What’s New In Philadelphia 2025

There’s always something new to discover in Philadelphia. 2025 has an exciting lineup of can’t miss events, new exhibit and museum openings, new hotels and restaurants, and much more.

EVENTS

FIFA Club World Cup 2025

Philadelphia is set to welcome some of the world’s most iconic football clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Juventus, as Lincoln Financial Field hosts eight matches of the FIFA Club World Cup in June and July 2025. With its rich history of hosting marquee events, passionate fan base, and vibrant cultural scene, Philadelphia is poised to deliver an unforgettable FIFA Club World Cup experience. For more information and the full schedule of matches click here.

EXHIBITIONS

Franklin Institute

Body Odyssey and Hamilton Collections Gallery

Part of a multi-year reimagining of the science museum, these gallery openings welcome back some of The Franklin Institute’s most beloved attractions. In the new Body Odyssey exhibition, you can once again walk through the Giant Heart before embarking on a journey through the intricacies of the human body. The Baldwin 60,000 steam locomotive is the heart of the all-new Hamilton Collections Gallery, which showcases hundreds of the museum’s artifacts dedicated to science achievement.

Barnes Foundation 

Home to one of the world’s most important galleries of impressionist, post-impressionist and  early modernist paintings, the Barnes Foundation was named one of the 10 Best Small Art Museums in America in 2024    by the Washington Post

Rousseau’s Secrets

Already home to nearly 20 pieces by self-taught artist Henri Rousseau — the world’s largest gathering of his work — this new exhibit reunites the Barnes’ landmark collection with more of the artist’s masterpieces, on loan from Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, for the first time in over a century (October 19, 2025 – January 11, 2026).

Museum of the American Revolution

Telling the story of the Revolutionary War through personal accounts, the Museum of the American Revolution delves into the War for Independence through relics, documents, works of art and rotating exhibits like these marking the 250th anniversary of the start of the revolution in 2025.

Banners of Liberty: An Exhibition of Original Revolutionary War Flags: Take a deep dive into the conflict’s vexillology with this new exhibit, the largest gathering of surviving Revolutionary War flags in more than two centuries, including pieces from Betsy Ross and Rebecca Flower Young (April 19 – August 10, 2025).

The Declaration’s Journey: The Declaration of Independence is one of the world’s most influential political manifestos. This special exhibition of rare documents, art and artifacts — together for the first time in one place — explores its global impact, showcasing how more than 200 nations integrated its ideals into their own independence movements (October 18, 2025 – January 3, 2027).

Philadelphia Museum of Art 

Dreamworld: Surrealism at 100

During the only U.S. stop for this traveling exhibition, explore nearly 200 works by more than 60 artists from the international surrealist movement, celebrating a century of dreamlike imagination dating back to André Breton’s 1924 Manifesto of Surrealism (November 8, 2025 – February 15, 2026).

Find more exhibits in Philadelphia click here.

NEW OPENINGS

Calder Gardens

A new cultural destination is coming to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with the opening of Calder Gardens, a gallery and garden dedicated to native Philadelphian Alexander Calder, one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. The site will feature an 18,000-square-foot reflective metal building housing a rotating selection of the artist’s masterworks — including mobiles, stabiles, sculptures and paintings — illuminated by natural light, and a tree-filled meadow-like landscape surrounding it.

Netflix House at King of Prussia Mall

The King of Prussia Mall will be one of the first two sites in the nation to experience the brand-new Netflix House, a 120,000-square-foot streaming lovers’ paradise with a 250-seat screening theater, four immersive experience rooms, set replicas, merch shops, Netflix-themed games, Netflix Bites concessions and a restaurant with selections inspired by Netflix shows.

Schuylkill River Crossing Bridge

Opening in late 2025

The next step in extending the 40-plus mile Schuylkill River Trail to its final destination at Fort Mifflin comes with the opening of the new Schuylkill River Crossing Bridge. The bridge (replacing the out-of-use PW&B #31 railroad bridge) will connect Grays Ferry Crescent with Bartram’s Garden and the future Bartram’s Mile Trail extension in Southwest Philadelphia across the river. Sitting just south of Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge, the new bridge — to be the only operating pedestrian swing bridge in North America — will provide full access across the river for pedestrians and cyclists.

New Native North American Gallery at Penn Museum

Opening in spring 2025

The nearly-140 year old Penn Museum’s signature North American collection is getting a major upgrade as the University of Pennsylvania institution opens its new 3,000-square-foot Native North American Gallery, a reimagined space to provide a comprehensive and contemporary perspective on Native American cultures. Created in collaboration with consulting curators from diverse cultural and indigenous communities, the new gallery highlights themes including land stewardship, resistance and resilience, forced migration, cultural continuity, creative practices and repatriation. The new space will build on the museum’s current Native American Voices: The People – Here and Now exhibit.

HOTELS

Hotel Anna & Bel

Hotel Anna & Bel stands as the latest boutique hotel in the ultra-trendy Fishtown neighborhood. The property has rich history, dating back to the 18th century and having once functioned as the Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Women. The hotels include 50 rooms, featuring amenities such as a courtyard, an outdoor heated pool, a fitness area, a restaurant, and bar. Bastia, the hotel’s Mediterranean restaurant led by chef Tyler Akin, was just named to Esquire Magazine’s list of the “Best New Restaurants in America.”

Gas Lamp Hotel

Opened November 2024

Located at 140 N. 2nd St, the hotel overlooks Elfreth’s Alley, a national landmark known as America’s oldest continuously inhabited residential street. The building the hotel now occupies dates back to 1845 and, until 2019, housed The Austrian Gas Lamp Company.

Combining the building’s history and the fact that Philadelphia was home to the private residence in the U.S. to be illuminated by gas flame is how The Gas Lamp Hotel got its name.

Gas Lamp Hotel features five private guest rooms. Guest accommodations are outfitted with stylish finishes and the very best in comfort, accessibility and flexibility.

Society Hill Hotel

Opened May 2024

The Society Hill Hotel, a historic jewel nestled in the heart of Philadelphia’s Old City, has reopened after nearly a year of renovations under new ownership. The 192-year-old, 15-room boutique hotel, featuring an all-day restaurant and bar, has been restored with careful attention to its historic features. New owners Mike Cangi and Brian Linton revived the original neon gas sign in bright gold, restored the oak bar, and preserved the large barroom windows.

Find more new hotels in Philadelphia click here.

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