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Galleries & Gardens
Admire the finest in artistic and floral beauty
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Fairmont Park
Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC
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Location:
Philadelphia and The Countryside
Transportation:
Driving
Duration:
Three days and two nights
This itinerary presents a journey through the region’s spectacular galleries, arboretums, and gardens, featuring colorful masterpieces by artists from Cezanne and Wyeth to Mother Nature.
There's a stunning array of art institutions here and dozens of places to stay connected with developments in contemporary art, locally and internationally.
And the Philadelphia region is blooming with parks and gardens, many of which grace the city's historic homes and art museums. Get ready to experience some of the finest in artistic and floral beauty!
Day One
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Japanese House and Garden
Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC
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As it’s always best to start “at the beginning,” your first stop should be Historic Bartram’s Garden, the country’s oldest living botanical garden and a National Historic Landmark dating back to 1728 when John Bartram, a devout Quaker, acquired a 44-acre parcel of property in southwest Philadelphia. Overlooking the Schuylkill River, the beautiful grounds surrounding Bartram’s House feature native plants and flower gardens, historic trees, a wildflower meadow, a water garden and river trail, barn and farm outbuildings, and a Museum Shop for browsing. Group or drop-in tours are available.
From here, make your way to Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, the citywide park system filled with endless recreation and sight seeing options, as well as a bounty of seasonal foliage and flowers. One of its most tranquil settings surrounds the Japanese House and Garden, designed in the style of 17th century Japan. Stop and watch Koi swimming in the garden pond as you behold the exquisite greenery or take the time to enjoy a cup of Japanese tea in this authentic setting.
Winding your way northwest, you will come upon Chestnut Hill, a charming neighborhood whose shops, restaurants, cultural opportunities, and turn-of-the-century architecture have earned the distinction of National Historic District. If you need a snack, grab some pastries or something even more satisfying at the French Bakery & Café. Another recommendation is the Chestnut Grille & Sidewalk Café. You can sit on the porch, weather permitting, and enjoy your lunch while watching the activity along the cobblestones of Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill’s “Main Street.”
Now that you’re fueled up for the afternoon’s activities, head over to Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, the state’s official arboretum listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Take a leisurely stroll through the romantic, 92-acre Victorian landscape, which includes a swan pond, a rose garden, and Victorian fernery. Guided public tours are offered on Saturdays and Sundays or by reservation.
Now it’s time to witness the beauty of nature captured on paper and canvas. At Woodmere Art Museum, housed in the impressive, stone Victorian mansion of self-made millionaire Charles Knox Smith (1845-1916), you will find more than 2,500 works of art throughout nine galleries and salons, including a grand rotunda and a lovely children’s gallery. Woodmere is the only museum specializing in and celebrating Philadelphia area art and artists, which was the wish of benefactor Knox Smith. Also on the six-acre property, the converted carriage house serves as a studio where children and adults attend art classes throughout the year.
Returning to the outdoors, next head for nearby Fort Washington and the Highlands Mansion & Gardens, a majestic 43-acre estate. The extensive garden landscape is situated around a 1796 Georgian mansion built by Anthony Morris, former speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, who entertained dignitaries including Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe in his gracious residence.
In keeping with the historic legacy of this estate tour, the area offers dining options that will take you back to the 1700s. One of them, Cresheim Cottage Café, features an elegant 18th century-style dining room. Another, The General Lafayette Inn & Brewery, covers both dinner and lodging. Here you can enjoy delicious food and signature brews in a cozy atmosphere complete with a wood burning fireplace. The Inn’s guest house, “Lafayette’s Retreat,” is connected to the restaurant by a brick pathway and secluded among tall oak trees. If you aren’t quite ready to “retreat,” the Inn often features live music after 9:30 p.m. You can also call the “Valley Forge Fun Line” at (610) 834-8844 for up-to-date information about what’s playing in the many theaters and entertainment venues.
Day Two
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The Germantown Historical Society Museum and Library
Photo courtesy of The Germantown Historical Society Museum and Library
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After breakfast at your hotel (The General Lafayette includes a continental-style breakfast) or one of the local eateries, wind your way eastward down Germantown Avenue to Germantown, the first United States suburb with an extension of the shopping and cultural opportunities found in Chestnut Hill. The Germantown Historical Society maintains a Visitors Center, where you can learn about the area’s highlights, including the Awbury Arboretum, one of the last remaining Victorian country estates. The impressive Francis Cope House, a Gothic stone mansion, serves as the Visitor Center and is surrounded by 55 acres of meadows, woodlands, ponds, and gardens.
