5 Best Sights in University City and West Philadelphia, Philadelphia

Penn's official art gallery contains treasures from the university's collections and traveling exhibitions. The gallery shares its historic-landmark building, designed by Frank Furness, with the Fisher Fine Arts Library.

One of the finest examples remaining of the work of Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, this was the most innovative library building in the country when it opened in 1891. It was the first library to separate the reading room and the stacks. Peek into the reading room, dominated by a huge fireplace, and with study alcoves lit from skylights above. The unusual exterior stirred controversy when it was built: note the terra-cotta panels, short heavy columns, and gargoyles on the north end. The mottoes inscribed on many of the surviving leaded-glass windows were chosen by Horace Howard Furness, Frank's older brother and a Shakespeare scholar on the Penn faculty. Energetic visitors should consider making the long, Victorian climb up the main staircase to see the upper half of the tower. The less-energetic can take the modern elevator to the 4th floor.

This museum, part of the University of Pennsylvania, has established a reputation for identifying promising artists and exhibiting them at a critical point in their careers. Among the artists who have had shows at ICA and later gone on to international prominence are Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Laurie Anderson.

This 24-acre park stretches along the western side of the Schuylkill River and serves as a new connector between Center City Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania campus. The park offers 12 tennis courts for public use, and extensive bike and walking trails, but its most striking feature is an elevated walk that connects to a central plaza and offers panoramic views of the Center City skyline.

Rare treasures from the deepest jungles and ancient tombs make this one of the finest archaeological and anthropological museums in the world. The collection of about 1 million objects includes the world's third-largest sphinx from Egypt, a crystal ball once owned by China's Dowager Empress, some of the world's oldest writing—Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets—and the 4,500-year-old golden jewels from the royal tombs at the ancient site of Ur (in modern-day Iraq). The museum's Worlds Intertwined galleries presents its Greek, Roman, and Etruscan collections. Children run to see the Egyptian mummies and to exhibits such as "Imagine Africa."