Within an hour’s drive west of Philadelphia you can walk through a glass conservatory that opened in November 2024, stand on the slope where Washington’s army survived the winter of 1777-78, and look at the Chadds Ford farm buildings Andrew Wyeth painted for most of his life. That spread is why the things to do in the Brandywine Valley are hard to fit into one weekend. The region follows Brandywine Creek from the Chester County hills down into northern Delaware, and the du Pont family left it a string of gardens and estates that would make most states jealous.
Quick answer: Start with Longwood Gardens (timed tickets, $35 to $38 for adults this fall) and Valley Forge National Historical Park (free). Add the Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford for the Wyeths, and Chanticleer or Winterthur if you love gardens. Base yourself in West Chester or Kennett Square for small-town dinners, or in King of Prussia for chain hotels and the mall. Two days covers the highlights; avoid Tuesdays, when Longwood and the Brandywine museum both close.
Last updated October 1, 2026. Hours, prices and event dates were checked that day against the websites of Longwood Gardens, the National Park Service, the Brandywine Museum of Art, Chanticleer, Winterthur, Nemours Estate and the other sites named below.
- This fall: Longwood’s Autumn’s Colors display runs October 2 to November 15, 2026, and Chanticleer closes for the season after November 8.
- Holidays: A Longwood Christmas runs November 20, 2026 to January 10, 2027 ($45 to $52 for adults). Holidays at Brandywine, with its model railroad, runs November 14 to January 10, and the museum opens daily during it.
- Free: Valley Forge charges no entrance fee. Its trolley tours cost extra.
- Name change: the Brandywine River Museum of Art now goes by the Brandywine Museum of Art.
- Shopping: Pennsylvania doesn’t charge sales tax on most clothing, which is half the appeal of the King of Prussia Mall.
On this page: At a glance | Where it is | Top 13 | More gardens | With kids | Free and cheap | By season | Itineraries | Where to stay | Our picks | What to skip | FAQ
The Brandywine Valley at a glance
Prices are for one adult as of October 2026. Drive times are free-flow estimates from Center City Philadelphia; add time at rush hour and on fall weekends.
| Attraction | Where | Adult price | From Philadelphia | Closed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longwood Gardens | Kennett Square, PA | $35-$38; $45-$52 at Christmas | About 50 min | Tuesdays (until the Christmas season) | Everyone |
| Valley Forge NHP | King of Prussia, PA | Free | About 35 min | Visitor center: 3 holidays | History, walking, cycling |
| Brandywine Museum of Art | Chadds Ford, PA | $20 | About 40 min | Tuesdays (open daily Nov 14-Jan 10) | Art lovers |
| Brandywine Battlefield Park | Chadds Ford, PA | See park site | About 40 min | Monday to Wednesday | Revolutionary War history |
| Chanticleer | Wayne, PA | $15 | About 30 min | Monday, Tuesday; season ends Nov 8 | Garden lovers |
| Winterthur | Winterthur, DE | See Winterthur site | About 50 min | Mondays | Decorative arts, gardens |
| Nemours Estate | Wilmington, DE | $23 | About 40 min | Mondays; season ends early Nov | Mansions and formal gardens |
| Kennett Square | Chester County, PA | Free to wander | About 45 min | – | Dinner after Longwood |
| West Chester | Chester County, PA | Free to wander | About 45 min | – | Walkable downtown, restaurants |
| King of Prussia Mall | King of Prussia, PA | Free to browse | About 25 min | – | Shopping, rainy days |
Where is the Brandywine Valley, and how do you get around?
Brandywine Creek rises in the hills of northern Chester County, runs south past West Chester and Chadds Ford, crosses into Delaware and meets the Christina River in Wilmington. The tourism region named after it covers southern Chester County, western Delaware County and the Delaware estates north of Wilmington. Our guide also takes in the attractions on Philadelphia’s western edge in Montgomery County, chiefly Valley Forge and King of Prussia, since most visitors pair them with the gardens.
