Philadelphia Museum of Art

Why go

Philadelphia Museum of Art earns time because it offers period rooms, sculpture, painting and decorative arts that reward choosing a focused route. Its central thread is major American, European and Asian collections inside a landmark hilltop museum. Installed period rooms place furniture and objects back into architectural context. The east terrace opens to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Center City skyline.

What to look for

• Installed period rooms place furniture and objects back into architectural context.
• The east terrace opens to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Center City skyline.

The full story

Philadelphia Museum of Art is best understood through major American, European and Asian collections inside a landmark hilltop museum. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It has collections of more than 227,000 objects that include "world-class holdings of European and American paintings, prints, drawings, and decorative arts". The Main Building is visited by more than 800,000 people annually, and is located at the west end of Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Other museum sites include the Rodin Museum, also located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway; the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, across the street from the Main Building; and historic houses in Fairmount Park. The Perelman Building opened in 2007, and houses some of the more popular collections, as well as the Museum's library, with over 200,000 books and periodicals, and 1.6 million other documents. The museum is closed on Mondays, and the basic entrance price is $20, with various concessions. The museum holds a total of about 25 special exhibitions every year, including touring exhibitions arranged with other museums in the United States and abroad. Some have an extra charge for entrance. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It has collections of more than 227,000 objects that include "world-class holdings of European and American paintings, prints, drawings, and decorative arts".

Useful to know

• Choose one or two collection areas before arrival; a complete circuit is unrealistic in a short visit.
• Use the riverside path or the Parkway for a scenic approach, but expect stairs and distance.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.