Wilmington is the gateway to the Brandywine River Valley with its world-class museums, attractions, accommodations and restaurants. Wilmington is located half way (100 miles) between New York City and Washington DC, 35 minutes to Center City Philadelphia, and 90 minutes to Baltimore.
Places to Stay
Everything from antique-furnished Bed & Breakfasts to motels (local and national) to five-star hotels located 5 to 15 minutes from I-95. See the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau link below for details.
Places to Eat
Historic inns to ethnic restaurants that have been serving local citizens for decades. Classic and country French to Italian to fresh seafood to American cuisines. For details see the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau link below.
Places to See
Christina Riverfront: lighted, landscaped 1.2-mile Riverwalk. Water Taxis. Parks, museums, cafes, restaurants, entertainment complex, baseball stadium, outlet shops.
Delaware Art Museum: largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and objects outside the United Kingdom. Famous American illustrations and paintings by N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Frank Schoonover of the Brandywine School, plus John Sloan and many others from the Ashcan School). Works by Edward Hopper, George Segal and more. National and international traveling exhibitions, too.
Longwood Gardens: the world’s premiere horticultural display garden. Year-round venue consisting of 1,050 acres, including indoor gardens, spectacular fountains, waterfalls, specimen trees, bonsai, children’s gardens, orchids, water lillies, 62-bell carillon from The Netherlands, ballroom with pipe organ. Many concerts and special events throughout the year.
Winterthur, An American Country Estate: the nation’s top collection of American interiors and design from 1640 to 1860s. 175 period rooms of antiques, paintings, and objects, including furniture, silver, crystal, ceramics. Campbell Soup Tureen Collection. Gardens. Enchanted Woods for Children.
Brandywine River Museum: home of the Wyeth Family (N.C., Andrew, Jamie and others) and Brandywine School paintings. Maxfield Parrish
Hagley Museum: one of America’s great museums of the Industrial Revolution. Original site of the DuPont Company’s gunpowder mills (1802-1921) along the beautiful Brandywine River. Water- and steam-powered industrial exhibits, 1803 family mansion, stone buildings, gardens, exhibitions, living history.
Delaware Museum of Natural History: one of largest seashell collections in US; authentic dinosaur skeletons; flora and fauna of the area; large scale model of International Space Station.
Tall Ship Kalmar Nyckel: full-size recreation of the 3-masted Swedish warship that brought the first permanent Old World settlers to the Delaware Valley in 1638. 139 feet long; 105′ tall; elaborate carving; seven working cannon.
Old Swedes Church: built in 1698 by Kalmar Nyckel descendants; still in use for regular worship; one of America’s oldest churches; graveyard holds remains of some 15,000 men, women and children from a wide variety of religious traditions.
Hendrickson House: stone Swedish farmhouse built in 1690; museum of 17th-century life.
Historic New Castle: founded by the Dutch in 1651; beautiful colonial buildings from early 1700s through Federalist period; quaint shops and galleries.
Nemours Mansion, Gardens & Fountains: Louis XVI-style French chateau home (built 1909-10) of A.I. du Pont. Fabulous gardens, fountains, staturary. Also home of the world-renowned A.I. du Pont Hospital for Children.
Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts: Seven galleries plus studios for 26 professional artists. Ever-changing exhibitions. Housed in a spacious 19th-century railroad car manufactory.
Getting Around
I-95 Exits 6 and 7 give best access to area attractions. Visitor Centers are located in I-95 Rest Stop south of Wilmington and in Downtown Wilmington at 10th & Orange Streets.
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