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University of Pennsylvania
3451 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
+1 215 898 5000
site: University of Pennsylvania
#166 of 547 things to do rated by Real Travelers

More information on University of Pennsylvania

You could call Philadelphia one big campus, with 27 degree-granting institutions within city limits and 50,000 annual college graduates. The oldest and most prestigious university is Penn. This private, coeducational Ivy League institution was founded by Benjamin Franklin and others in 1740. It boasts America's first medical (1765), law (1790), and business (1881) schools. Penn's liberal arts curriculum, dating from 1756, was the first to combine classical and practical subjects. The university has been revitalized in the last 30 years, thanks to extremely successful leadership, alumni, and fundraising drives. The West Philadelphia neighborhood has experienced a revitalization, too, thanks to former president Judith Rodin, and current president Amy Gutmann. Nowadays, the university is a fun place for an afternoon of shopping or a night out. Sansom Commons, with Urban Outfitters, Douglas Cosmetics, and Pod restaurant, is across the street from campus. There are also the wonderful Inn at Penn, the stylish Bridge de Lux cinema at 40th and Walnut streets, and the massive Barnes & Noble-run university bookstore.The core campus, based in West Philadelphia since the 1870s, features serene Gothic-style buildings and specimen trees in a spacious quadrangle. Visitors can hang out comfortably on the lawns and benches. More-modern buildings are results of the 20th-century expansion of the university to accommodate 22,000 students enrolled in four undergraduate and 12 graduate schools, in 100 academic departments. Sights of most interest to visitors include the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and the always intriguing Institute of Contemporary Art, with its changing exhibits. Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Credit Cards Accepted

none accepted

Directions

Bus: 21, 30, 40, 42, or 90. Car: 30th St. exit from I-76 (Schuylkill Expwy.), 6 blocks west toward West Philadelphia

Area

34th and Walnut Sts. and surrounding neighborhood

Information by Frommers

Things to do near University of Pennsylvania

  • Hilton Inn At Penn
    Hotels
    3600 Sansom St Philadelphia, PA 19104
    Average price: $152.97
    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #5 of 109
  • Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel
    Hotels
    36TH AND CHESTNUT STREETS Philadelphia, PA 19104
    Average price: $129.19
    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #22 of 109
  • ucityhostel
    Hotels
    3650 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19104
    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #76 of 109
  • Penn Tower Hotel
    Hotels
    34TH AND CIVIC CTR BLVD Philadelphia, PA 19104
    Average price: $129.95
    Distance 0.3 miles away
    Popularity #68 of 109
  • Quality Inn And Conference
    Hotels
    531 N 38th St Philadelphia, PA 19104
    Distance 0.7 miles away
    Popularity #72 of 109
  • The Rittenhouse Hotel
    Hotels
    210 W Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia, PA 19103
    Average price: $218.00
    Distance 1.1 miles away
    Popularity #44 of 109
  • Oakwood At The Sterling
    Hotels
    1815 John F Kennedy Blvd Philadelphia, PA 19103
    Distance 1.2 miles away
    Popularity #74 of 109
  • Best Western Center City Hotel
    Hotels
    501 N 22nd St Philadelphia, PA 19130
    Average price: $134.33
    Distance 1.2 miles away
    Popularity #60 of 109
  • AKA Rittenhouse Square
    Hotels
    135 S 18th St Philadelphia, PA 19103
    Average price: $172.49
    Distance 1.3 miles away
    Popularity #54 of 109
  • Aka-Korman Communities-Rittenhouse Square
    Hotels
    135 S 18th St Philadelphia, PA 19103
    Average price: $172.49
    Distance 1.3 miles away
    Popularity #45 of 109
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  • University of Pennsylvania
    Attractions

    You could call Philadelphia one big campus, with 27 degree-granting institutions within city limits and 50,000 annual college...

    Popularity #166 of 547
  • Poor Richard's Walking Tours
    Attractions

    Poor Richard's offers walking tours of the city of Philadelphia, led by professional scholars and teachers in the field of history, prima...

