We are at the preliminary planning stage of a short leisure trip with the in-laws for either last week of October or first week of November. We need help! Longwood gardens and afternoon tea are definately on our itinerary. Too bad the terrace cafe at the gardens doesn't serve afternoon tea any more and there won't be enough time to really enjoy both in one day so we plan to stay over somewhere in the area and just spend one day at the Garden then go for a relaxing dinner and have afternoon tea the next day. We are looking for recommendations for places to have nice afternoon tea and things to do in the adjacent areas before and/or after tea. I thought of Armish country but what are the afternoon tea options there? MIL also loves to shop so that's another option but no clue where. Any suggestions is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi obason, the closest fancy tea is at the Hotel Dupont in Wilmington. They serve afternoon tea every day from 3 -4, and I understand that you can make reservations. You could spend some time at the Brandywine River Museum, then hit Winterthur and end up in Wilmington in time for tea. That would be a lovely day.

There is also a tea shop in Old Ridge Village on Route 202, south of Route 1 that is open all day.

I'm not familiar with afternoon tea in Lancaster. Where are you staying?

Hi! Suki,
Thanks for the suggestion. Hotel Dupont sounds like a good bet and I will look into it. As far as where to stay I have no clue yet since I want to decide what area we will be visiting first then decide a good location to stay. What is there to do in Winterthur? Please pardon my unfamiliarity with the area and this is what I meant by the "preliminary" planning stage.

Winterthur is another ancestral home of the du Ponts and the estate is now a museum that houses one of the finest collections of Early American furniture in the country. But even if you are not into that, the grounds are lovely, it is fun to see the house, and they have a terrific museum shop. Likewise, the Brandywine River Museum: even if you are not really into art museums this one is fun to see. It is in an old mill (I think) along the Brandywine Creek, and it is really scenic. The museum itself is small so you can walk through in an hour. The current featured exhibit is "Factory Work: Warhol, Wyeth & Basquiat." I really enjoyed it, having never seen much of Warhol's work in person before.

I can recommend the Fairville Inn:
http://www.fairvilleinn.com/
It would be a great location from which to see the Brandywine Valley.
Also, Whitewing Farm looks great:
http://www.whitewingfarm.com/

As for your lesiurely dinner after Longwood Gardens, I would head down to Kennett Square (cute little town), and have dinner right in town at the State Street Grill, or outside of town at Sovana Bistro. Both are BYOB, so if you like wine with dinner, bring along a bottle!

Dear Obason,

It looks likes you will be visiting Delaware County which is on the outskirts of Philadelphia.
Your travel options in this area are many.

Aside from visiting Longwood Gardens, do you want to visit more museums? PA Dutch Country?

From Longwood Gardens, Hotel Dupont and Winterthur are within twenty minutes of each other.

Philadelphia is about 35 minutes away, and PA Dutch Country is an hour and a half away.

Afternoon tea choices abound in these places. Aside from the Hotel DuPont, the Rittenhouse Hotel and the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia has excellent afternoon tea.

Winterthur and Brandywine River Museum are close to Longwood Gardens and are both worthy of a visit.

I think you can probably get more information by checking the travel guides for Philadelphia on this site and others.

Another Dupont property is the Hagley Museum which is well worth a visit.

Not to be ornery, but obason will be visiting Chester County. Philadelphia is closer to an hour away, and Lancaster County is more like 30 minutes away.

Suki,
What is the tea shop in Old Ridge Village like? I have never been in that shopping center but was curious. Is there also one down in Delaware at Independence Mall (on 202 also).
Connie

You must stay at the Fairville Inn -- a lovely spot only 5 minutes from either Winterthur or Longwood Gardens and they serve afternoon tea (beginning at 4:00)! The innkeepers are wonderful, the rooms superb, and homemade breakfasts (included in room rate) are just what you need to give you strength for the sights! The Wyeth's Brandywine River Museum is a mere 10 minutes away and you should plan on having dinner at Simon Pearce on the Brandywine -- terrific food with a delightful river view. By the way, White Wing Farm is now closed.

Unfortunately, Lancaster County has become very, very commercialized -- I wouldn't recommend it!

Wow, White Wing Farm is closed. I wonder why. They really have a spectacular property.

I'm glad to read a review of the Fairville Inn. I'd heard many nice things about it, and my office is about 1 minute away, but I've never stayed there.

Connie, I just saw your question regarding the tea shoppe. It's been awhile since I've been there, but it wasn't anything really special. Just a nice little shop with a few tables.

We did a similar trip about 3 years ago for our anniversary. You will love Longwood Gardens. It takes about a day to see everything.
We stayed at a great B&B called Inn at Montechain. The homes of former Dupot workers were converted into this B&B. It was very charming and about 5-10 minutes from Longwood Gardens. They have a very good restaurant at the B&B called Krazy Kat. The owners also run a nice shop called "Everything but the Sink". It is in a nice little strip mall not too far from the Inn.

I second seeing Winterthur. The house, its art and furnishings are fabulous. They give about 10 different tours so check out their website before hand.

As far as tea, you might want to contact the Inn since they might have other options.

Have fun. We really enjoyed the entire Bradywine area, the Inn and the gardens.
itsv

I live down the road from Winterthur.
They have a cafe there that is quite nice. I also recommend the Inn at Montchanin and Krazy Kats restaurant.
A new restaurant Brandywine Prime has openned where the old Chadds Ford Inn was. It is very nice.