{"id":216319,"date":"2026-06-11T10:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/216319\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T10:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:09:09","slug":"going-to-the-fifa-fan-festival-heres-what-to-do-around-lemon-hill-between-world-cup-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/216319\/","title":{"rendered":"Going to the FIFA Fan Festival? Here’s what to do around Lemon Hill between World Cup matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

FIFA Fan Festival organizers are expecting up to 25,000 people to descend daily on Lemon Hill for its World Cup watch parties this summer. While the freshly upgraded<\/a> section of Fairmount Park will offer fans plenty of amenities \u2014 including a free concert<\/a> from “Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi after the tournament’s opening match Thursday \u2014\u00a0 the neighborhoods surrounding it have several cultural gems of their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For visitors aiming to kill time before or between matches, check out these attractions in Fairmount and West Philadelphia. Some have specially themed soccer programming for the tournament, and a few are even free to enter.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Why didn’t Philadelphia make the cut to host the 1994 World Cup?<\/a>
Smith Memorial Playground<\/a><\/p>\n

3500 Reservoir Drive;\u00a0Open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-7 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You might have seen (a replica of<\/a>) the giant wooden slide at Smith Memorial Playground on “Abbott Elementary.” Now’s your chance to experience it in real life. For spectators with kids, this free playground is an ideal place to post up. Along with the aforementioned slide, the historic site boasts swings, jungle gyms and a three-story playhouse. It’s all set on six and a half acres of green space, located about two miles north of Lemon Hill.<\/p>\n

Please Touch Museum<\/a><\/p>\n

4231 Avenue of the Republic;\u00a0Open Wednesday-Saturday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sunday hours vary\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another nearby destination for families, located along the Philly PHLASH west park loop, is the Please Touch Museum. The hallowed house of play is located inside Memorial Hall, the cavernous building constructed for America’s 150th birthday<\/a>. That means there’s plenty of space for kids to romp, and countless objects and toys waiting for them. Perennial favorites include\u00a0a vintage carousel,\u00a0a grocery store stocked with fake food and a car-themed exhibit where tiny commuters can board a replica SEPTA bus. The museum is also hosting regular pee-wee soccer practice on the main floor during the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Museum of Art<\/a><\/p>\n

2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway;\u00a0Open Thursday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-8:45 p.m.; Saturday-Monday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Even the city’s biggest art museum is getting into an athletic mindset. An exhibit centered on\u00a0the famed Rocky statue<\/a> is currently on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The institute also recently unveiled a survey of three centuries of American art<\/a> for the semiquincentennial, co-curated with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. There’s a ton more to see across the building’s four floors and outdoor sculpture garden, and you can catch it all at pay-what-you-wish prices on Friday nights, when the museum stays open late.<\/p>\n

Barnes Foundation<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Calder Gardens<\/a><\/p>\n

2025 and 2100 Benjamin Franklin Parkway;\u00a0Both open Thursday-Monday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.<\/p>\n

The Barnes Foundation and Calder Gardens promise a less traditional art experience just a bit further down Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The sister institutes eschew plaques or any kind of posted information, inviting visitors to engage with their collections without context. The Barnes Foundation is the bigger of the two, with crowded walls of Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh and C\u00e9zanne originals. Calder Gardens, which just opened last September<\/a>, focuses on the sculptural work of the Philly-born artist\u00a0Alexander “Sandy” Calder. Both are offering free admission<\/a>\u00a0to city residents for the entire month of July.<\/p>\n

Eastern State Penitentiary<\/a><\/p>\n

2027 Fairmount Avenue;\u00a0Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Before ambling over to Lemon Hill, consider a spin around Eastern State Penitentiary, which is\u00a0so close to the fan fest that it’s doubling as the event’s rideshare drop zone. The former prison was a revolutionary model of criminal rehabilitation when it opened in 1829, thanks to its then-radical use of single cells. Nowadays, it’s a museum that strives to demonstrate the realities of incarceration and humanize the over 85,000 people who passed through its prison gates. While the World Cup is in town, it’ll host daily talks on the penitentiary’s baseball field. Triple Bottom Brewing will also man a pop-up beer garden during Eastern State’s “summer nights” program, running Saturday evenings from June 20 through Aug. 1, except for July 4th.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Zoo<\/a><\/p>\n

3400 W. Girard Avenue;\u00a0Open daily 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Fuzzy predators \u2014 and friends! \u2014 roam just across the Schuylkill River from Lemon Hill. The Philadelphia Zoo, the nation’s first, houses jungle cats, monkeys, giraffes and very old but surprisingly fertile tortoises<\/a>. It recently opened two big attractions in time for the tourism thunderdome of the World Cup, America’s 250th birthday and MLB All-Star Game. One is a “Pherris wheel<\/a>,” taking over the space where the zoo’s hot air balloon once hovered. The other is Carey Bear Country, which just relaunched<\/a> after two years’ (and $25 million) worth of renovations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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