You need a car. SEPTA’s Regional Rail reaches the Main Line towns and Wilmington, and buses run to King of Prussia, but Longwood, Chadds Ford and the Delaware estates sit on country roads with no useful transit. The main roads are US 1 (the Baltimore Pike) through Chadds Ford and Kennett Square, US 202 between Wilmington, West Chester and King of Prussia, and Route 52 (the Kennett Pike) into Delaware. Distances are short: Longwood to the Brandywine museum is about 15 minutes, and West Chester to Valley Forge about 30.
| Coming from | Longwood Gardens | Valley Forge | West Chester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | About 50 min | About 35 min | About 45 min |
| Lancaster | About 1 hour | About 1 hr 15 min | About 1 hour |
| Harrisburg | About 1 hr 30 min | About 1 hr 45 min | About 1 hr 30 min |
| Pittsburgh | About 4 hr 45 min | About 4 hr 45 min | About 4 hr 45 min |
If you’re staying in the city and making day trips, our guide to things to do in Philadelphia covers the museums, neighborhoods and food that fill the evenings.
The 13 best things to do in the Brandywine Valley
Ranked for a first visit, with the big two first. If you only have one day, do Longwood in the morning and the Brandywine museum or Valley Forge in the afternoon.
1. Longwood Gardens
Paid, timed tickets; open year-round; best in fall color, spring bloom and at Christmas. Pierre S. du Pont bought this Kennett Square farm in 1906 to save its old trees from the sawmill, then spent decades turning it into one of the great display gardens in the country: formal fountain gardens, meadows, woodland walks and acres of conservatory under glass. It got bigger in November 2024, when the 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory opened as the centerpiece of a $250 million rebuild. The new glasshouse sits over a reflecting pool and is the photo everyone takes now.
This fall, Longwood’s Autumn’s Colors display runs October 2 to November 15, 2026, with goldenrod, native asters and grasses in the Meadow Garden and late-season color in the Idea Garden and Flower Garden Walk. The Main Fountain Garden’s fountains run until November 1, and the Italian Water Garden’s until mid-October. Then the gardens switch over for A Longwood Christmas, from November 20, 2026 to January 10, 2027, with lights outdoors and decorated trees and flowers in the conservatories. Christmas weekends sell out, so book those first.
How to do it well: start indoors, where the conservatory runs from the new West Conservatory through the Orangery and Exhibition Hall to the Ballroom and its 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ, then head outside before the afternoon crowds build. The Italian Water Garden, which Pierre du Pont modeled on a villa garden outside Florence, sits beyond the lake; the 86-acre Meadow Garden is where you escape everyone else. Families should find the indoor Children’s Garden and the three treehouses in the woods. On Friday to Sunday evenings through November 1, the gardens stay open until 9pm, and the glasshouses after dark are worth the later drive home.
Plan it: 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, about 50 minutes from Philadelphia, 1 hour 30 minutes from Harrisburg and 4 hours 45 minutes from Pittsburgh. Until November 1, 2026 it’s open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10am to 6pm and Friday to Sunday 10am to 9pm, and closed Tuesdays. Adult tickets are $35 on weekdays and $38 Friday to Sunday through October 25, then $35 from October 26 to November 15; youth 5 to 15 pay $20 to $22, and children 4 and under are free. Christmas tickets are $45 for adults on off-peak weekdays and $52 on peak days, per Longwood’s visit page (October 2026). All tickets are timed, so buy online before you drive. There’s a café on site. Allow 3 to 4 hours. Best for: everyone, especially first-timers.
2. Valley Forge National Historical Park
Free; open every day; at its best on a clear fall morning. No battle was fought here. The Continental Army marched in during December 1777 and stayed until June 1778, short of food, clothing and shelter, and somewhere between 1,700 and 2,000 soldiers died of disease. What came out was a better-drilled army, trained over the spring by Baron von Steuben. Today the encampment is a 3,500-acre park of rolling fields, earthworks and woods on the edge of King of Prussia, and it’s one of the best places near Philadelphia to understand how close the Revolution came to failing.
