This Overlooked Delaware City Has a Food Scene That Rivals Philadelphia

With excellent restaurants and top-notch museums, Wilmington is a must-visit road trip destination.

Delaware — our tax - barren neighbor to the south , the first state to ratify the Constitution , and the home of our current chairwoman — is an oft - overlookedroad head trip destination . No shade , but with loads of worthy spots to explore to the westward and northward ( see : Lancaster , thePoconos , theJersey Shore , andNew York ) , sometimes Philadelphians block about the flyspeck state that borders Pennsylvania .

But Wilmington , the state ’s enceinte city , is a rapidly grow hotbed for food , entertainment , and al fresco enjoyment any time of year . And even better , it ’s less than an hr by from Philly by auto ( and even closer to 30 minute of arc if you nullify dealings ) . So if you ’re itching to get out of town , make this crack easy trip and try the watch restaurants , hotel , theatre , and other Joe Biden - approved spots in Wilmington , Delaware .

Eat your way through the city

With a restaurant fit that rivals our own , Wilmington has no dearth of slayer restaurants and bars from all - star chef . Bryan Sikora is perhaps the metropolis ’s most proclaim chef and restaurateur , so his eating place are all desirable of a visit . Check out the Market Street keystone , La Fia , for bistro fare or craft cocktail barsCrow BarandMerchant Barfor on - point drinks , charcuterie control panel , and elevated bar fare .

Longtime Philadelphia restaurateur Scott Stein and chef Antimo DiMeo are behindBardea Food & Drink , a top - notch restaurant serving up imaginative Italian menu . For a fashionable environment and modernistic Gallic fare , head to Hotel Du Pont’sLe Cavalier , headed up by another Philly transplantation , Tyler Akin , of Stock and Res Ipsa renown . Plus , a Modern addition to the metropolis ’s restaurant panorama , Snuff Mill Butcher , is a adorable point to try out heart , cheese , and other constituent all sourced locally .

If you ’re in search of a more casual patch to grab lunch , Wilmington has you covered there , too . GiveDE.CO , a nutrient student residence with eight cubicle that cover pizza pie , sushi , Gallus gallus and waffles , and more , andRiverfront Market , with Thai , sushi , and taco options , a endeavor .

Le Cavalier at the Green Room

Le Cavalier at the Green Room

When it add up clock time for a drink , Torbert Street Social ’s space in a stable from 1887 is a historical fleck to unwind with cocktail or a drink from the extensive whiskey , beer , and wine lists .

Get your museum fix

Wilmington and the surrounding expanse is home to a whole host of museums . There ’s theDelaware Art Museum , which has a permanent collection that includes American art from pre - Revolution through the 1960s , British pre - Raphaelites , modern-day prowess , sculpture , and more . For more advanced works , check outDelaware Contemporary , where local artists are often on display . TheDelaware Museum of Nature and Science(formerly know as the Delaware Museum of Natural History ) is reopening in May , and the space ’s collections have a magnanimous focus on birds and mollusks .

If you desire to see how the nineteenth and twentieth century ’s other half lived , check out a trio of demesne once occupy by members of the uber - loaded du Pont family . Tour theNemours Estate , a luxurious mansion and formal French gardens , when it reopens on April 1 ; theHagley Museum and Library , the patrimonial home and gardens of the du Pont kinsperson and powder yards ; andWinterthur Museum , Garden and Library , the 175 - room owned by Henry Francis du Pont that houses nearly 90,000 artifacts from as far back as 1640 .

Bring your beer game

What would an out - of - township visit be without brewery hopping ? taste your style through brew with fun names like Drunkel Dunkel , Seek & Destroy , and Children of the Grave atStitch House Brewery . The first craft brewery in a Delaware casino,1937 Brewingowes its name to the year the commonwealth ’s horse racecourse opened and its unostentatious potable and intellectual nourishment menu will have you feel at menage . With two locations in Wilmington , Bellefonte Brewing Companyoffers an orange pick ale , a Kolsch , and IPAs on draft year - round . The metropolis ’s only production brewery , Wilmington Brew Works , is domiciliate in a 100 - class - sometime former factory . In their taproom , you could ordain IPAs , Irish oatmeal stouts , dunkels , and more .

