Three Fabulous Days in Chester County, Pennsylvania

Your Chester County Itinerary at a Glance

Nestled in the lush countryside of Philadelphia, escape to Chester County’s Brandywine Valley. The heart of America’s Garden Capital, the Brandywine Valley is always in bloom. Discover fascinating histories, inspiring arts and hidden countryside gems. Settle into vibrant downtowns lined with local shops, homegrown restaurants and small-town charms as a central hub for your visit.

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Nemours Estate

Enjoy These Great Chester County Attractions:

Longwood Gardens
Brandywine Prime Restaurant
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
American Helicopter Museum
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Black Powder Tavern
Visitor Center Café

Tulips at Longwood Gardens

Day-to-Day Chester County Itinerary

Day 1: Things To Do in Chester County

Pay a visit to Nemours Estate in Wilmington, Delaware, A.I. duPont’s 77-room French-inspired mansion and formal gardens, built in 1910.It is filled with arts, antiques and relics from the age of aristocracy. Enjoy the chauffeur’s garage filled with vintage automobiles. The estate also features 200 acres of French-inspired formal gardens, grounds and woodlands.

Another fun stop is Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA, featuring 1,077 acres of botanical bliss, indoors and out. From May–October, plan an evening visit to experience an illuminated fountain performance. Guests can explore the history of the du Pont family and the creation of Longwood at the Pierre S. du Pont housel from the inception of the grand conservatory in 1921, to the new sweeping renovation in 2024: Longwood Reimagined. Stunning new buildings, wondrous new indoor and outdoor gardens, surprising new guest experiences, and much more await. Longwood Gardens has expanded its grounds, connecting them from east to west in a beautiful, unified journey of lush, formal gardens to open meadows to winding paths to breathtaking Brandywine Valley vistas. If you are hungry after this outing, stop at Longwood Gardens Café, which features a selection of ready-to-eat sandwiches and salads, hot entrée selections, freshly prepared desserts and its famous Longwood Gardens mushroom soup.

Or you can have lunch at Brandywine Prime Restaurant in Chadds Ford, PA, a charming, upscale restaurant for modern American cuisine with excellent steaks, chops, and seafood along with a stellar wine selection.

Winddown by visiting downtown Kennett, where you can shop, stroll and dine in the charming Mushroom Capital of the World.

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Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library

Day 2: Art and History in Chester County

Begin your day with a stop at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, DE, the former 175-room estate and surrounding natural gardens of H.F. du Pont. The museum boasts the most significantcollection of American decorative arts and antiques. Guided tours and garden tram tours are available.

For lunch, the Visitor Center Café offers grab and go sandwiches, wraps, and salads, a soup of the day, sweet treats and snacks, coffee, tea and assorted bottled beverages. Another option is the historic Mendenhall Inn in Chadds Ford. Sophisticated diners from Brandywine Valley and all over the world over find dining at the Mendenhall Inn to be more than a pleasurable experience. This Zagat-rated restaurant features hand-crafted cocktails, tantalizing menu selections inspired by Country French and New American Cuisines, white glove service and superb tableside flambé desserts.

The Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford is internationally recognized for its unparalleled collection and dedication to presenting Wyeth and American art. Tour the studios of Andrew and N. C. Wyeth and view their works amid the museum’s permanent collection of American arts, as well as traveling exhibitions.

Located in West Chester, PA, the American Helicopter Museum is a family-friendly aviation museum. It is home to one of the world’s largest collections of rotorcraft. Marvel at the wonders of vertical flight through exciting, immersive and multi-sensory activities. Its exhibits allow you to get up close and personal with our extensive collection of well-preserved rotary-wing aircraft, many of which you can climb in and experience what it’s like to actually pilot them.

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Valley Forge National Historical Park

Day 3: Revolutionary Chester County Landmarks

The Brandywine Battlefield Historic Sites its on 46 acres of the former Continental Army encampment and offers many different programs and a self-guided driving tour. A museum and visitor center on a small portion of the preserved battlefield tell the stories of the fighting that took place there. Step-on guides can join your group to follow the path of the revolutionary troops who fought in the Battle of Brandywine. Tour General Washington’s headquarters and more.

For lunch, stop at Black Powder Tavern in Wayne, PA, which features delicious plate meals big and small and is perfect for sharing. It sports delicious pub food, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches and more.

Valley Forge National Historical Park encompasses 3,500 acres and is visited by nearly 2 million people each year. Visitors can see restored historic structures, reconstructed structures such as the iconic log huts, and monuments erected by the states from which the Continental soldiers came. Visitor facilities include a visitor center and museum featuring original artifacts and providing an introduction to the American Revolution and the Valley Forge encampment. Roam–or tour by trolley–the vast grounds of the Winter 1777 encampment of George Washington and the Continental Army.