Start at the visitor center and its free orientation film, then follow the self-guided Encampment Tour by car or bike: the reconstructed huts of Muhlenberg’s Brigade, the National Memorial Arch, the Washington Memorial Chapel and Washington’s Headquarters, the stone Isaac Potts House by the old Valley Forge train station. Walkers and cyclists can use the paved Joseph Plumb Martin Trail, which loops past most of the main sites, or connect to the Schuylkill River Trail. If the story hooks you, the earlier chapter is told in the city at Independence National Historical Park.
A good order: after the film, follow the tour road along the outer defensive line to Muhlenberg’s Brigade, where a row of reconstructed huts shows how the soldiers lived, then on to the National Memorial Arch. From there the road passes the statue of General Anthony Wayne and heads toward the Washington Memorial Chapel, a working Episcopal church inside the park, and Washington’s Headquarters near the Schuylkill River. Hikers can climb Mount Joy or Mount Misery, the two wooded hills on either side of Valley Creek. In fall the fields turn gold, and early mornings bring deer out of the woods.
Plan it: The visitor center is off North Gulph Road and Route 23 in King of Prussia, about 35 minutes from Philadelphia, 1 hour 45 minutes from Harrisburg and 4 hours 45 minutes from Pittsburgh. The grounds are open daily from 7am until 30 minutes after sunset. The visitor center theater is open daily 9:30am to 5pm and shows the film every half hour until 4:30pm; it’s closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, according to the park’s hours page (October 2026). Washington’s Headquarters can close in snow and ice, so call ahead in winter. There’s no entrance fee; the trolley tours run by park partner The Encampment Store cost extra, and the park doesn’t sell America the Beautiful passes. Parking is free at each stop. Allow 2 to 4 hours. Best for: history fans, runners and cyclists.
3. Brandywine Museum of Art and the Wyeth studios
Paid; closed Tuesdays except in the holiday season; the reason to come to Chadds Ford. Three generations of Wyeths, N.C., Andrew and Jamie, worked within a few miles of this converted 19th-century gristmill on the banks of Brandywine Creek, and the museum is the place to see their work, alongside American illustration and landscape painting. The building’s glass-walled additions look straight out over the water. Through January 10, 2027, the special exhibition is By Design: The Worlds of Betsy James Wyeth, about Andrew’s wife and business partner.
The museum’s Historic Artists’ Studios program covers three places you can’t see any other way: the Andrew Wyeth Studio, the N.C. Wyeth House & Studio and Kuerner Farm, the working farm Andrew painted for decades. Check the museum’s site for tour dates and tickets before you plan around one. From November 14, 2026 to January 10, 2027, Holidays at Brandywine fills the galleries with the Brandywine Railroad, a model train display that has run every holiday season since 1972, with more than 1,000 pieces on 2,000 feet of track. It’s included with admission.
Plan it: 1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford, on US 1, about 40 minutes from Philadelphia, 1 hour 30 minutes from Harrisburg and 4 hours 45 minutes from Pittsburgh. Open Wednesday to Monday 9:30am to 4:30pm, closed Tuesdays; from November 14 to January 10 it’s open daily 9:30am to 5pm, except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, closing at 1pm on Christmas Eve. Admission is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $8 for students and youth 6 to 17, and free for children 5 and under, per the museum’s visit page (October 2026). Allow 2 hours, plus a studio tour if you can get one. Best for: art lovers and anyone who grew up with Andrew Wyeth’s paintings.
4. Brandywine Battlefield Park
Open Thursday to Sunday; a short drive from the museum. On September 11, 1777, about 11,000 Americans under Washington tried to stop a British advance on Philadelphia at the fords of Brandywine Creek. Roughly 18,000 British and Hessian troops under General William Howe outflanked them, and the defeat opened the road to the capital. The park, which calls it the largest single-day land battle of the American Revolution, preserves part of the ground, a visitor center and historic stone farmhouses that served as headquarters.