If someone in your gang like to rove from beer , Liquid Alchemy Beverageshas a huge selection of mead and cider . Their award - winning George Herbert Mead are bourbon , brandy , and snare - drum aged and their also award - winning cyder are made with local apples .

See a show

From theater to medicine venues , Wilmington ’s performing fine art space provide showgoers an option to Philly ’s offering . AtWilmington Theatre Company , you’re able to see professional field along the riverfront with maneuver like “ Brighton Beach Memoirs ” on deck for the coming months . UnderThe Grand fine art organisation , professional Broadway show , ballets , comedians , and bands number to venues Copeland Hall , The Baby Grand , and The Playhouse . revel dinner and a show atThe Candlelight Theater , where all ticket include a table religious service meal . Touring stripe , saltation party , and puff brunches populate the show calendar atThe Queen , a former hotel turned picture theater .

Hit the great outdoors

With most a dozen green and recreation areas , Wilmington ’s green spaces are staring for cast away a frisbee or picnicking . Go rope climbing and rappelling atAlapocas Run State Park , stroll along the Brandywine River atBrandywine Park , cast through marshland at the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge , or marvel at horses sashay through the meadow atCarousel Park & Equestrian Center . TheChristiana Riverfrontis easily walkable thanks to the 1.3 - mileRiverwalk , take visitors by ft from Tubman - Garrett Riverfront Park to the Shipyard Shops , and extend to the du Pont Environmental Education Center and Markell Trail . In warmer calendar month , get very intimate with the river ona public cruise circuit .

Get the Joe Biden experience

Though he was hold in Pennsylvania , Delaware is the state Biden made his life history , calibrate from the University of Delaware , representing the state in the Senate , and still owning property there today . Take a DIY Biden tour , make stops at theUniversity of Delaware ; theDelaware Technical & Community College , where Jill Biden was a professor ; theAmtrak station named after him ; and some of therestaurants he frequents : Bardea Food & Drink , Cafe Verdi , Walt ’s Flavor Crisp Chicken Express , and more .

Learn a thing or two about Delaware’s history

Aside from the whole “ first state to ratify the US Constitution ” thing , Delaware has a rich and wide-ranging history , with many sites in Wilmington . One of the most popular activeness is taking a drive on theWilmington & Western Railroad , first chartered in 1867 , for a 10 - nautical mile trip through Delaware ’s countryside .

you’re able to trace Harriet Tubman ’s journeying northwards to exemption through Delaware on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway . The 125 - mile driving tour begins in Maryland , where she was have a bun in the oven , but include theNew Castle Courthouse Museumand theTubman - Garrett Riverfront Park , honoring Tubman and fellow Underground Railroad agent Thomas Garrett .

Or climb aboard theKalmar Nyckel , a replica of the colonial ship which brought over European colonist who founded New Sweden in the 1600s . Among those colonist ’s first rules of order of business was to establish a church , a fort , and the like . The church and its inhumation flat coat still stand today and areopen for spell . A few century later , Fort Delawarewas build as a Civil War prison house in 1859 . Visit the garrison when it reopens in the spring to learn about what life-time was like on base during the Civil War and for tours of the barracks , officer ’ one-quarter , and more .

Bardea Food & Drink

Bardea Food & Drink

Stay over in style

Make a weekend of your trip to Wilmington and book smart lodgment . Hotel du Pont(there ’s those du Ponts again ) was once the HQ of the du Pont Company when it give in 1913 . These years , the Gilded Age glamor remain with European chandelier , hand - carved wood , and terrazzo floors . With riverfront views and complimentary shuttling , theWestin Wilmingtonis an excellent bet for solid hospitality . A Harlan Stone ’s throw off is theHyatt Place WilmingtonRiverfront also provides easy access code to riverfront attractions and sleek , minimalist rooms .

Nemours Estate