Winterthur Museum and Garden

Henry Francis du Pont collected American furniture and decorative arts from the 1920s at a time when European objects were what wealthy Americans bought, and he did it by the room: buying whole panelled interiors out of houses being demolished and installing them, then furnishing each to a period and region. The result is about a hundred and seventy-five rooms holding some ninety thousand objects made or used in America between 1640 and 1860. He kept building until the house had nine floors. The estate also carries a naturalistic garden of about sixty acres, planted for a long succession of bloom, and a research library that trains conservators through a joint programme with the University of Delaware.

What you actually see

• About 175 period rooms - many installed as whole salvaged interiors.
• Some ninety thousand American objects - from 1640 to 1860.
• A naturalistic garden - planted for successive bloom.
• A conservation training programme - run with the university.

When to go

April to October for the garden; the house is open year round. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The house is by guided tour and the standard tour covers only a fraction of the rooms. Deeper tours cost more and book ahead. The garden is at its best in a narrow spring window. A car is necessary.

Nearby

Longwood Gardens is north; Wilmington is south-east.