Get To Know Philly’s Public Art with These Walking Tours

Philadelphia is internationally known for being a “City of Murals,” and it’s also got a vast collection of outdoor public sculpture.

For residents and visitors alike, these pieces add some incidental beauty to casual walks or rides around the city. But there are also ways to enjoy them intentionally. 

Keep reading for a list of tours — both guided and self-guided — that can help you learn more about Philly’s massive public art scene ⬇️

Philly’s public art program, Mural Arts Philadelphia, hosts seasonal walking and trolley tours that show off the city’s vast gallery of public art. Each 90-minute tour focuses on a specific geographic area, like Center City’s “Mural Mile,” Spring Garden, Bella Vista, and more.

The street art blog “Streets Dept” hosts monthly guided tours of Philly’s public art and public spaces. Specific topics vary — this spring, you can take an evening tour of Chinatown’s public art.

This local nonprofit civic organization offers a range of self-guided tour suggestions online, specifically focused on the city’s many sculptures. You’ll find interactive maps of different sculpture-heavy areas of the city — think the area around City Hall, near the Art Museum, in Fairmount Park — with write-ups on each piece of art. The Museum Without Walls initiative also offers audio discussions of many pieces that you can access on the website or through a mobile app.

Use this map and document to take a self-guided, mile-long tour down and around South Street to see and learn about 15 different murals by Isaiah Zagar, the Philly mosaic artist who created the Magic Gardens.