Much of the actual battlefield is private farmland and roads today, so the park is the place to get your bearings before driving the country lanes around Chadds Ford. Pair it with the Brandywine museum: the two make a full, easy day.
Plan it: 1491 Baltimore Pike (US 1), Chadds Ford, about 40 minutes from Philadelphia. Open Thursday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday noon to 4pm, per the park’s site (October 2026); check there for admission and house-tour prices. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: Revolutionary War buffs.
5. Chanticleer
Paid; April to early November only; the garden gardeners love. Where Longwood is grand, Chanticleer in Wayne is personal: a former family estate on the Main Line turned into a garden of bold, experimental planting, with a Teacup Garden, terraces of seasonal plants and the Ruin, a garden built inside the shell of an imagined house. Gardeners come for ideas, and the plantings change from year to year. In October the grasses, berries and late perennials are at their best.
Plan it: 786 Church Road, Wayne, about 30 minutes from Philadelphia. Open April 1 to November 8, 2026, Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, opening at 8am on first Saturdays. Admission is $15 for ages 13 and up and free for children 12 and under. Parking reservations are required on Fridays until 6pm and on weekends until 3pm, per Chanticleer’s site (October 2026). Allow 2 hours. Best for: serious gardeners and photographers.
6. Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Paid; Tuesday to Sunday; Delaware’s biggest draw in the valley. Henry Francis du Pont turned his family’s country estate into a museum of American decorative arts, with period rooms of furniture, silver and textiles and a huge naturalistic garden that peaks with spring azaleas and fall color. Kids get the Enchanted Woods, a fairy-tale garden made for them. At the holidays, Yuletide at Winterthur dresses the house, with extended evening hours on select Fridays and Saturdays.
Plan it: 5105 Kennett Pike (Route 52), Winterthur, Delaware, about 50 minutes from Philadelphia. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, including during Yuletide, per Winterthur’s visit page (October 2026); check there for ticket prices and house tours. Allow 3 hours. Best for: antiques lovers and garden walkers.
7. Kennett Square
Free to wander; the dinner stop after Longwood. Kennett Square bills itself as the Mushroom Capital of the World, and the farms around it grow a huge share of the country’s mushrooms. The small borough’s State Street has restaurants, cafés and shops, and it’s only a few minutes west of Longwood, which makes it the natural place to eat after a day in the gardens. The town’s big event is the Mushroom Festival, held the weekend after Labor Day; it filled State Street again in September 2026, and the 2027 festival is set for September 11 and 12.
Plan it: About 45 minutes from Philadelphia and 1 hour from Lancaster. The Mushroom Festival charges $5 a person and takes only cash and Venmo. Allow 2 hours for a meal and a walk. Best for: dinner and a slower evening.
8. West Chester
Free; the valley’s liveliest town. Chester County’s seat is a walkable college town (West Chester University is on the south side) with brick sidewalks, a Greek Revival courthouse designed by Thomas U. Walter, who later designed the dome of the US Capitol, and the best concentration of restaurants and bars in the region along Gay and High streets. On Saturdays the West Chester Growers Market sets up at Church and Chestnut streets. The Chester County History Center covers the county’s story a short walk up High Street.
Plan it: About 45 minutes from Philadelphia, 1 hour from Lancaster and 1 hour 30 minutes from Harrisburg. Metered street parking and garages downtown. The growers market runs every Saturday 9am to 1pm from May to December, then on the first, third and fifth Saturdays from 10am to noon, January to April, per the market’s site. Allow half a day, with dinner. Best for: a base with restaurants on foot.
9. King of Prussia Mall
Free to browse; the region’s rainy-day plan. King of Prussia is one of the biggest shopping malls in the country, with department stores, a luxury wing and hundreds of shops and restaurants under one roof. For visitors from out of state, the draw is Pennsylvania’s tax rule: the state’s 6% sales tax doesn’t apply to most clothing, and Montgomery County adds no local sales tax. It’s also a few minutes from Valley Forge, so a morning at the park and an afternoon at the mall is an easy day.
