Interlude Tours: Luxury Travel to Winterthur from Indianapolis
We have a real treat of a tour ready for those looking for relaxation, rejuvenation, and a great American Christmas experience!
The tour:
Holiday Traditions in Pennsylvania: Philadelphia – Brandywine Valley – Bethlehem – Hershey
November 28-December 5, 2009 (8 days, 7 nights)
Guaranteed departure
All-coach escorted vacation (no flying)
One place you’ll be visiting is the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, which has several fascinating points of interest. First, it is simply a beautiful old mansion and estate to tour. Second, it has perhaps the greatest collection of Americana in the country, and at Christmas it is gloriously decorated. According to Wikipedia,
Winterthur Museum and Country Estate is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware, now housing one of the most important collections of Americana in the country. It was the former home of Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969), a renowned antiques collector and horticulturist.
There are 175 period-room displays in the museum and approximately 85,000 objects. Most rooms are open to the public on small, guided tours. The collection spans more than two centuries of American decorative arts, notably from 1640 to 1860, and contains some of the most important pieces of American furniture and fine art. The Winterthur Library and Research Center includes more than 87,000 volumes and approximately 500,000 manuscripts and images, mostly related to American history, decorative arts, and architecture. The facility also houses extensive conservation, research, and education facilities.
Needless, to say, you will be going on a “small, guided tour” of the estate with an expert guide!
The official Winterthur website has a nice online period rooms tour page with lots of additional information:
Winterthur is a unique surviving example of a great American country house of the early 1900s. At that time, wealthy Americans used their fortunes to develop great estates on large tracts of land. They built grand houses where they entertained friends in lavish style and in which they amassed extraordinary collections of fine art.
Winterthur, however, is just one of many places you’ll visit on your tour, which also includes…
- A tour of QVC, the online and on-TV shopping powerhouse. You’ll get an excellent tour of the studio and be able shop for Christmas at the actual bricks-and-mortar QVC store.
- A visit to Longwood Gardens, one of the greatest botanical gardens in the US–all exquisitely decorated for Christmas.
- A grand tour of patriotic locations in Philadelphia, including the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall.
- A visit to Reading Terminal Market.
- A tour of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for a truly rare and spectacular day of old-time American Christmas culture.
- A visit to Hershey’s Chocolate World.
- Wonderful meals, musical entertainment, and much more. Please see your itinerary for further details.
It’s quite the Christmas tour, and you and your S.O. or friends are really going to love it! Now is a very good time to sign up, as spots are limited. We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.
Photo by Ram-Man; used with permission.
–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team
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Tags: christmas tour, winterthur
