglia Ristorante (lafamiglia.com), NS.Aesthetics (nsaestheticsrn.com), and Richard Eidelson, D.D.S., FAGD (openyourmouth.com | dentistphiladelphia.com).
Photo by Jeff Fusco for VISIT PHILADELPHIA
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, October 2025.
