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Things to Do Near Ambler, PA: Local Favorites, Hidden Gems & Day Trips
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items A personal guide to beautiful, historic, creative, and slightly unusual places around Ambler, Montgomery County, and the nearby Philadelphia and Bucks County suburbs. From old theaters and grand estates to gardens, trails, museums, independent shops,...
Map
Sections
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Unusual Museums & Curiosities
Seasonal Events & Worth-the-Drive Days
Historic Homes, Castles & Old Places
Metaphysical, Witchy & Curious Shops
Unusual Museums & Curiosities
One of the most unusual places to visit near home, VAMPA is filled with vampire art, paranormal artifacts, folklore, and strange historical objects. It feels like walking through a beautifully eerie cabinet of curiosities and makes for a memorable af...
VAMPA
A fascinating and sometimes unsettling museum devoted to medical history and the mysteries of the human body. The old cabinet-style galleries are filled with anatomical specimens, medical models, and historic instruments.
The Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Part museum and part towering cabinet of curiosities, the Mercer is packed with tools, objects, and handmade pieces from early American life. The unusual concrete building is almost as memorable as the collection inside.
Mercer Museum
This beautiful old townhouse holds rare books, manuscripts, and literary treasures, including Bram Stoker’s handwritten notes for Dracula. It is an especially good stop for anyone who loves gothic fiction and the history behind old books.
The Rosenbach
A working historic pottery filled with handmade tiles, old machinery, and Arts and Crafts details. It feels more like visiting an artist’s workshop preserved in time than a traditional museum.
Moravian Pottery & Tile Works Museum
A castle-like former home filled with medieval, ancient, and religious art. The architecture alone makes it worth visiting, with stone halls, stained glass, carved details, and the feeling of entering a private collection from another world.
Glencairn Museum
Not technically a museum, but absolutely worthy of this section. The historic monuments, winding paths, old trees, and themed tours make it feel like an open-air collection of architecture, symbolism, and Philadelphia history.
Laurel Hill East
The crumbling cellblocks and fortress-like architecture make Eastern State one of the most atmospheric historic sites in the area. The exhibits go beyond ghost stories to explore the prison’s history and the lasting impact of the American justice sys...
Eastern State Penitentiary
This preserved Victorian natural history museum feels like stepping into another century. Rows of old wooden cases hold fossils, skeletons, minerals, insects, and taxidermy specimens, and admission is free.
Wagner Free Institute of Science
Seasonal Events & Worth-the-Drive Days
Ambler Arts & Music Festival
Historic Homes, Castles & Old Places
Fonthill feels like stepping into a storybook. The castle is full of handmade tile work, old architectural details, and rooms that feel completely unlike a typical house museum. It’s one of the most unusual and atmospheric day trips in the area.
Fonthill Castle
Metaphysical, Witchy & Curious Shops
This is a special little shop right here in Ambler, filled with crystals, herbs, incense, spiritual tools, and holistic wellness finds. I’ve personally gone to Phyllis for Reiki, and she is truly the real deal: warm, intuitive, knowledgeable, and com...
Holistic Apothecary LLC
Crystals, candles, herbs, tarot decks, books, jewelry, vintage finds, and locally made goods. They also hold readings, moon gatherings, classes, and other small community events.
Thirteen Circles is a women-founded, veteran-owned shop.
Thirteen Circles