— One of three items about places to visit this holiday season: Longwood Gardens, New York and of course, Bethlehem —
Dec. 16, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
With Christmas just eight days away, there are still opportunities to make some short seasonal trips.
Today, a quick look at Longwood Gardens, the Chester County farm that Pierre du Pont turned into an estate and garden. Pierre led the family company, DuPont, and later was president of General Motors.
Longwood is about 90 minutes from the center of the Lehigh Valley. The gardens, inside and outside, cover about 200 acres, and the annual Christmas display draws big crowds. That’s why it’s important to get timed tickets. See this link for information. Don’t show up and expect to walk in without tickets.
Even members need tickets for the Christmas display.
I recommend arriving around 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and seeing the gardens during the day and after sunset. The look is very different once the sun goes down, even in the conservatories.
We were there on Nov. 21, the first day the display was open. Crowds were flooding in around 6:30 p.m. as we were about to leave. There is room for everybody because of the ticket policy, but it was much less crowded in the late afternoon.
The grounds are easy to navigate for avid walkers, and people who don’t want to make a long stroll can spend most of their time at the conservatories and near the du Pont house.
Most of the main gardens are accessible to people in wheelchairs. See the guidlines for visitors at this link.
There are several dining options. We had dinner with wine pairings at the 1906 restaurant (du Pont bought what became Longwood in 1906) under the conservatory and overlooking the main fountain garden, which is closed for the season.
The good news: the food and setting is great. The bad news, reservations can be hard to get. The menu is prix fixe for the Christmas season, with lots of options for each course and vegetarian choices.
It’s not cheap, starting at $95 for the three-course menu, plus $60 for the optional wine pairing.
Longwood also has a casual cafe, which has lots of choices and there are other options in the Beer Garden.
So for people who like gardens and don’t mind walking around outside, Longwood Gardens is a great stop. Not far away is the Brandywine Museum of Art, which is mostly a Wyeth museum, near some of the former Wyeth homes.
Another du Pont estate, Winterthur, is not far away in Delaware and worth a visit.
Caveats: check on ticket availability and get them before making the trip. The 1906 restaurant requires reservations and they are hard to get, but the other food options are good.
One caveat: Driving to Longwood from the Lehigh Valley is a 90-minute or longer trip, and the last few miles are spent either on country roads or Route 1.
And most of all: Do not show up for the Christmas display without timed tickets. Check for availability before driving south to Kennett Square.
The gardens can be great kids and there is an outdoor train display, but it’s a long day for little ones. Be prepared.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 