Elegant former estate with beautiful walking gardens. Take a picnic lunch, bring some wine, and enjoy a good afternoon on the grounds. Admission is very reasonable with memberships available for frequent guests. Ample parking and minutes from downtown Wayne. Highly recommended. read more

Amazing, amazing garden. We love it every time we go! Definitely prefer it to Longwood -- it feels more magical and intimate. Longwood is too big and way more expensive. Good price for a beautiful place. Wish they were open more of the year. read more

Spectacular. There's nothing else to say. But because this is a review I'll say some more. They've made some great improvements with a new wheelchair accessible trail right from the start which serpentines down with spectacular views over the central portion of the gardens. Still my favorite spots are the ruins combined with the Asian area which leads into a walk along a winding waterway. This place is not to modd read more

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Amazing place Brought the kids here free 10bucks each for the adults Nice stroll right after breakfast The gardens are a sight to see...coolest part is when the kids pointed out different plants they had never seen.....I have never seen as well read more

Chanticleer Foundation - Mansion - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Wayne, Pennsylvania

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Amazing reaffirmation of the great things we have to enjoy even in this tough covid era. Simple & beautiful, with a perfect length main path & side areas if you want to explore. Helpful & relaxed staff as well. Thx for a great afternoon. read more

Still the BEST garden in the country from my landscape architects perspective. It reminds so much if the Arts snd Crafts estate gardens in the English Cotswold region. Its relatable where many display gardens simply are not. The horticulturists here are pure genius the way they combine colors and textures, especially in their container gardens. When most gardens look awful in October, Chanticleer still beckoned, and delighted with each curve of the path. read more

Wow! Just wow! This garden is one of the Main Line's best kept secrets. I highly recommend a visit soon. The gardens were beautiful but we also were so impressed by all the wood work - the bridges, benches and chairs. A fantastic place to take pictures. I highly recommend a visit. read more

I have been going to Chanticleer for 20+ years. It's a beautiful place to walk around, and I also enjoy sitting down in the many lawn chairs throughout the property. Make sure to explore all the little nooks and crannies, as there is a lot to discover. Very relaxing. Great place to take pictures. Parking can be a bit of a pain in the butt. I wish it were bigger. I also wish that not as many people had discovered it over the years. I want it all to myself. read more

I'm really not sure if I want to let the word out about what a beautiful, serene setting you will find here. I took my brother and his girlfriend here the other weekend while it was still chilly and nothing had sprouted. They are world travelers, so I did not know what their reaction would be. I was so glad when we finished our walk- they turned to me and gave me a hug and thanked me. They said it was such a pleasant, enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning walking through. Make sure you visit the bathrooms just behind where you make your entrance payment of $5 per person. The show actually starts in the parking lot where you will see the most gorgeous beauty berry bushes. Then you start at the small mansion and wind your way down the path and your eyes don't know what to feast on first. Depending on what time of year you arrive, you are delighted by what is peeking out of the earth, or you may be greeted by pots and pots of hot house plants strategically arranged on the patio. There are so many gardeners per square acre that everything is kept beautifully manicured, but looks so natural. I have been here even in a light raining mist and enjoyed walking through. The experience lends itself to another worldliness. I never thought to bring a picnic lunch and spend more time, but that sounds wonderful. For the money, I give this a 5 star over long wood gardens and Winterthur. Don't miss this if you are in the area. And for your information there is another set of bathrooms in the asian garden further down on your walk. They have plant lists in each section in little wooden boxes so if you are so inclined you can take the lists out and scope out the names of the plantings to look them up afterwards. You can even buy the plant listings. read more

What a neat little treasure, hidden in the back roads of the mainline. My aunt wanted to do the full house tour, so we popped by on an early Saturday morning. Prior to the tour, we got to explore the sunken garden, which was lovely and full of different flowers I never saw before. I even saw a hummingbird, which are rare around here. We also explored the wild flower garden and veggie garden. If you like kale in your salad, you should see it growing from the ground since it really is a beaut. The tour itself is pretty short. I enjoyed exploring the outside gardens more than the house, but that was mostly because it was a bit modest. The guide was good though, so perhaps it is worth it. The pool area was beautiful and I could picture myself lounging there (when I win the lottery of course). I enjoyed that the gardens were more wild and speckled with different species, but my aunt prefers more french inspired gardens - more topiary and such. I could spend all my time in the ruins. It is definitely a good little place to spend an afternoon. In the spring, you can picnic on the grounds on Friday nights. That sounds like a pretty neat date. read more

