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ABOUT DELAWARE

DELAWARE draws 12 million-plus visitors a year with its picturesque scenery, sandy shores, colonial history, its museums and performing arts, culture-rich Brandywine Valley, and of course, its tax-free shopping. Delaware's compact size means you can view the world’s most extensive collection of early American furniture and decorative arts, learn to cook over an open fire, visit more than 150 tax-free outlets, and see a world renowned dance troupe perform .... all in one day. Delaware’s natural beauty, one reason Thomas Jefferson dubbed it “the Diamond State,” is its most prized possession. More than 25 miles of sandy beach, peaceful waterways, and vast nature preserves create the perfect setting for wildlife watching and enjoying the great outdoors.

The towns of BETHANY BEACH, SOUTH BETHANY, FENWICK ISLAND and the surrounding areas, nestled between the ocean and the bays of the Delaware coast, are known as the "Quiet Resorts".

Among the attractions of the river-front DELAWARE CITY is the Fort Delaware State Park, a Civil War-era prison fort.

The state's capital, DOVER, dates back to the late 1600s; attractions include the Dover Downs International Speedway for NASCAR and harness racing, a tour of the world's largest cargo plane at Dover Air Force Base and the Air Mobility Command Museum; the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village reflects 200 years of farm life; the John Dickinson Plantation is the home of the Penman of the Revolution, and the Archaeology Museum has exhibits on archaeology, native Americans and small town life; the Capital Complex, at the center of Delaware's government buildings, was laid out in 1717 in accordance with William Penn’s orders of 1683; Constitution Park is a mini park dedicated to the Constitution of the United States, and Old State House is an 18th century courtroom and legislative camber.

HARRINGTON is home to the State Fair.

LEWES is a beach resort where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Henlopen; Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is open for self-guided tours; the cannonball that struck The Cannonball House in 1812 is still visible in the foundation of the house which now contains a marine museum. Tradition holds that the 13-star Stars and Stripes was first unfurled at the Revolutionary War battle at Coochs Bridge, NEWARK.

There are some 12 museums in NEW CASTLE, among them the 18th century Amstel House Museum with complete colonial kitchen and the Old Dutch House which celebrates the 1651 founding of New Castle by the Dutch; the Old Library Museum is an example of fanciful Victorian architecture and the Old New Castle Court House was built in 1732. Outstanding surviving examples of early Delaware architecture, the Historic Houses of ODESSA are 23 miles south of Wilmington. REHOBOTH BEACH/DESEY BEACH, the largest of the three Delaware seashore areas, has been popular since the 1870s. Popular attractions in SMYRNA include Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge which comprises 15,978 acres, about three-quarters of which is tidal salt marsh.

The Delaware History Center in downtown WILMINGTON is a good place to get to know Delaware overall – it includes the Delaware History Museum, Old Town Hall and Willingtown Square and is a short walk from the Christina Riverfront and First USA Riverfront Arts Center. Other major Wilmington/Brandywine Valley attractions include the Tall Ship Kalmar Nyckel, the elaborately carved, full-size recreation of the ship that brought the first permanent Old World settlers to the Delaware Valley in 1638, the Hendrickson House (1690) and Old Swedes Church (1698), Hagley Museum, the original E.I. du Pont Powder Mills and Mansion (1802), the Delaware Art Museum, home of the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite art outside Britain, and the Nemours Mansion & Gardens; the Winterthur Museum & Gardens houses the du Pont collection of American antiques and decorative arts.