Estates! Bridges! Gardens! All the Tours to Take in the Suburbs
Hit the road to discover a slice of history, greener pastures, and some artistic inspiration.
Take a grand tour in the Philly suburbs: Fonthill Castle’s dramatic exterior / Photograph via Visit Bucks County
Hit the road and tour the suburbs to discover bucolic barns, grand estates, and more.
Mansions
Fonthill Castle
Go on a guided stroll through Henry Chapman Mercer’s reinforced concrete medieval/Gothic/Byzantine castle that showcases his signature ceramic Moravian tiles. Doylestown, Bucks.
Lynnewood Hall
Park at the Ashbourne Road post office and gaze across the street to business mogul Peter A.B. Widener’s Gilded Age estate, designed by Horace Trumbauer in the late 1800s, where restoration is under way. Down the block, find Elkins Estate, another Trumbauer-designed mansion, which is open for private events. Elkins Park, Montco.
Hibernia Mansion
Weekend tours are available of Chester County’s English manor. The oldest section was built in 1767, and the decor is from 1924. Wagontown, Chesco.
Grey Towers Castle
At Arcadia University, sugar baron William Welsh Harrison’s castle features picturesque crenellated parapets outside and a Versailles-inspired mirrored ballroom inside. Call to book a visit. Glenside, Montco.
Ardrossan Estate
Drive (respectfully!) through a private community to peek at investment banker Robert Leaming Montgomery’s Georgian Revival mansion that famously inspired The Philadelphia Story. Villanova, Delco.
Barns & Farms
Highland Orchards
The best way to explore this farm’s vast acreage: a private hayride for up to 35 people. Book the hour-long experience online, or choose the campfire option, a 45-minute jaunt to a private campfire area, where you’ll have an hour to relax while staff tends to the flames. (Bring blankets and s’mores-making kits.) West Chester, Chesco.
Hellerick’s Adventure Farm
This 231-year-old property has evolved from a simple family farm into a wonderland for kids, with 18 acres of amusements like a climbing wall, an aerial ropes and zipline course, mini-golf, a tractor-tire playground, a corn maze, goat yoga, and more. Doylestown, Bucks.
Warwick Furnace Farm
Historic stone buildings dot the rolling hills of this rural lavender farm, which is also home to an art gallery, a farm store, and formal gardens. You’ll need an appointment to visit the grounds; private experiences include a lavender-cutting demonstration. Glenmoore, Chesco.
Bucks County Barn Tour
Take a scenic drive past more than a dozen historic barns with Heritage Conservancy’s Barn Voyage! self-guided tours, which guide you through the rustic back roads and countryside of Upper and Central Bucks.
Museums
The Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern / Photograph courtesy of Visit Philadelphia
Moravian Pottery & Tile Works
Another gift from Henry Chapman Mercer. Tour the magnificent grounds and workshop of his historic tile factory and “working museum,” where you can watch artisans craft the famous tiles. Make time to visit the nearby Mercer Museum while you’re there. Doylestown, Bucks.
George Nakashima Woodworker Complex
Walking into Nakashima’s artist’s compound, where the legendary woodworker, architect, and furniture-maker lived and worked — 15 buildings peppered across the lush grounds, accessible by private guided tours — is like stepping into another world. Tours are already sold out for the summer, but you can join the waitlist. New Hope, Bucks.
Andrew Wyeth Studio
Take a shuttle bus from the Brandywine Museum — a former gristmill that now houses thousands of pieces of regional and American art — to Wyeth’s longtime studio, a repurposed 1875 schoolhouse that still contains the renowned artist’s books, furnishings, and collections. Chadds Ford, Delco.
Wharton Esherick Museum
The artist’s dreamy hillside escape — a home and studio perched on Valley Forge Mountain — is now open for guided tours, which immerse you in his creative world. (Advance reservations required.) Malvern, Chesco.
Glencairn Museum
Themed tours grant you access to Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn’s medieval castle-style home — now a museum of religious art and history, including a collection of Swedenborgian works. Bryn Athyn, Montco.
Covered Bridges
Uhlerstown covered bridge / Photograph via Visit Bucks County
Bucks County
The Bucks County Covered Bridges Tour app loops you around bucolic farmland, passing through 12 historic covered bridges on a self-guided driving excursion. The eastern half, which takes about two and a half hours, begins in Washington Crossing before heading to New Hope’s Van Sant’s bridge, rumored to be haunted. You’ll eventually end up at Mood’s covered bridge in Perkasie, rebuilt after being destroyed by arson in 2004. Head home from here, or continue on the western loop back to Washington Crossing to see three more covered bridges, like Tyler State Park’s Schofield Ford bridge in Newtown, accessible only by foot. (Bring your camera.) Another option: Book a Bucks County Joyride, an off-road outing through the countryside in a Jeep Wrangler.