Awesome gardens! I had the privilege of going here as a PHS Member's date - my coworker JJD invited me. It was for a PHS sponsored event, and there were tents with food, wine, and music scattered throughout the gardens. My favorites were the Ruin, the Pond, the Asian, and the Vegetable gardens. It is a wonderful way to spend a beautiful day or early evening! read more

Chanticleer Foundation - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Wayne, Pennsylvania

Unbelievable. Un-be-FREAKING-lievable. You've been to Longwood a dozen times, right? It's amazing, isn't it? Well, it turns out that there is more than one way to be an amazing, world-class horticultural jewel. Chanticleer is smaller, more private, more... Hell, I don't know: polished? There's lots more chairs? You should just come. It's absolutely amazing. read more

Chanticleer Foundation - Teacup garden by the entrance - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Wayne, Pennsylvania

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I can't believe that I have lived in Philadelphia for seven years and have never been to this garden or moreover never even heard of it. We were going to check out cherry blossoms at Shofusho today but decided to check this out instead. 40 minutes outside of Philly in Wayne it is about the same distance away as Longwood of which I have been a long-time member. However, I found Chanticleer to be just as delightful, much more manageable and half the price. It is the perfect outing if you would like to spend some time in nature but not donate the whole day to it. As someone who used to live in Japan for 4 years I greatly appreciated the Asian woods. The bathrooms were set up to look exactly like a Japanese tea house and were complete with the Japanese symbols for women and men to demarcate the different bathrooms. The koi pond was lovely and there were many other water installments throughout the park. read more

So beautiful! If you don't want to pay for Longwood, this is a great, cheaper alternative. It has a ton of small paths to explore and a ton of lovely displays. It gets a little crowded on the weekends read more

The gardens are Beautiful!! It really is a Must see. Only downfall there isn't any cafe to eat at, or even a little gift shop to get a drink at. We saw that everyone packed a lunch- so note for next time. Also use or bring bug spray ( we went in August ) and the bugs were pesky;) read more

Chanticleer Foundation - Bridge - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Wayne, Pennsylvania

We love Chanticleer! My wife and I became members this year after a magical visit, the best part is they deducted the price of our tickets for the day from our yearly membership. Open from April through October with great hours its easy to find time to stop by for a quick picnic or spend a day exploring the grounds. I wish they would allow sledding in the winter, the hill below the house would be an amazing spot! The staff is so knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. They have this amazing pine tree with curled needles so it is soft to the touch, they were able to tell me what species it is and where to look for one. They have tons of different areas with different species. My personal favorite is the Ruin Garden with bells woodland coming in a close second or maybe its the edible garden... It's hard to say really, Chanticleer is amazing! This place is like an undiscovered Longwood gardens. read more

What a great place! Acres of beautiful gardens and wide variety of flowers, trees, and plants. Grounds are immaculately designed and maintained. Allow hours so you can see it all! read more

This is a beautiful escape from the city. You can spend a day just lying on the open fields to catch some rays in the center of the garden, or spend a fraction of the afternoon exploring the artistic gardens. I was a big fan of the ruins and gravel garden...where even a sofa was made from rocks. Too cute! I think Chanticleer is a great setting for a picnic, but bring your own...because there is no food services. Admission is $5/adult or $20 for a season pass. Go, and enjoy the peaceful setting! read more

