If you are looking for a weekend getaway filled with beautiful gardens and history, you have to check out the town of Wilmington, Delaware. My husband and I spent two days in Wilmington and we had a great time exploring. I will be sharing our weekend itinerary and the best things to do in Wilmington, Delaware.
Best Time to Visit Wilmington Delaware
The best months to visit Wilmington are May through October. If you want to visit their beautiful gardens, I recommend going in the spring when the flowers are blooming. We went in the beginning of May and felt that was a great time!
Best Things to do in Wilmington Delaware
Winterthur Museum
On the first day of your Wilmington Delaware itinerary, you will be visiting the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library. It is a beautiful historic estate where you can enjoy tours of the house, garden, and grounds. It features a former du Pont family home, a magnificent 60 acre garden, and a collection of American decorative arts.
The Museum
The Winterthur Museum is filled with historic and decorative objects collected by Henry Francis du Pont. He was a passionate collector and transformed his family home with these exquisite pieces of furniture and fine art. He opened his home as a museum to share his collection stories with the public.
In this self-guided tour, you can explore the fourth and fifth floors of the mansion and see how du Pont designed the interior spaces in his home.
The Garden
The Winterthur Garden was created by Henry Francis du Pont and is a beautiful 60 acre garden filled with 25 miles of paths and trails to explore. The estate is also surrounded by 1,100 acres of meadows, farmland, and woodlands. You can explore the garden on foot or on a narrated tram ride (March – December). They also have a children’s garden called the Enchanted Woods.
When we visited, they had a section called the Azalea Woods and the flowers were in full bloom! The colors were so beautiful!
The Library
The Winterthur Library is an independent research center with a collection dedicated to the history of Americas from the 17th to the 20th centuries. They have rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and original works of art on paper.
We didn’t get to explore the library since it is only open by appointment Tuesday – Friday. If you are interested, you can make an appointment by emailing reference@winterthur.org at least 24 hours before your visit.
Admission Packages
General admission tickets are $22 per adult and you can purchase tickets online here! Your ticket includes a self-guided tour of the fourth and fifth floor of the house and access to the garden, walking trails, Enchanted Woods, and exhibitions. All tours begin at the conservatory.
Longwood Gardens
After lunch, you will spend the rest of the afternoon at Longwood Gardens. The gardens were founded by Pierre S. du Pont. You get to explore nearly 200 acres of lush gardens, open meadows, and winding paths. They also have a four acre conservatory.
General admission tickets to the gardens are $25 per person. They also have a café and beer garden to buy food and drinks.
Hagley Museum
On your second day in Wilmington, you will be visiting Hagley Museum. This was actually our favorite museum that we got to explore. It is a large indoor and outdoor museum experience. You can explore the new Nation of Inventors exhibition, walk through the buildings and grounds of the 19th century gunpowder factory, and take a tour of the first du Pont family home and gardens. The home is so beautiful and it was so interesting learning about it’s history and how the family lived back then.
Tickets are available for purchase onsite at the Hagley Visitor Center and they are $20 per person.
Harp and Hare Picnic
A fun activity that you can do in Wilmington is to plan a picnic with Harp and Hare! They are a pop-up picnic company that do events in Delaware, Philly, and South Jersey. Their luxury picnics are perfect for dates, anniversaries, showers, and events. Each one comes with a theme, unique décor, set-up, clean-up, games and a selfie stick.
Visit Wilmington surprised us with a beautiful baby girl shower picnic at Rockford Park, one of Wilmington’s beautiful parks with a stunning view of the Rockford Tower. Lunch was from Janssen’s Market and it was the perfect way to end our trip in Wilmington!
Check out my Instagram video on our picnic experience!
Where to Eat in Wilmington Delaware
Here are a few of the places we went to eat in Wilmington, Delaware that I highly recommend:
Sleeping Bird Coffee – this is a great on-the-go spot to grab a breakfast sandwich and coffee. I loved their egg and cheese sandwich on an everything bagel with an iced chai latte
Centreville Place : Café + Market – this is a cute lunch spot that serves salads and sandwiches. I got their grilled cheese and Carl got their chicken salad.
Le Cavalier – this is an amazing French restaurant to go to for dinner. I highly recommend getting the mussels for an appetizer and their cod fish for an entrée – so good!
