My wife and I will be visiting in the Philadelphia area and would like to be able to drive through some of the more upscale nongated neighborhoods along the Main Line. Could anyone please suggest some of the more impressive areas through which to drive in order to view large residences with landscaping to match?

Thanks,
BigBlue

This is something we do for guests when they come to visit for a few days. Check out Villanova and Swathmore.

I can't endorse Paul's suggestion of Swarthmore as I am a purist (snob?) and Swarthmore is not part of the Main Line. However, I completely agree about the Villanova/Gladwyne/Bryn Mawr area. This area is easily reached from the city via 76 (or 476 if you are coming from the turnpike or 95). Be sure to check out Harriton House, Appleford and Chanticleer, which are open to visit. Also consider a drive by of Ardrossan, the former home of Hope Montgomery Scott (the inspiration for The Philadelphia Story). There are also some other non-residential buildings that merit a look, including Merion Cricket, the Baldwin School and Glenmede. Also, for modern architecture, check out the Louis Kahn-designed dorm at Bryn Mawr College.

When I'm taking scenic drives, I like to follow biking routes. Here is a Main Line route from the Phila Bike Club:
http://phillybikeclub.org/newbcp/cnt.../mainln40.html

Ardrossan is at Darby-Paoli and Newtown Rd. To get there you might want to take Bryn Mawr Rd from Montgomery Rd (wave to one of my alma maters, Harcum), then take Darby-Paoli to Newtown and then to Sproul. There are some beautiful homes behind Villanova Univ. near Sproul. The towns of the Main Line are along Rt 30 (Lancaster Pike) There are some nice shops and restaurants there but traffic can be a bear so I wouldn't stay on it very long.

I think some of the prettier drives are in the Radnor Hunt area. It also isn't technically the Main Line but is where a lot of the horsey set have beautiful homes and barns. Take Darby-Paoli to Goshen to Providence then explore some of those backrodes and get back on South Valley to Paoli.

I agree with Birdie - one of my favourite drives around there (beyond the ML) is Goshen Rd if you take it west from Rt 252 in Newtown Square towards West Chester. there are some truly beautiful horsey places out there. Definitely off the Main Line, further west on the west side of West Chester (which is a very pretty way btw) around Unionville is also great for old country estates/farms.

It is truly a beautiful part of the world.

The Main Line suburbs are gorgeous. I lived in Haverford many years ago and can recommend the area bounded by Morris and Montgomery Avenues, Old Gulph Road, and Grays Lane. The Merion Cricket Club is at the intersection of Montgomery Avenue and Grays Lane. Take Rose Lane from Montgomery Avenue and then take a right turn passing through the large iron gates on to Brentford Road. Many of the railroad executives lived on Brentfordb back in the day. I recall that there were estates on impressive grounds on Hillbrook. If you take Old Gulph Road toward Mill Creek Road, you will actually find yourself driving through a delightful little fjord. The Bryn Mawr campus is beautiful, Kahn's Erdman Hall an interesting contrast to the predominately collegiate Gothic buildings.

Ain't it grand! Fodor's never disappoints. Thanks for all of the above suggestions plus any more to come. We'll be doing our drive on a Monday but will be mindful of normal traffic issues.

BigBlue