Plan it: 160 North Gulph Road, King of Prussia, about 25 minutes from Philadelphia by car without traffic; SEPTA buses also run from the city. Parking is free but fills on December weekends. Allow as long as your budget lasts. Best for: shoppers, families on a wet day.
10. Nemours Estate
Paid; April to early November; the most French corner of Delaware. Alfred I. du Pont built this mansion in the style of a French château and laid out formal gardens to match, with a long reflecting pool, statuary and a sunken garden. The visit is self-guided through the mansion, the chauffeur’s garage with its vintage cars and the grounds, with staff in each building to answer questions. Guided walks and shuttle tours of the gardens run during the season.
Plan it: North of downtown Wilmington, Delaware, about 40 minutes from Philadelphia. Open April to early November, Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, last entry at 4pm. Admission is $23 for adults and $21 for seniors 62 and up, students, military and teachers, per the estate’s visit page (October 2026). Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: mansion lovers and formal-garden fans.
11. Hagley Museum and Library
Paid; on the creek; where the du Pont fortune started. In 1802 E.I. du Pont built gunpowder mills along the Brandywine, and Hagley preserves them: stone mill buildings, the water-powered machinery, the workers’ community and the family’s first home on the Brandywine, Eleutherian Mills, with its garden above the river. It’s the most interesting of the Delaware sites for anyone curious about how things were made, and the creekside paths are lovely in October.
Plan it: Off Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware, about 40 minutes from Philadelphia. Check hagley.org for current hours and ticket prices before you go. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: history and engineering buffs.
12. Mt. Cuba Center
Paid; Wednesday to Sunday; native plants only. This former du Pont family estate in Hockessin, Delaware is now a research garden for plants native to the eastern US, with woodland gardens, ponds and trails that make a quieter alternative to the big estates. Fall color on the trails is the reason to come in October.
Plan it: Hockessin, Delaware, about 15 minutes south of Kennett Square. Gardens and trails are open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm this fall, per Mt. Cuba’s site; check there for admission. Allow 2 hours. Best for: hikers and native-plant gardeners.
13. American Helicopter Museum
Paid; Thursday to Sunday; the surprise hit with kids. The Philadelphia region was the birthplace of much of the American helicopter industry, and this museum at the Brandywine Airport outside West Chester fills a hangar and grounds with rotorcraft, from early autogiros to military and civilian helicopters. It’s small and easy to take in, and a good rainy-day stop.
Plan it: 1220 American Boulevard, West Chester, about 40 minutes from Philadelphia. Open Thursday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday noon to 5pm, last admission 4pm; closed on major holidays, per the museum’s site (October 2026). Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: families and aviation fans.
More gardens near Philadelphia
The region markets itself as America’s Garden Capital, and the claim holds up. Beyond Longwood, Chanticleer, Winterthur, Nemours and Mt. Cuba, garden lovers can add the Morris Arboretum & Gardens in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill, with its treetop canopy walk; Tyler Arboretum near Media, one of the oldest arboretums in the region; and Jenkins Arboretum on the Main Line, known for its rhododendrons and azaleas in spring. Hours and fees vary by season, so check each site before you go.
Our picks by type: for spectacle, Longwood; for design ideas, Chanticleer; for a historic house with a garden attached, Winterthur or Nemours; for native plants and quiet trails, Mt. Cuba. If you only have time for two, do Longwood and Chanticleer on different days, since they’re 45 minutes apart and both reward a slow visit.
The Brandywine Valley with kids
Longwood is the best family stop, as long as you plan around small legs: the indoor Children’s Garden has water features and hidden corners to explore, and three treehouses sit in the woods outdoors. Winterthur’s Enchanted Woods is a fairy-tale garden built for children, with a Faerie Cottage and a Tulip Tree House. At Valley Forge, kids can see the soldiers’ huts up close and run the open fields, and the American Helicopter Museum near West Chester is an easy win on a rainy day. From November 14 to January 10, the Brandywine Railroad display at the Brandywine Museum of Art has push buttons and foot pedals for kids to work, and it’s included in admission. Elmwood Park Zoo in nearby Norristown rounds out a family weekend.
