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Cliff Walk, Newport

Cliff Walk, Newport: Our most recommended tours and activities

Newport: Cliff Walk Self-Guided Walking Tour

1. Newport: Cliff Walk Self-Guided Walking Tour

Start by downloading the Action Tour Guide app, which will function as your personal tour guide, audio tour, and map. Note: This 1+ mile-long tour covers the essentials of Cliff Walk in 1-2 hours. Embark on a scenic cliff walk along a 3.5-mile trail along the eastern shore of Newport Rhode Island. Use your audio guide which has been created by local guides, curated by creative writers, and narrated by professional voice artists. Begin the tour at Easton’s Beach. As you walk down the path, see Gilded Age mansions representing an era of lavish wealth and unbridled excess. Hear the stories of the Vanderbilts, Astors, and other American millionaires behind mansions like The Breakers, Marble House, Rosecliff, and others. After the walk at 40 Steps, continue to the Ochre Court. Discover the second-largest of Newport’s famous mansions, built for banker and real estate mogul Ogden Goelet. Finally, end the tour with scenic views at Bailey’s Beach.

Newport Cliff Walk & Ocean Drive Self-Guided Tours Bundle

2. Newport Cliff Walk & Ocean Drive Self-Guided Tours Bundle

Explore Newport on a self-guided driving tour via an app that functions as your own personal guide, audio tour, and map all in one. See everything this seaside town has to offer at your own pace. Learn about local history, take a scenic walk, and admire elegant mansions as you drive. Download the app, then start the tour at the visitor center. As you drive down Bellevue Avenue, known as the "most beautiful avenue in the world." See and learn about the gorgeous Gilded Age Mansions along the way, including The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms, Rosecliff, Château-Sur-Mer, and more. Continue along Ocean Drive, featuring breathtaking vistas. Learn about Newport's historic past, and iconic American millionaires like the Vanderbilts and Astors. Then, park up and stroll along the famous Cliff Walk which features the raw, untamed, crashing waves of the Atlantic to one side and lavish Gilded Age mansions to the other. This juxtaposition creates one of the most beautiful scenic walks in the world.

Newport's Cliff Walk: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

3. Newport's Cliff Walk: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

Immerse yourself in Newport via its famous Cliff Walk as you take this downloadable audio walking tour. Learn about the turn-of-the-century home of America’s fashionable society as you walk past their magnificent homes on a scenic stretch of shoreline. Take a stroll among the palatial estates and dramatic New England coastline of the Newport Cliff Walk. Download your self-guided audio walking tour and step back into America's Gilded Age with geo-tracked informative commentary. Hear all about the mansions you pass by, and the families who lived within them. Discover the story of Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt and the descendants who squandered it all within a few short generations. Be told the story of Caroline Astor, the empress of ‘The 400’ – New York society’s and, by default, Newport’s unofficial ‘who’s who’ list. Start at 40 Steps, and wind your way along the Cliff Walk, taking in mansions like the Breakers, Rosecliff, Belmont Estate and Rough Point. Encounter locations like the Chinese Tea House at Marble House and Ochre Point lookout as you go. Discover how these estates were built, and hear why so many of them were abandoned at the end of the Gilded Age.

Newport, RI: Cliff Walk Self Walking Tour and Scavenger Hunt

4. Newport, RI: Cliff Walk Self Walking Tour and Scavenger Hunt

Start by downloading the Action Tour Guide app, which will function as your personal tour guide, audio tour, and map. Note: In this bundle, each tour is 16+ mile-long and takes 1-2 hours to complete. Download this activity to your smartphone and make the most of Newport’s Cliff Walk. Follow clues and learn all about the area's history while walking along the scenic route. Start by the Forty Steps landmark, once a gathering place for the servants who worked in Newport’s mansions. Head to the Overlook for views of the Atlantic, or admire Easton's Beach. Witness Ochre Court, the Vinland Estate, and The Breakers, the most famous and largest mansion on the tour. Learn about families like the Vanderbilts and see Anglesea, designed so the ocean is visible from every side. Encounter Rosecliff, Beechwood, the Marble House, and more. Pause at the Chinese Tea House, Rough Point, and Land’s End. End your tour at The Waves, and the private stretch of sand at Bailey’s Beach.

Newport, Rhode Island: Cliff Walk Gilded Age Audio Tour

5. Newport, Rhode Island: Cliff Walk Gilded Age Audio Tour

Explore the history of Newport's mansions and the families that occupied them as you enjoy a scenic stroll along the Cliff Walk. Wander past Gilded Age palaces like the Breakers, Marble House, Belmont Estate, and many more, while listening to an informative audio guide on your phone. Head to the starting point, open your app, and set out on your tour of Newport's Cliff Walk. Discover how, at the turn of the 20th century, millionaires from New York and beyond competed for status by building palatial estates and throwing lavish galas in the ballrooms of their summer cottages. Wind your way along the coastal walkway, passing by mansions like the Breakers, Rosecliff, Belmont Estate, and Rough Point. Home by home, discover how these estates were built and why so many of them were simply abandoned or sold off for a fraction of what they cost to build. Hear about each impressive property and about the family behind it. Learn about Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt who built the most immense fortune in America at the time. And find out how his descendants squandered it. Navigate with ease using the app's GPS-enabled turn-by-turn directions as you walk, and move at your own pace, taking your time and pausing your tour whenever you need a break. Your audio-guided tour comes to an end at Bailey's Beach. From here, the app will guide you to the bus stop, where you can catch the bus back to Salve Regina University, just a short walk from the starting point (cost not included).

Other Sightseeing Options in Cliff Walk, Newport

Want to discover all there is to do in Cliff Walk, Newport? Click here for a full list.

What people are saying about Cliff Walk, Newport

Overall rating

4.7 / 5

based on 24 reviews

Thanks to the Newport guide, we saw much more and learned far more than we could have by researching on our own. Easy to use, but sometimes the info began a little before we had reached the point of interest, so it created a bit of confusion a couple of times. Otherwise, we highly recommend this program.

I would recommend this for a more detailed and enjoyable drive through by the Newport mansions. Interesting stories and detailed directions. Worth it!

A wonderful walk, with an informative guide. I highly recommend this experience.

It was nice to be able to drive around and see all the mansions in Newport, RI

Quickly able to get tour up and running Great information