    Distance 0.0 miles away
    Popularity #85 of 547
  • White Dog Cafe
    Attractions

    Judy Wicks opened the White Dog in an old brownstone on the Penn campus and then kept knocking down walls until she had a spacious, well-...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #177 of 547
  • Annenberg Center
    Attractions

    The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts was founded in 1971. This non-profit venue offers more than a hundred performances every yea...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #164 of 547
  • Zellerbach Theater
    Attractions

    Zellerbach Theater is one of the three venues at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The theater is a popula...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #325 of 547
  • Houston Hall
    Attractions

    Houston Hall at the University of Pennsylvania is the countries first student union, which is still in order to this day. Besides being a...

    Distance 0.2 miles away
    Popularity #292 of 547
  • Philadelphia Buddhist Association
    Attractions

    The Philadelphia Buddhist Association (PBA) provides information and support to students of Buddhism at all levels of experience. The PBA...

    Distance 0.2 miles away
    Popularity #90 of 547
  • Mandell Theater
    Attractions

    The Mandell Theater is the primary venue for rehearsals and performances of the Theater, Music and Dance Departments of Drexel University...

    Distance 0.2 miles away
    Popularity #281 of 547
  • Drexel University
    Attractions
    Distance 0.3 miles away
    Popularity #23 of 547

     Real Travelers who've been here

    Louis Louis said

    … on some convention centre holding some fossil conference, to get to UPenn campus passing Drexel university… continue reading »

  • Pegasus Nightclub
    Attractions

    A very good addition to the already buzzing nightlife in Philadelphia, Pegasus Nightclub is a place to go to only if you like hip-hop and...

    Distance 0.3 miles away
    Popularity #346 of 547
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  • Terrasse (La)
    Restaurants

    Known once to attract mob of students, Terrasse is now a compulsion for faculty and academics. The patio and indoors bustle with activity...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #241 of 318
  • White Dog Cafe
    Restaurants

    White Dog Cafe is nationally known for it’s contemporary American menus, fashioned from the highest quality farm-fresh ingredients and hu...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #123 of 318
  • Penne Restaurant
    Restaurants

    The newest addition to the dining options in University City is nestled in the four diamond Hilton Inn at Penn. As you enter this chic It...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #83 of 318
  • Pod
    Restaurants

    Pod

    Pod has a fun, futuristic decor (molded rubber, sculpted plastic, and video displays punctuated by a glass exterior curtain w...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #8 of 318
  • Pizza Rustica
    Restaurants

    This beloved pizza parlor is a nightly stop for those heading to the bowling alley next door, the North Bowl. Rustica lives up to their s...

    Distance 0.1 miles away
    Popularity #195 of 318
  • Zocalo
    Restaurants

    This West Philadelphia Restaurant located near the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel Campuses, serves contemporary Mexican cuisine ha...

    Distance 0.4 miles away
    Popularity #45 of 318
  • Nan
    Restaurants

    Nan

    Distance 0.5 miles away
    Popularity #106 of 318
  • Tandoor India
    Restaurants

    There's a buffet lunch that's popular with everyone, and a buffet dinner, but take a close look at the full menu too: tandoori breads bak...

    Distance 0.5 miles away
    Popularity #28 of 318
  • DISTRITO
    Restaurants

    Distrito is the new restaurant concept by Jose Garces, the chef behind the acclaimed Philadelphia restaurants Amada, Tinto & Chifa. Distr...

    Distance 0.5 miles away
    Popularity #171 of 318
  • The Restaurant School
    Restaurants

    "You'll never find a restaurant complex like this at any other school in the U.S. The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College - a dynami...

    Distance 0.7 miles away
    Popularity #264 of 318
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Traveler Photos of Philadelphia

the original bell??! A nice rivery bit. The oldest continually inhabited street in the US Love Fountain (?)
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