Two practical notes. Distances between sites are short, but almost every stop needs a car, so build in snack breaks rather than marathon days. And Longwood’s evening hours, Friday to Sunday until 9pm through November 1, are a good way to see the gardens lit up without keeping young children out too late.
Free and cheap things to do
The biggest attraction in the region costs nothing: Valley Forge has no entrance fee, free parking and a free orientation film, and its trails link to the Schuylkill River Trail. Walking West Chester and Kennett Square costs only a parking meter, and the West Chester Growers Market runs every Saturday morning from May to December. Longwood takes part in Museums for All and honors PA ACCESS cards, which cut general admission to $2 for cardholders. The Brandywine Museum of Art lets children 5 and under in free and charges $8 for youth and students. Chanticleer is free for children 12 and under.
The cheapest way to see the big gardens is to go on a weekday: Longwood’s Monday, Wednesday and Thursday tickets are $3 less than weekend ones through October 25, and the crowds are thinner. For the holidays, Longwood’s off-peak Christmas days (Monday to Thursday from November 23 to December 17, and January 4 to 10) save adults $7 a ticket over peak days.
Eating and drinking in the valley
Mushrooms are the local specialty, and Kennett Square’s restaurants put them on plenty of menus: in soups, stuffed, fried and on pizza. Local markets sell them fresh. West Chester is the place for a long dinner, with the densest cluster of restaurants and bars in the region on Gay and High streets, outdoor tables in warm weather and a college-town crowd at night. Longwood’s café saves a drive at lunch, and the towns along US 1 and Route 52 have diners and delis for a quick stop between sites.
Chester County also has a growing list of wineries, breweries and distilleries, many on farms along the back roads between Chadds Ford and Kennett Square. Pennsylvania wineries can sell you bottles to take home. If you’re tasting at several, pick a driver: the roads here are narrow, winding and dark at night.
Things to do in the Brandywine Valley by season
Fall (now through mid-November). The best season for a first visit. Longwood’s Autumn’s Colors runs through November 15, the fountains run through November 1, and Chanticleer and Nemours close for the year in early November, so October is your last chance at both until spring. The Valley Forge fields and the Brandywine Creek woods turn color through October. Weekends are busy at Longwood: buy timed tickets well before a Saturday.
The holidays (mid-November to early January). The valley’s second peak. Holidays at Brandywine opens November 14, A Longwood Christmas opens November 20 and runs to January 10, and Yuletide at Winterthur adds evening hours on select weekends. Longwood’s Christmas tickets are its priciest of the year, and peak days (Fridays to Sundays, and every day from December 18 to January 3) sell out first. The King of Prussia Mall is at its most crowded on December weekends.
Winter (January to March). Quiet and cheap. Longwood’s conservatories make a warm escape, the museums are uncrowded, and Valley Forge in snow is the closest you’ll get to the encampment’s conditions. Some estates, including Nemours, are closed for the season.
Spring (April to June). Garden season. Chanticleer and Nemours reopen in April, Winterthur’s azaleas and Longwood’s spring displays peak in April and May, and the farm stands start selling around Kennett Square. Longwood requires members to reserve every day during its spring season, a hint at how busy it gets.
Summer (July and August). Fountain season at Longwood, with evening hours on weekends and fireworks shows on select nights. It’s hot and humid, so plan the outdoor gardens for mornings and the museums for afternoons. The Mushroom Festival in Kennett Square arrives the weekend after Labor Day.
Itineraries: one day, two days and a long weekend
One day from Philadelphia
Leave the city by 9am and be at Longwood when it opens at 10. Spend the morning in the conservatories and the Main Fountain Garden, then drive 15 minutes east on US 1 to the Brandywine Museum of Art for the afternoon (it closes at 4:30pm most of the year). Have dinner in Kennett Square or West Chester on the way back. Don’t try this on a Tuesday, when both are closed.
