Start from 27 curated places around Wilmington, DE, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Bardea Food & Drink
The restaurant that put modern Wilmington dining on the map — a contemporary Italian-American kitchen with a commitment to local sourcing that extends to the pasta, the proteins, and the cocktail botanicals. The chef earned James Beard recognition and the menu reflects the kind of confidence that comes from knowing exactly what you're trying to do. The space is warm and urbane with a crowd that dresses up but doesn't put on a show.
Bardea Steak
The Bardea group's second act is a wood-fired steakhouse that pushes against the traditional chop-house formula — uncommon cuts, creative sides, and a wine list selected by people who think about wine. The same local-sourcing ethos from the original carries over here. The dining room is louder and more celebratory in tone than its sibling.
Trails & outdoors
Brandywine Creek State Park Trails
14 miles of trails through the Brandywine Valley northwest of Wilmington, crossing historic stone walls built by DuPont estate workers and passing through the only existing stand of the state champion tulip poplar trees. The park runs along Brandywine Creek with several access points and connects to neighboring nature reserves. The geology and cultural history make it more interesting than a typical suburban trail system.
Alapocas Run State Park
A linear greenway along Brandywine Creek and Alapocas Run within Wilmington's city limits, with walking and biking trails through hardwood forest and past distinctive blue gneiss rock outcroppings. The park includes a nationally recognized rock climbing area on the creek bank that draws technical climbers from across the mid-Atlantic.
Things to do
The Playhouse on Rodney Square
Wilmington's premier performing arts venue, a 1927 DuPont-built theater on Rodney Square that has hosted Broadway touring productions, major dance companies, and classical music for nearly a century. The interior is a DuPont-era showpiece of marble and gilded detail. The programming calendar runs September through May.
Wilmington Blue Rocks at Frawley Stadium
Wilmington's minor league baseball team — a Washington Nationals affiliate — plays a full season at downtown Frawley Stadium on the riverfront. The stadium is intimate, the tickets are cheap, and the summer evening atmosphere along the Christina is genuinely pleasant. Local families, office groups, and baseball diehards all find something to like.
Landmarks & sights
Hagley Museum and Library
The birthplace of the DuPont Company on the banks of the Brandywine River — a restored 19th-century industrial complex of powder mills, workers' housing, and the original E.I. du Pont family estate. The grounds cover 235 acres and the exhibits trace the full arc from black powder manufacturing to modern chemical industry. One of the more substantive industrial history museums in the country.
Delaware Art Museum
Wilmington's major art museum with a collection of over 12,000 works organized around three strengths: American Illustration (the Bancroft collection of Pre-Raphaelite art is nationally significant), the Howard Pyle school of American illustration, and contemporary American art. The building was expanded in 2005 and the galleries have good natural light. The sculpture garden is a quiet city secret.