Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is known as the Champs Elysees of Philadelphia. We strolled down this lovely road on a beautiful spring day. We started at The LOVE sculpture in JFK Plaza and followed it all the way to The Philly Museum of Art. Both sides of the street have flags from all of the world decorating the lampposts. We stopped about midway for a look at the Swann fountain in Logan Circle, which has turtles and frogs and water nymphs spouting water. It's quite beautiful. Many artists were painting the fountain scene when we stopped by. Continuing on, we passed the Rodin museum, definately worth a stop on our next trip! Then right before you reach the museum, you come to Eakins Circle, which has a very impressive sculpture with figures and animals (including 2 moose, my favorite!)
A perfect walk on a lovely day.

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A beautiful avenue connects City Hall with the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Too long to walk, it is a good reference for orientation, and it's easy to see, using the hop on hop off buses, stopping in the most convenient locations, to visit its most interesting points.

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This scenic boulevard sits at the heart of Philadeplhia. A walk down here will give you some great views of the buildings of Philadelphia, including the Museum of Art and City Hall.

The Parkway also forms the spine of the city's Museum District and many of the city's famous sights are here, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Swann Fountain, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Rodin Museum, and Eakins Oval.

Running alonside the Parkway there is also an outdoor sculpture garden with mayn famous works, most notable of which is the Rocky statue by A Thomas Schomberg.

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway cuts a diagonal path northwest from City Hall, creating a visual axis between Penn's Statue and the Museum of Art. This was not originally part of Penn's street grid, but was created at the turn of the 20th century. While the parkway is impressive by itself, many of the city's cultural activities can be found along its path, including the Museum of Art, Free Library, and Franklin Museum of Science. Along the sides of the parkway can be found the flags of every country in the world.

Located near the Logan Circle, this church with a heavy and dark look, follows the Italian Renaissance style, with a beautiful portico and some interesting frescoes.

In its home page, monsignor Arthur E. Rogers invites us saying:

"Welcome to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Francis Patrick Kenrick initiated the building of this magnificent Church in 1846. It was continued through the tenure of Saint John Neumann and completed in 1864 by Bishop (later Archbishop) Wood. You are invited to not only learn more about our Cathedral Basilica through this website but also to join us for liturgy, for private prayers and for a tour of our imposing Basilica."

You may accept!

I found a website that you might want to visit before coming to the Ben Franklin Parkway. Try this site: http://www.parkwaymuseumsdistrict.org. There's a coupon for 6 museums that could save you a lot of money!

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The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a one-mile long city street in central Philadelphia that connects the Philadelphia Museum of Art with City Hall. The Franklin Parkway marks the city's museum district, which includes the Museum of Art, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Franklin Institute, and the Rodin Museum. The area is also famous for its statues and monuments to include a Washington Monument, a Joan of Arc statue dating from 1890 (with a twin in Paris), the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Memorials, and a Shakespeare Memorial. The iconic parkway also has four huge traffic circles and squares: Eakins Oval, Logan Circle, JFK Square, and Penn Square.

The Franklin Parkway was designed in 1917 to resemble the majesty of the Champs Elysee in Paris. Logan Square and Penn Square were two of the five original public squares in William Penn's plan for the city.

Walking away from the Art Musuem on the Pkwy you will come across to the Philadelphia Library, The Franklin Institute, and Roman Catholic Cathedral.

The major museums are concentrated along this beautiful avenue. It is lined with flags of perhaps every single country in the world (although many of those flags' colors are fades).

This is another fountain on the Ben Franklin Pkwy. Behind you can see the city hall with the Franklin statue on top. You can climb it for view.