Two days
Day one as above. On day two, start at Valley Forge when the visitor center opens at 9:30am, see the film, drive the encampment tour and walk to the huts and the arch. Spend the afternoon at Chanticleer (Wednesday to Sunday, until early November) or, if the weather turns, at the King of Prussia Mall a few minutes away. Stay overnight in West Chester to keep both days short on driving.
A long weekend
Add a Delaware day. Winterthur in the morning, Hagley or Nemours in the afternoon (Winterthur and Nemours both close Mondays, and Nemours closes for the season in early November), and dinner in Wilmington or back in Kennett Square. Brandywine Battlefield Park fits in on any Thursday to Sunday on the way between Chadds Ford and the Delaware line.
Where to stay in the Brandywine Valley
West Chester is our first pick: it has the most restaurants you can walk to, a few inns and small hotels downtown and chain hotels on the edges, and it’s central, about 30 minutes from both Longwood and Valley Forge. Kennett Square suits a Longwood-focused trip, with inns and bed-and-breakfasts in the surrounding countryside. Chadds Ford has a handful of inns in the middle of Wyeth country. King of Prussia has the largest supply of chain and business hotels, which makes it the cheapest base on weekends when conventions are quiet, and it’s next to Valley Forge and the mall. Wilmington works for a Delaware-heavy trip.
Prices rise on fall weekends, around graduations at West Chester University in May and through the Christmas season near Longwood, so book early for those dates. Philadelphia hotels are another option if you’d rather do the valley as day trips, at the cost of an extra 40 to 50 minutes in the car each way.
If you only have time for one: our picks
One garden: Longwood, without much argument. Chanticleer is the better garden for people who garden, and Winterthur the better house, but nothing else here matches Longwood’s scale, and the 2024 conservatory makes it worth a return visit even if you’ve been before.
One history site: Valley Forge over Brandywine Battlefield. Brandywine was the bigger fight, but most of its ground is private land today, and the park is open only four days a week. Valley Forge is free, open every day and big enough to walk, bike or drive for half a day, and the encampment story is easier to picture on the ground.
One museum: the Brandywine Museum of Art, especially if you can add a studio tour. Hagley is the pick for anyone who prefers machinery to paintings.
One town: West Chester for dinner and a walk; Kennett Square if Longwood is the main event.
Skip if you’re short on time: the King of Prussia Mall, unless shopping is the point. It’s big and tax-friendly, but it’s still a mall, and the valley’s gardens and towns are what you can’t get at home.
What’s changed, and what to skip
- Longwood is bigger. The West Conservatory has been open since November 22, 2024, so pre-2024 guides undersell the place. Tickets are timed and sold online; don’t turn up expecting to buy at the gate on a fall or Christmas weekend.
- The museum has a new name. Signs and older guides may still say Brandywine River Museum of Art. It’s the same museum.
- Skip Tuesdays. Longwood and the Brandywine museum both close on Tuesdays outside the holiday season, and Chanticleer and Mt. Cuba don’t open until Wednesday.
- Skip the Monday Delaware day. Winterthur and Nemours are closed Mondays.
- Don’t rely on transit. Without a car you’ll reach Valley Forge, King of Prussia and Wilmington, but not Longwood, Chadds Ford or the estates.
- Don’t try to see Valley Forge on foot in an hour. The sites are miles apart. Drive or bike the tour road, or take the trolley.
For the rest of a Philadelphia-area trip, from the Liberty Bell to the Parkway museums, see our Philadelphia guide, and for the founding story that Valley Forge continues, our guide to historic Philadelphia and Independence Hall.
Brandywine Valley FAQ
What is the Brandywine Valley known for?
Gardens, art and Revolutionary history. The du Pont family’s estates gave it Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, Nemours and Hagley; three generations of Wyeths painted around Chadds Ford; and Washington’s army fought at Brandywine and wintered at Valley Forge. Kennett Square adds mushrooms, with a festival every September.
