West Philadelphia Travel Guide

Across the Schuylkill River, West Philadelphia is home to the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania , where Franklin established the country's first medical school. The compact campus blends into fairly gritty urban areas, but has some great museums: the small Institute of Contemporary Art , 118 S 36th St, which displays cutting-edge traveling exhibitions in an airy white space (Wed-Fri noon-8pm, Sat & Sun 11am-5pm; $3; tel 215/898-7108), and the intriguing Arthur Ross Gallery (call 215/898-2083 for hours; free), 220 S 34th St, which has changing student displays. The superlative Museum of Archeology and Anthropology , 33rd and Spruce streets (Tues-Sat 10am-4.30pm, Sun 1-5pm; $5), is the university's top draw. Regarded by experts as one of the world's finest science museums, its exhibits span all the continents and their major epochs - from Nigerian Benin bronzes to Chinese crystal balls. Most astonishing is the priceless twelve-ton granite Sphinx of Rameses II, c.1293-1185 BC, in the Lower Egyptian Gallery , while the Meso-American and Greco-Roman Galleries also hold plenty of highlights.