Tours
"My brother and sister will be enchanted with this place!"
Fine old houses richly furnished, museums that hold many treasures, and historical parks, situated in a wonderfully walkable city should delight conference attendees. Tours in the city and surrounding counties are offered to those with a mind to explore.
Note: Attendees should bear in mind when making lodging and travel accommodations that tours could be canceled or altered, depending on the number who sign up for each tour. Every effort will be made to hold to the proposed schedule. Only one tour, the Historic Walking Tour, is repeated; other tours are offered on the days indicated. Prices will be posted at a later date.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A Tour of Winterthur Museum and Country Estate - Full Day Tour
The JASNA tour will offer an exploration of Winterthur at its fullest: the Galleries and Special Exhibitions, the Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens, the garden, including the Garden Tram and Enchanted Wood, and a one hour Elegant Entertaining™ Tour. During the Elegant Entertaining™ Tour, you will enjoy an array of beautiful rooms used by the du Ponts for their private parties and gatherings. Not-to-be-missed is the hand-painted 18th century wallpaper in the Chinese Parlor and the stunning two-story Montmorenci staircase. Note: A private lunch will be served during the tour.
Walking Tour of Historic Philadelphia - Afternoon Tour
Since Philadelphia is best seen by walkers, this tour is an excellent way to explore America's Birthplace; the tour will take you behind the scenes to places where other tours cannot venture. Get up close with a High-Definition Historical Experience™ and see more than 20 historic sites in a two and a half hour walking journey. By special arrangement for the Jane Austen Society of North America, an inside tour of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center will be included. Note: This two and a half hour tour covers a great deal of ground and is designed for very good walkers. Walkers with Anne Elliot's delicate constitution should consider taking a different tour. This tour is also available Friday morning.
Friday, October 9, 2009
A Tour of Rodin Museum - Morning Tour
The Rodin Museum houses the largest collection of masterpieces by French sculptor Auguste Rodin outside of Paris. Its holdings include bronze casts of the artist's greatest works: The Thinker, perhaps the most famous sculpture in the world; The Burghers of Calais, a heroic and moving historical tribute; Eternal Springtime, a lyrical work dealing with human love; and The Gates of Hell, a powerful, dramatic sculpture on which the artist worked from 1880 until his death in 1917.
Walking Tour of Historic Philadelphia - Morning Tour
Since Philadelphia is best seen by walkers, this tour is an excellent way to explore America's Birthplace; the tour will take you behind the scenes to places where other tours cannot venture. Get up close with a High-Definition Historical Experience™ and see more than 20 historic sites in a two and a half hour walking journey. By special arrangement for the Jane Austen Society of North America, an inside tour of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center will be included. Note: This two and a half hour tour covers a great deal of ground and is designed for very good walkers. Walkers with Anne Elliot's delicate constitution should consider taking a different tour. This tour is also available Thursday afternoon.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A Tour of the Philadelphia Museum of Art & the Perelman Costume Annex - Afternoon Tour
JASNA members will have a private one-hour Highlights Tour of the Museum's main building, followed by some time to explore on their own. During the Highlights Tour, you will discover some of the museum's most noteworthy treasures, spanning a variety of ages and genres. Later in the afternoon, the group will visit the Perelman Museum, the museum's new costume annex. The Perelman Museum is located across from the museum's main building, behind an exquisitely preserved Art Deco façade. Some of the museum's costume collection has been placed on display at the annex for the first time.
A Walking Tour of Philadelphia's Architectural Gems in Old City - Afternoon Tour
Explore colonial Philadelphia and walk some of its original streets. See famous Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously occupied residential street in the United States, and experience the walking/mercantile city, as well as a later generation of Victorian structures. Learn how this area remained the center of Philadelphia's commercial, retail and governmental activities until the city finally moved "westward" to Center Square in the mid/late 19th century. Note: The tour's duration is two hours and is designed for very good walkers. Walkers with Anne Elliot’s delicate constitution should consider taking a different tour.
National Constitution Center Tour - Afternoon Tour
Visit The National Constitution Center, an independent, non-partisan, and non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for, the Constitution, its history, and its contemporary relevance. Through an interactive, interpretive display within Independence National Historical Park and a program of national outreach, you will learn about the constitution so that We the People may better secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.
This is a self-guided tour which includes a timed admission ticket to the Freedom Rising Theater. The National Constitution Center is located two blocks from the hotel.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Bucks County Writers' Tour of The Michener Museum & Pearl S. Buck's Country Estate - Full Day Tour
The tour takes participants to beautiful Bucks County, Pennsylvania, first to the historic home of Pearl Buck and then to the James A. Michener Museum in downtown Doylestown. In 1988, the James A. Michener Art Museum opened as an independent, non-profit cultural institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting and exhibiting the art and cultural heritage of the Bucks County region. The museum is named for Doylestown's most famous son, the Pulitzer-Prize winning writer and supporter of the arts who had first dreamed of a regional art museum in the early 1960s.
The Pearl S. Buck House promotes the legacy of Pearl S. Buck by preserving and interpreting her National Historic Landmark home to educate the public and develop cross-cultural appreciation, opportunities for children and families, and worldwide partnerships. The Pearl S. Buck House was home to Pearl S. Buck and her international family for 38 years. Today, it is only one of ten National Historic Landmarks open to the public in the United States that educates the public about a woman's contribution to society through a house with an intact collection. Note: Lunch is included and will be served at the PSB Cultural Center.
Chester County Arts & Garden Tour of Brandywine River Museum and Longwood Gardens - Full Day Tour
In the morning, visit the Brandywine River Museum, known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of the Wyeth family and its outstanding collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting. Note: Lunch will be included and served at the Terrace at Longwood Gardens, the world's premier horticultural display garden.
In 1906, Pierre S. du Pont purchased the Peirce Arboretum to save its trees from being cut for lumber. For over 50 years, Mr. du Pont developed Longwood Gardens into a magnificent horticultural showplace with Italian gardens, the Conservatory which houses the Orangery and the Orchid Room, and countless exotic plants and trees. Explore Pierre du Pont's legacy of 1,050 acres of gardens, over 11,000 types of plants, and more fountains than any other garden in the United States.
Photo credits: Winterthur photos courtesy of Winterthur Museum & Country Estate; Liberty Bell photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC; Rodin Museum photo M. Stewart for GPTMC; Michener Art Museum photo courtesy of James A. Michener Art Museum; Longwood Gardens photo courtesy of Longwood Gardens.