Flying into Wilmington Philadelphia Airport in Wilmington puts you in a great spot, surrounded by cities, towns, and attractions close by. Wilmington is Delaware's largest city, set where the Brandywine and Christina rivers meet, and it carries the stamp of the du Pont family in its gardens, museums, and mansions. The feel is small enough to park easily, polished enough for a good dinner, and ringed by rolling Brandywine Valley countryside.

Standout experiences around Wilmington: - Wander the 60-acre garden and American decorative arts collection at Winterthur - Tour the powder mills and du Pont family home at Hagley Museum along the Brandywine - See the mansion and formal French gardens of the Nemours Estate - Stroll the Riverwalk on the Christina with a Blue Rocks baseball game at Frawley Stadium - Admire Howard Pyle illustrations and Pre-Raphaelite paintings at the Delaware Art Museum - Hike or tube Brandywine Creek State Park - Eat and drink along Trolley Square and Little Italy - Shop tax-free, since Delaware charges no sales tax - Order a Bobbie, the turkey and cranberry sub Wilmington gave the world

Wilmington sits in the middle of a tight cluster of day trips. Philadelphia is 30 minutes up I-95, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square is about the same, and the cobbled colonial streets of Old New Castle are ten minutes south. Baltimore and the Pennsylvania Dutch country around Lancaster are each about 75 minutes away, and the Delaware beaches at Lewes and Rehoboth are under two hours. Try scrapple at breakfast, plan a spring visit when the valley gardens peak, and you will see why the locals rarely feel the need to leave.