things to do in Delaware (Dover, New Castle: where to stay, best hotel, house)

[maestro]

hello all,

I am contemplating doing a bed-and-breakfast somewhere in Delaware on 10/25-10/26. I'm still figuring out where to stay, but in addition to that I need to find a town or place to explore during the day on 10/25. I don't know a thing about Delaware other than it's not too far from my home in SE Pennsylvania.

Any suggested itineraries? It would be me and my wife, we are in our early 30's.

thanks.

[SXMGirl]

It really depends on where in Delaware you want to visit. The city of Old New Castle has a B&B, as do Dover and the beach area. Please provide an idea of the activities that you want. If you are in SE PA, you have probably already been to the local places such as Hagley, Brandywine River Museum, Winterthur, Longwood Gardens, etc.

[ebuch]

Best bet would be going down to the beaches especially now since it won't be as crowded. Nothing upstate that will differ from where you are now.

[Joe84323]

The Inn at Montchanin

Google it.

[maestro]

Originally Posted by SXMGirl

It really depends on where in Delaware you want to visit. The city of Old New Castle has a B&B, as do Dover and the beach area. Please provide an idea of the activities that you want. If you are in SE PA, you have probably already been to the local places such as Hagley, Brandywine River Museum, Winterthur, Longwood Gardens, etc.

maybe a cute little walkable town for window shopping or restaurants. Maybe a tour of an old historic building or home. Something like that.

[SXMGirl]

Old New Castle is a lovely little town as long as you stay in town. It has the cobblestone streets and some historic sites but not too many. Battery Park is right on the river and is very nice. Don't go there after dark. Some good restaurants but you usually need reservations for dinner. You can catch a show at the DuPont Theatre, which is about a 15 minute drive.

[doctorjef]

I second the Inn at Montchanin. You can drive around the whole small, lovely Montchanin-Greenville-Centreville area and do a tour of Winterthur. You could also visit Hagley or, if you make reservations ahead of time, Nemours, which is now open again after a multi-million dollar restoration project. All of these are Dupont homes. Winterthur is on incredibly lovely grounds and contains an enormous collection of American antiques dating back to the 1600's. The Hagley estate includes the fascinating gun powder mills dating back to the very beginning of the 19th Century as well as the first Dupont home in America. Another Dupont estate that may be open - again reservations will be required for this one - is Mount Cuba, which occupies an incredible natural venue in the hills of Northern DE and which specialises in the preservation and cultivation of native wildflower species in natural gardens (the house itself has been turned into a conference centre and offices, so isn't really anything to see, other than its beautiful exterior). I'd recommend googling all of these places if this piques your interest at all. You can have a wonderful, expensive but extremely polished dinner at Krazy Kats, which is next to the Inn at Montchanin, and you could visit Buckley's Tavern in Centreville for a meal. For less atmospheric but still enjoyable food and drink I'd commend Pizza By Elizabeths in Greenville; also Cromwell's Tavern in Greenville.

[doctorjef]

Another option but considerably farther south, Lewes is the oldest settlement in Delaware and is an extraordinarily picturesque place, looking very East Coast, almost New England. The Buttery is a charming and delicious restaurant there, and I've heard great things about the little wine bar-pizza place called Half-Full. I'm taking a friend from England down to Rehoboth on the 25th and will probably be attending church on the 26th in Lewes at St Peter's Episcopal, where on that day the organist-choirmaster from Canterbury Cathedral, who will be visiting, will be conducting the choir at the 10.00 Eucharist. Lewes has charming shops, a nice little beach on the Delaware Bay (the southernmost point of the Bay, actually, just before it opens up into the Atlantic coastline), and lovely old homes and historic buildings, some of which date back to the 17th century. If you're interested in that, you again can do a google search and see what you think. There's a small hotel on the canal there, between the town and the beach - can't recall the name, but very nice accomodation.

[eastcoastblunder]

I agree with the Lewes suggestion. It's easy to get around. A variety of things to go and see. Great food. Reasonable off season prices and it's just gorgeous with all the water. It's got a nice downtown with shopping and places to check out. Good variety of excellent restaurants. I'd take your bikes too if you have them because your minutes from the park with lots of water around.

[doctorjef]

I just wanted to say that should you decide to spend the weekend at Rehoboth Beach, which I wouldn't necessarily recommend for the trip you seem to have in mind, a good place to stay is the Bellmoor Hotel. IMO it's the best hotel in Rehoboth. It's basically a very posh B&B. The nicest rooms are on the 4th floor, the Club level. They don't allow anyone under 21 up there, so it's very quiet. The furnishings of the hotel and guest rooms (at least I can vouch for the 4th fl. rms) are lovely. They have a nice buffet breakfast in the morning, in beautiful surroundings, and they serve tea in the late afternoon. There are, of course, numerous restaurants of all kinds and calibres in Rehoboth, as well as some nice shops -- galleries, decorator studios/exclusive home furnishings, etc. Rehoboth has a completely mixed or diverse character as far as its patronage, but I will throw in that my silly neighbor from Pittsburgh found it "too gay" (his implication was that it is almost exclusively so, which is very far from reality). I tried to challenge this misperception before realising that the guy must have issues. Anyway, if that's the case for anyone, be warned -- there's an actual gay presence in Rehoboth Beach, along with every other population group on the East Coast.