How much are Longwood Gardens tickets?
As of October 2026, adult timed tickets cost $35 on weekdays and $38 Friday to Sunday through October 25, then $35 until November 15. Youth 5 to 15 pay $20 to $22 and children 4 and under are free. During A Longwood Christmas, adults pay $45 off-peak and $52 on peak days.
Is Valley Forge National Historical Park free?
Yes. There’s no entrance fee, parking is free, and the visitor center film is free. The grounds are open daily from 7am until 30 minutes after sunset. Trolley tours run by The Encampment Store cost extra, and the park doesn’t sell America the Beautiful passes.
Is the Brandywine Valley in Pennsylvania or Delaware?
Both. Brandywine Creek flows from Chester County, Pennsylvania into northern Delaware and reaches the Christina River at Wilmington. Longwood, Chadds Ford, West Chester and Kennett Square are in Pennsylvania; Winterthur, Nemours, Hagley and Mt. Cuba are just over the line in Delaware, about 15 to 25 minutes away.
How many days do you need in the Brandywine Valley?
Two days covers the essentials: Longwood and the Brandywine Museum of Art on one, Valley Forge and Chanticleer or the King of Prussia Mall on the other. Add a third day for the Delaware estates. From Philadelphia, each makes a comfortable day trip if you’d rather not move hotels.
Is Valley Forge Casino part of the national park?
No. Valley Forge Casino Resort is a private casino and hotel in King of Prussia that shares the name, not part of Valley Forge National Historical Park. The park is run by the National Park Service, charges no entrance fee and has no gambling, hotels or resort facilities.
When is the best time to visit the Brandywine Valley?
October is hard to beat: fall color, Longwood’s Autumn’s Colors and the last weeks of Chanticleer and Nemours. Late November to early January is the second peak, with A Longwood Christmas and the Brandywine model trains. Spring is best for gardens; summer for Longwood’s fountains.
Related Pennsylvania Guides
- Things to do in Philadelphia: the city base for Brandywine day trips.
- Independence National Historical Park: Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Old City.
Sources and How We Checked
Everything on this page was checked on October 1, 2026 against the official sources below and compiled from them; we don’t claim first-hand visits. Drive times are free-flow estimates from OpenStreetMap-based routing (the Valhalla engine), rounded to the nearest 15 minutes.
- Longwood Gardens, visit: hours, ticket prices, fountain seasons, Autumn’s Colors and A Longwood Christmas dates.
- National Park Service, Valley Forge hours and fees: grounds and visitor center hours, closures and the no-fee policy.
- Brandywine Museum of Art, visit and Holidays at Brandywine: hours, admission, exhibitions and the model railroad.
- Chanticleer: season, hours, admission and parking reservations.
- Winterthur and Nemours Estate: hours, seasons and admission.
- Brandywine Battlefield Park: hours and address.
We also checked the websites of Mt. Cuba Center, the American Helicopter Museum and the West Chester Growers Market, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s sales tax page, and the Pennsylvania historical marker for the Battle of Brandywine. Mushroom Festival details were last checked in September 2026.
Pennsylvania Tourism Guide is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with Longwood Gardens, the National Park Service, the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, Winterthur, Hagley, Nemours Estate, Chanticleer, Mt. Cuba Center, Brandywine Battlefield Park, the King of Prussia Mall or any business named here, and no one paid to be included.
Photo Credits
- West Conservatory, Longwood Gardens: photo by Concord, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
- Fountain wall, Main Fountain Garden, Longwood Gardens: photo by Schiller12, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
- National Memorial Arch, Valley Forge: photo by National Park Service, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
- Muhlenberg Brigade huts, Valley Forge: photo by Thomas, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Brandywine Creek at the Brandywine Museum of Art: photo by Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
- Brandywine Battlefield Park: photo by berriehol, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
- Mushroom Festival, Kennett Square: photo by Dough4872, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Chester County Courthouse, West Chester: photo by Camerafiend, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Nemours mansion and gardens: photo by Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)