Philadelphia: Penn's Urban Advantage

Rich with history and accomplishment, Philadelphia offers the resources of a major metropolis, yet is known as a "city of neighborhoods." Residents and visitors alike describe Philadelphia as warm and accessible.

In some ways Philadelphia is like a small village. Yet it's also a great city. You get both aspects here—the intimacy and the culture.
– Jolan Bogdan, Freshman

Arts and Cultural Riches

Philadelphia is home to important arts and cultural treasures. The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum, featuring the largest collection of Rodin's works outside France, provide extensive resources for scholars in the arts and humanities. The nearby Barnes Foundation includes a celebrated collection of French Impressionist painting, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts houses important American paintings and sculptures.

The renowned Philadelphia Orchestra performs at the nearby Academy of Music, as does the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Live theatre companies can be enjoyed at the Wilma Theater, the Arden Theater Company, the Walnut Street Theater, and many other venues.

A Vibrant City Life

Over the last decade, Philadelphia has experienced an expansive urban renaissance, evidenced by the wide variety of outstanding restaurants in the area. One Penn graduate even wrote a dissertation on restaurants and Philadelphia's urban revitalization. Philadelphia has a reputation as one of the most livable cities in the country.

Among Philadelphia's outdoor attractions is Fairmount Park, the largest urban park system in the United States with five major parks located throughout the city, each offering a variety of recreational facilities. Philadelphia is also a city of sports lovers, and is home to professional teams in four major spectator sports, the Eagles, Phillies, 76ers, and Flyers.

Philadelphia's mass transit system, SEPTA, operates a coordinated system of bus, subway, elevated train, and trolley lines that covers the city and surrounding counties. With a fifteen-minute walk to Amtrak's 30th Street Station, Penn students can travel to New York City and Washington, D.C. In addition, the Philadelphia International Airport is only a twenty-minute drive from campus.

Penn in the Community

But Philadelphia means much more to Penn than simply a list of off-campus cultural opportunities. A myriad of academic, social, and economic programs link Penn's students, faculty, and staff with the West Philadelphia community. Penn has cultivated a philosophy of connections, not walls.