Beautiful gardens worth the entrance fee, but often unfriendly and somewhat snobby staff. Being on the mainline am I surprised, no. When we walked up to pay the fee there was someone in front of us asking about their pass and by the way the woman who worked there was responding I was wondering if the customer in front of us was being a pain or ruder to her, turns out no. When it was our turn I asked about prices for a season pass and the woman just pointed to a sign on the table without a word that I had accidentally missed as I had a face mask on that obstructed my view slightly. I then asked what days they allow for artists to come there and she said she didn't know. And that was it. She told me she knows they allow artists in because she's seen them there but that's all the info she cared to give me. Clearly customer service was not her first priority which, fine I understand you might not know but her responses to my questions were as if I was being a giant inconvenience to her. Really off putting. Then as the gardens were closing we were making our way out (we still had plenty of time to make it to the gates by 5), the same woman happened upon us and very tersely told us they were closed and we were going the wrong way and had to get out. It was really very rude, I was taken a back by it. She made us feel like total jerks, like we were trespassing even though it was before closing time and the property was still crawling with people. I know she doesn't know me but I've worked in places where I've had to get people out at closing time too and I know some people can be a pain and not want to leave so believe me, I'm sensitive to that and am always respectful at closing times. A shame one person could make for a semi unpleasant experience at such a gorgeous place. Really reconsidering buying a season pass now...the snobs of the mainline really need to learn how to treat others with a little respect and like they aren't above everyone. read more

Chanticleer is a fantastic place to escape from the rat race. The gardens are superb. They offer a variety of the settings, sculpture and beautiful vistas. In the summers I like to go on a Friday evening (from May to August they are open until 8 PM Fridays) with several bottles of wine, a light picnic, some good friends and just decompress. Leave the kids at home. They'll be bored by the tranquility. At $5 a head, the experience is a bargain. And if you have a Radnor Township library card-it's free! read more

Love Chanticleer! The gardens are beautiful, the staff friendly, and what I like best is that there are Adirondack chairs placed throughout so that you're invited not just to stroll through the grounds but to stay awhile and thoroughly enjoy nature. A great spot for photographers, picnickers, and green thumbs. read more

O.k. well I guess I shouldn't tell anyone that this 37 + acre estate is like paradise and you can see it for $10 or buy a summer pass for $35- for a single person, $60 for a couple. They employ 7 full time gardeners to keep this incredible botanical garden paradise looking so pretty. I love it here. Flowers, plants Japan- ponds with koi , lily pads and lotus flowers, gorgeously landscaped frolicking hills, hand made wood carved chairs, fountains- this is like a a huge ritzy Disneyland for any nature lover. During the summer on Friday nights between 5 and 8 p.m. they encourage people to bring their own dinner and have a picnic. I think they even have live music sometimes. They don't do weddings but I plan on having a secret ceremony in a particular spot here if- oops I mean WHEN Mr. Right ever comes along- I'll have my reception somewhere else and probably catered by Carlinos. This is like the Barnes Foundation of gardens- it is a secret because- well it is located in Radnor- I will say no more . I will be spreading the word about Chanticleer. read more

Let me start with saying it IS beautiful there, without a doubt. I even like it better than Longwood Gardens. However, BEWARE if you have a real camera. I took my family there recently and was followed my MULTIPLE employees about professional photos. The reality is that MANY people have real DSLR cameras these days. Their guidelines state that as long as you are not taking photos to promote your service or for commercial reasons then photos are permitted. This was not the case when we were there. You see, they need to realize that you can print a large canvas off of a cell phone photos these days if you want! Their policies are dated for today's society and it's a real shame. More people would flock to this place if they were relaxed when it comes to photography. If Longwood permits photos there is no reason they couldn't. It's a real shame and ruined our trip. We will NOT be back and I've already encouraged people to not go there because of this. GET WITH THE TIMES! read more

It's such a cool place to go and just enjoy some nature. I think the $10 rate is pretty reasonable considering you can spend quite some time there (and even cheaper if you have a Radnor Library card, so go pick one up!). There are big open areas as well as more covered, secluded areas that each have their own unique atmosphere, despite the park being somewhat small. read more

I felt so lucky that I lived 10 minutes away from this beautiful place. When we moved to the area 20 years ago, we visited the Longwood Garden frequently. But since We discovered Chanticleer, we found Longwood to be so boring compared to Chanticleer. I love going there on weekdays when there weren't many visitors. I will just bring a book or snack with me and sit in the garden for hours. There are always something on display no matter the season. But my favorite was early April when cherry trees were blooming. It is so beautiful, it took you breath away. read more