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Newport, Rhode Island Architecture

Our most recommended Newport, Rhode Island Architecture

Newport: Scenic Trolley Tour

1. Newport: Scenic Trolley Tour

Hop aboard an old-fashioned trolley and explore Newport, Rhode Island during this 90 minutes scenic tour. Begin your day meeting at the Visitor Center of Newport where you will be greeted by your tour guide. Begin your adventure as you set off into Newport to enjoy the charm of the historic downtown area and restored homes to glorious mansions on the water. Take in the rugged beauty of Ten-Mile Ocean Drive and the fabulous mansions along tree-lined Bellevue Avenue. Enjoy viewing homes and architecture from the Modern Age to the Gilded Age. During this narrated tour you will view over 150 points of interest including Historic Thames Street, The Newport Waterfront, The Breakers, Marble House, and Rosecliff.  Upgrade your ticket and visit the historic Breakers Mansion located on the elaborate estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt. The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. Take in the lavish decor and waterfront views as you tour the property grounds. The additional mansion tour will last about 3 hours.

From Boston: Newport Mansions Full-Day Trip

2. From Boston: Newport Mansions Full-Day Trip

Enjoy Newport on this van tour from Boston. See how the wealthiest families lived during the gilded age with a visit to the Vanderbilt summer home and the Elms Mansion. Along the way, enjoy some complimentary snacks and bottled water while reading over a provided Newport guide book. Begin with hotel pickup in a luxury minibus, where the approximately 2-hour journey to Newport starts. The first stop is the Breakers, the Vanderbilt family's summer home. Take a self-guided audio-tour and explore the 70-room summer cottage. Here, you can also spend some time exploring the cliffs on a scenic cliff walk. Next, it's back to the mini-coach for a bus tour of Newport, which passes St Mary's Parish, where John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier were married in 1953. After the bus tour, visit America's oldest existing synagogue, the Touro Synagogue. With your free time, you can do some shopping or have lunch on the waterfront. If you're a sports fan, you can enjoy discount admission to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Finally, visit the Elms Mansion, where you can take a 90-minute self-guided audio tour. After the tour, return to the minibus, sit back, and relax as you enjoy the ride back to Boston.

From Providence: Day Trip around Rhode Island

3. From Providence: Day Trip around Rhode Island

Marveling at scenic views and learn about the history and culture of the Ocean State on this full-day bus tour. Uncover the things that make Rhode Island so attractive, including the quaint New England villages, scenic islands, magnificent beaches, picturesque lighthouses, and spectacular mansions. Start your day meeting up with your expert guide and hop aboard a climate-controlled tour bus as you embark on this full-day journey. Explore the smallest state in America, at 48 miles long and 37 miles wide. Begin in historic Providence and wind your way around the largest estuary in New England. Pass through charming Wickford, stunning Newport, Bristol (deemed America’s most patriotic town), and many other places. Along the way, there will be opportunities for you to get out, take pictures, and see things up close. After a full day of exploration, your tour will conclude where you first met.

Newport, Rhode Island: Cliff Walk Gilded Age Audio Tour

4. 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).

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What people are saying about Newport, Rhode Island

Overall rating

4.5 / 5

based on 13 reviews

The tour guide Dominic was awesome. Funny, pleasant and knowledgeable. Enjoyable from start to finish. We saw every inch of Newport. Rhode Island. We highly recommend taking this tour when in Newport.

This tour made it an efficient way to see all the beauty of Newport. We learned all about it’s rich history which would have been challenging to learn during our short stay.

If coming off cruise ship better to schedule afternoon. Ran to catch 10 o’clock and if he wasn’t waiting on someone who was coming back from rest room we would have missed.

Be considerate of your fellow passengers WEAR YOUR MASK in congregate situations

great tour, knowledgeable guide Domenic was excellent too