Side Trip Along the Main Line

In March 1823 the Pennsylvania legislature passed a charter for the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the state's first railroad, linking Philadelphia to Columbia via Lancaster. After the Civil War, genteel suburbs sprang up around the stations. The gracious estates with endless lawns, debutante balls, and cricket clubs, were the province of wealthy families.

Bryn Mawr College. The 1939 film Philadelphia Story, a depiction of Main Line society life, starred Katharine Hepburn, a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, the first college for women that offered B.A. degrees. Founded in 1885 and modeled after Cambridge and Oxford colleges, Bryn Mawr introduced the "collegiate Gothic" style of architecture to the United States. 101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010. 610/526-6520. www.brynmawr.edu.

However, the main attraction of the Main Line is the Barnes Foundation.

Barnes Foundation. The Barnes collection is currently being moved to its long-awaited new home on the Parkway near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, due to open in spring 2012. The museum's impressive collection of 19th- and 20th-century French painting includes Renoirs, Cézannes, Matisses, and masterpieces by Van Gogh, Degas, Seurat, Picasso, Gauguin, Tintoretto, Modigliani, Soutine, and others. The museum was founded by Albert C. Barnes, son of a Philadelphia butcher who made millions by inventing Argyrol (an ineffective but popular medicine used to treat eye inflammation) and selling his pharmaceutical company right before the stock market crash of 1929, which left him with a lot of cash to buy art on the cheap during the Great Depression. His tastes, particularly for Post-Impressionists, were frowned on by the establishment at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the time, but of course now it is the envy of the art world. Tickets to the general public are due to go on sale in March 2012. Note that the address of the new building has not yet been determined, and that art classes for students and visitors will continue to be held in the Merion location when it reopens. 300 North Latch's Lane, PA, 19066. 610/667-0290 (for reservations press 5). www.barnesfoundation.org. $15. Sept.-June, Fri.-Sun. 9:30-5; July and Aug., Wed.-Fri. 9:30-5.

Chanticleer. At this 35-acre pleasure garden circling a country estate even the old tennis court has been transformed into a garden. If you enjoy flowers and paths, this is a great stop. It's lavish, but its over-the-top opulence is part of what makes it so enjoyable. 786 Church Rd., Wayne, PA, 19087. 610/687-4163. www.chanticleergarden.org. $10. Apr.-Oct., Wed.-Sun. 10-5; May-Labor Day, Wed.-Thurs. and weekends 10-5, Fri. 10-8.