Philadelphia Murals and Street Art Tour with Magic Gardens
Description
Come and discover the artistic side of Philadelphia on this dazzling stroll through South Philly, where an endless tapestry of public art lines the streets. You’ll feel immersed in the local art scene as your expert guide leads you through the Queen Village and Bella Vista neighborhoods, past breathtaking murals and mind-bending mosaics. As you learn about the history of the pieces and their creators, you’ll come to appreciate how public art impacts the neighborhoods and how amazingly accessible art is throughout a major city like Philadelphia. After exploring the street art and a gallery or two, your tour will conclude at the incredible Magic Gardens - one of the most impressive and fantastical works of art and sculpture you’ll ever see! Admission into the Gardens is included in our tour. Part of your ticket also includes a donation to a local organization supporting artists in the city, so you’ll be directly impacting the incredible community highlighted on this tour!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your guide outside this iconic local concert venue and hear how it has played such a huge role in the counterculture spirit of South Street
A vital commercial and artistic artery of South Philly, South Street has been at the forefront of this city’s counterculture scene for generations. Your guide will lead you past an array of locally-owned art galleries and shops, pointing out decorative facades and giving you fascinating morsels of history along the way
This community-based art organization has been a staple in this neighborhood since the 1930’s. Today it supports local artists in the LGBTQ and BIPOC communities by offering exhibit space and grant funding. Guests can view its current exhibits while learning about its past efforts and future goals. Proceeds of your ticket will be donated to DVAA
Throughout your tour, you'll weave in and out of the streets and alleys of Bella Vista, the neighborhood surrounding the Italian Market and Magic Gardens. Here, you'll see how Philadelphia's first suburb has changed in the last 200+ years, including beautiful homes, gardens, and public art.
Queen Village is a charming neighborhood in Philadelphia known for its historic charm, cobblestone streets, and quaint atmosphere. Located just south of Center City, it offers a mix of historic row houses, trendy shops, cozy cafes, and vibrant community parks, making it a beloved destination for locals and visitors alike.
Zagar’s masterpiece, a once-barren abandoned lot on South Street transformed it into a mind-bending labyrinth of glass, tile, paint and almost everything else under the sun. This is something that must be seen to be believed, and you will be granted free admission into the Gardens at the end of this tour.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(237)
It was interesting but it lasted too long. By the time we got to the magic garden, it was 4:00 and most people were tired from all the walking and stops. It needs to be a more concise schedule. We did not just stop at all those stores. It should be 2 hours with sufficient time at the magic garden.
Great tour. Amazing mosaics and learning about the artist from the Magic Gardens was fascinating. Excellent, experienced, and very interesting guide! I have already highly recommended this tour to others.
Tom was a great tour guide. Although I have been a resident of Pennsylvania for many years I learned so many fun details about the historical history of Philadelphia. Highly recommend him and this tour.
We were a group of 6 (4 adults, 1 teen and 1 child age 6). We had a wonderful time. Heather our tour guide was very knowledgeable and showed us really cool places we would have not other wise seen or even known about. The length and distance was totally fine for the adults/teen but was a little rough towards the end for the 6 year old until we got to the Magic Garden which is a definite must see. Overall great experience.
The trip was really informative. There was a lot of walking just FYI. saw a lot of the city. Our guide, Tate was very knowledgeable of the city and all of the murals highly recommend.
Highly recommended! A fantastic combination of art, story telling and Philly spirit. The murals, art and neighborhood were all so interesting. Our guide was just wonderful. His passion for the city was contagious and we learned a lot on the murals and their history.
This tour focuses on the fabulous and indescribable work of Isiah Zagar as well as some of the murals created by Philadelphia's Mural Arts program. Our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and we poked into lots of different corners and alleys on and around South Street. If you like street art and/or gigantic mosaic murals, this tour is for you.
This was a great tour of not just street art (which was very cool - and surprising how many mosaics we saw) but also history with a focus on black history. Seeing William Still’s home was very moving. Our tour guide, Gigi, was very knowledgeable and also flexible and attentive to our needs. Highly recommend!
I found the tour guide hard to understand. Enjoyed seeing the mosaic art but found that there were not many morals to see on the tour.
One of the best tours ever in this or other countries. Tate is an excellent Guide.