From Germantown, you can take Route 1 across the river and into beautiful Merion, home of The Barnes Foundation. Adjoining the campus of Saint Joseph’s University, this world-renowned Main Line gallery and arboretum boasts more than 2,500 works of art and 12 acres of lilacs, tulips, and rose beds echoing the color schemes of the impressionist and post-impressionist paintings you’ll see inside. To fully appreciate the private collection, including works by Cezanne, Degas, Gaugin, Manet, Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh, Seurat, and Toulouse Lautrec, as well as a body of African sculpture, rent the taped, guided tour and budget plenty of time.
You’re undoubtedly ready for a bite by now, so head to Suburban Square, the nation’s first suburban shopping center, where you can enjoy a great burger and fries at Ruby’s Diner. Afterwards, take a stroll through the Farmer’s Market and browse through some of the square’s wonderful specialty and retail shops.
Further up the Main Line, in Wayne, you’ll arrive at Chanticleer Gardens, a luxurious 31-acre “pleasure garden,” where you can wander among formal rose beds, delight in a courtyard of colorful perennials and containers, or relax by a water garden in a woodland retreat. Chanticleer also features a cut flower and vegetable garden and a spectacular ruin garden, as well as two houses: the Administration Building and Entrance and the main house, Chanticleer.
Wayne also is home to a wonderful array of restaurants and bars, many in walking distance from the historic Wayne Hotel, one possibility for lodging. Around the corner, Teresa’s Café Italiano, an upbeat BYOB, serves delicious Italian specialties. While you wait for your table (there’s typically a wait on weekends) or after dinner, enjoy a drink at Christopher’s, which also features good, reasonably priced food (and a substantial kid’s menu) served in a family friendly atmosphere.
Day Three
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Longwood Gardens
Photo courtesy of Longwood Gardens
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After breakfast, set out on your drive to Longwood Gardens, the former summer estate of wealthy industrialist Pierre S. du Pont. Longwood has blossomed into a 1,050-acre premier horticultural display, including 11,000 different plant varieties, illuminated fountains, topiaries, and a multitude of indoor and outdoor gardens. Four acres of indoor conservatories assure blooms year-round. Outdoors, spring and summer bring a succession of daffodils, dogwoods, roses, and annuals, followed by autumn’s brilliant asters and chrysanthemums. If your visit falls within the holiday season, you are in for a real treat: seemingly miles of winter’s poinsettias and fragrant white narcissi bloom amid spectacular light displays.
For some guidance on navigating the garden paths, you can stop first at the Visitors Center and view a brief orientation film. You also can enjoy lunch right on the grounds at the Terrace Restaurant-Cafeteria, where an outdoor or window seat affords a beautiful view and the food is good and reasonable.
Just over the border in Winterthur, Delaware is Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. Winterthur, an American country estate, is the former home of Henry Francis du Pont, cousin of Longwood’s Pierre S. du Pont and an avid antique collector and horticulturist. Educated at Harvard's College of Agriculture and Horticulture, he amassed an extraordinary collection of early American decorative arts. In the early 1900s, he and his father, Henry Algernon du Pont, developed the surrounding 1,000 acres of woodlands, meadow, and flower gardens to mirror those of 18th and 19th century European country homes. The plantings follow natural cycles to create an almost constant succession of bloom.
Obviously there is much to see at Winterthur; you can marvel at the antique collections and furnishings, wander through the stunning 60-acre garden, or even do some research in the Winterthur Library. If you are traveling with children, they will be delighted by the magic of Winterthur’s fairy-tale children’s garden, “Enchanted Woods,” nestled within the main garden area, as well as the educational and fun “Touch-It Room.”
If you choose to extend your stay in Delaware, you can visit Winterthur’s Historic Houses of Odessa, a National Historic Landmark encompassing a village of 18th and 19th century houses (just 40 minutes from the Garden and Estate). Of course, there are plenty of charming bed & breakfasts and hotels in this area, as well as restaurants to satisfy the appetite you’ve built up touring the galleries and gardens of Greater Philadelphia!
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