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Touring the Brandywine Valley

BY ALISON GREGOR | Special to Newsday

November 23, 2008

The Christmas fountains at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., part of the Brandywine Valley.

Known for magnificent mansions with flowering gardens in spring and summer, the Brandywine Valley, stretching from West Chester, Pa., to Wilmington, Del., not only retains its luster in winter, but visitors often discover it's their favorite time of year.

November and December are when landscapes of stone farmhouses and stark hills popularized by artists such as Andrew Wyeth, a local resident, come alive during the holiday season.

Estates built by industrial titans most notably, the du Pont family are festooned with glittering ornaments and looped with strings of lights, welcoming visitors with the sights, and the smells, of Christmas past. (But please don't nibble on the lifelike freeze-dried pheasant at the Winterthur estate it's just a display!) Touring the museums and mansions, which have dozens, even hundreds, of rooms, can keep visitors busy for a long weekend, but Brandywine also offers opportunities for fine dining and shopping, along with dozens of historic sites and battlefields, a racetrack, and ice skating and cross-country skiing.

WHERE A 2½-hour drive from New York City.

HOW TO GET THERE The Brandywine Valley in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware is about 125 miles southwest of New York City via Interstate 95/New Jersey Turnpike.

INFO The Chester County Conference and Visitors Center at 800-228-9933, cccvb.org.

WHERE TO STAY

The Inn at Montchanin Village
Route 100 and Kirk Road, Montchanin, Del., 800-COWBIRD, montchanin.com

Rates: $185-$399

This enchanting village of 11 restored buildings from 1799 to 1910 once housed laborers from the DuPont gunpowder mill. Now, 28 unique guest accommodations are appointed with period and reproduction furniture, some with sitting rooms and gas fireplaces. Pamper yourself in the newly-opened spa.

Hotel Du Pont
11th and Market Streets, Wilmington, Del., 800-441-9019, hoteldupont.com

Rates: $129-$545

Immerse yourself in local history with a stay at this 1913 hotel that occupies a city block and tucks a hefty history book into nightstands. Envisioned by Pierre S. du Pont, then president of the DuPont Company, to rival Europe's finest, the hotel, which has hosted many celebrities, was stripped of its finery in the 1950s. A $40 million restoration in 1992 returned the opulence to its 217 guestrooms and public rooms.

Hamanassett Bed & Breakfast
115 Indian Springs Drive, Chester Heights, Pa., 877-836-8212, hamanassett.com

Rates: $160-$450

With seven lavishly decorated guestrooms and a carriage house, this inn provides centrally-located accommodations in an 1856 mansion situated on seven wooded acres. For the holidays, look for an 11-foot Victorian tree in the living room and a "children's tree" in the solarium. Elaborate breakfasts served on antique china and crystal are included.

WHERE TO EAT