Brandywine Valley
The Chester County countryside is dotted with 13 covered bridges, all laid out on a helpful map on the Brandywine Valley website. A quick jaunt starts at Harmony Hill (also called the Gibson bridge), which crosses the east branch of Brandywine Creek. Then go to Bartram covered bridge in Newtown Square, spanning Delaware and Chester counties. (As it’s the last remaining covered bridge in Delco, Bartram is closed to traffic, but there’s a small lookout point nearby where you can stop to get a better view.) End up at Valley Forge National Historical Park’s Knox bridge, Chesco’s most photographed covered bridge.
Gardens
A summer Friday at Longwood Gardens / Photograph by Becca Mathias for Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens
Here’s what to see at the beloved Longwood Gardens in Chester County — recently named one of the 100 best places in the world to visit by Time magazine — after its massive $250 million renovation and expansion.
Longwood Gardens / Rendering: Weiss/Manfredi; icons by James Olstein
The centerpiece of the transformed Longwood Gardens is, without question, the West Conservatory (1), a 32,000-square-foot glasshouse that evokes a cathedral made from crystal. The glasshouse is filled with flowers and greenery from all over the world, set amid stone paths, fountains, and an atmosphere that promotes reflection and relaxation. If you’re walking around the conservatory and notice a smell that seems to be a mixture of mint, thyme, and oregano, that would be the Prostanthera rotundifolia, native to Australia. Sorry, but you can’t grow it outside around here. Just down from the West Conservatory sits the new home of the Cascade Garden (2), the work of renowned Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. It debuted in 1993, and it is now his only design still in existence on this continent. Preservationists spent years moving and restoring the garden, which immerses you in a tropical rainforest complete with lush flora and waterfalls. The bonsai at Longwood have long been a favorite of visitors, and the outdoor Bonsai Courtyard (3) showcases the collection of tiny trees, some more than a century old. Many of the bonsai sit on handcrafted cypress shelves mounted on yakisugi, or charred wood. For a bounty of water lilies and other aquatic plants, immerse yourself in the revitalized Waterlily Court (4), a staple of any Longwood Gardens visit since 1957. Want dinner with a view? It’s hard to do better than Longwood’s fine-dining restaurant 1906 (5), now in a different (upgraded!) location as part of the expansion project. The dining room’s tall windows overlook Longwood’s iconic Main Fountain Garden (6). And though not quite as new — it reopened in 2022 after an extensive restoration of its own — the Orchid House (7) showcases hundreds of the gorgeous namesake flowers. And the exhibit changes from one week to the next, so chances are you haven’t seen it yet. Kennett Square, Chesco.
Chanticleer Garden / Photograph by Jeff Fusco for Visit Philly
Chanticleer Garden
There’s a romantic wildness to Wayne’s 35-acre pleasure garden. Seek out the bulb meadow, pond garden (a kid favorite), stone ruin, and sunny gravel garden. Summer Friday nights welcome picnickers. Wayne, Delco.
PHS Meadowbrook Farm
With free admission, this florist’s former estate is a hidden treasure. Clear your mind by the serene pool and be sure to return often, as gardeners swap out plants seasonally. Meadowbrook, Montco.
Andalusia Historic House, Gardens, and Arboretum
This estate’s plot has been growing along the Delaware River for 200-plus years. Meander through beautifully landscaped pathways and formal gardens — and if you’re lucky, find the weeping willow with tables hidden underneath. Pack a picnic! Bensalem, Bucks.
Tyler Arboretum
Tyler rambles across 650 acres with something for everyone, but especially families. Kids will love the tree houses, the Edible Garden, and the hands-on Fragrant Garden with herbs that smell like pizza and pineapple. Media, Delco.
Scott Arboretum
Described as a “garden of ideas,” Swarthmore College’s free on-campus arboretum aims to inspire hobbyist planters with ideas for their home landscapes. You’ll encounter lots of native trees, shrubs, and flowers. Swarthmore, Delco.
Stoneleigh
There’s no cost to explore Stoneleigh, a natural garden that emphasizes biodiversity, rainwater management, and plant-filtered water features. Don’t miss the century-old Circle Garden, which often hosts live performances and special events. Villanova, Montco.
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Published as “Over the River and Through the Woods” and “Growth Spurt” in the June 2025 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
