Winterthur Museum and Country Estate551

Winterthur Museum and Country Estate provides a majestic place to walk, stroll, and entertain the kids.

The spot to hit is the Enchanted Woods, a three-acre children's garden with a fairy-tale design. It features a Faerie Cottage, Acorn Tearoom, and Tulip Tree House, all organized to encourage creative play - and indeed it does! The highlight of the visit is usually the Forbidden Fairy Ring which is a circle of mushrooms that send out a gentle spray of mist when someone steps into it. The Troll Bridge and lots of little canals and statues never fail to delight children of all ages.

Among the other garden areas, open fields and small paths abound, appealing to the explorer in every child. Be sure to pick up the garden map at the information stand. There are paths to stroll along within the gardens, and a thirty minute tram ride tour of the grounds is available.

Within the museum, there are many areas that will appeal to children, including tours of the period rooms and discussions on how children once lived within the house. Kids can journey to days gone by and imagine what daily life was like in the past in the Touch-It Room, a hands-on area for children of all ages. The Touch-It Room is open on Saturdays and Sundays year-round from 12:30pm to 4:30pm; Tuesday through Friday from 12:30pm to 4:30pm from June to August, and from 2:30pm to 4:30pm September to December and March to May.

For the especially curious, the Once Upon a Family tour introduces children to the Winterthur Estate as the home of the du Pont family. While exploring the mansion and grounds of the family home, participants learn from a guide about what it was like to live there at the turn of the century. The tour, designed for families with children ages four to 12, costs $5 per person.

Dining is plentiful and cash and credit cards are accepted. The Cappuccino Cafe offers gourmet coffee, tea, cold beverages, salads, soups, sandwiches, and baked goods. The Pavilion offers cafeteria style dining, including hot entrees, pasta, soups, desserts, and beverages.