Things to do in Providence

Join in on this delightful guided bus tour around Providence, Rhode Island. Begin your day meeting up with your expert guide and hop aboard a climate-controlled tour bus as you head into the city. Explore some of the most exciting neighborhoods in the state's capital city. Your expert guide will tell you the stories of Providence, the celebrated citizens from here, and its contribution to American history. From Brown University to Federal Hill, you will admire the most beautiful settings in the city and discover places you will want to go back to and explore at your own pace. Along the way, there will be opportunities for you to get out, take pictures, and see things up close. After making your way around town, your tour will conclude where you first met.

Walk in the footsteps of writers, like H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe, on this haunted Providence tour by US Ghost Adventures. Providence has a long history with artists, writers, and creatives and that history comes with a dark side explored on this walk through the city. Hear bone-chilling, campfire tales of deadly apple trees, books bound with human skin, a Rhode Island vampire, and a ghostly writer who watches people sleep. Visit the real-life Shunned House from H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, and delve into the strange details of Angela O’Leary’s death at Fleur de Lys Studio. Along the way, uncover Providence’s weird and spooky history. You may even look into the eyes of a ghost. By the time you reach the seventh and final stop, you’ll have more than a few reasons to keep the lights on at bedtime. All tours meet at the Rhode Island Holocaust Memorial Park, S Main St, Providence, RI 02903. Your guide will be wearing a black US Ghost Adventures t-shirt and carrying a lantern. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start time of your tour.

Visit the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence and discover why it is one of the city's hottest destinations, home to some of the best Italian food in the world. This tour will give you a smorgasbord of its best bites and drinks, from fine wines to housemade pasta. Receive a memento from your time on the Hill to take home with you. Discover why The Hill was also home to some historic characters who dabbled on the wrong side of the law. Follow the intrigue of State v. Patriarca, when a future mayor took on a mob boss; learn about the corruption which brought Rhode Island's banking system to its knees in the '90s, and about a raid on an illegal dice game that sent a Providence Police Officer through a second-story window.

The story of Providence is told by its buildings. Our city's downtown blossomed during America's Gilded Age, and has well-preserved examples of Art-Deco, Beaux-Arts, Neoclassical, and many more architectural styles. But this tour goes beyond bricks and windows: peer into the past by learning some of the human stories behind the facades. This tour also explores the city's vibrant arts and cultural scene, a key ingredient of its dramatic turnaround from mid-century urban decay to regional arts center. Experience and learn the inspiration for Providence's most breathtaking murals: these massive works weave into the city’s visual landscape for a result unparalleled anywhere in the United States. The walk begins in the lobby of the city's historic Biltmore hotel and concludes after a 1.5 mile stroll at the Providence Riverwalk.

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.

Travel from New York City to the heart of American history and politics over 2 days. Your adventure begins with a drive to New Haven to visit the Yale University and visit the Breakers（Optional） at Newport. The trip will start in the city of Cambridge, MA where we will visit the Harvard University. Later, we will take pictures with the main academic building of MIT. Another fun will begin as soon as you board the Boston Harbor Cruise and enjoy a breathtaking view of the Boston. After spending the day around the city, conclude your trip with a return to New York City. Day 1: Itinerary: New York → New Haven → Yale University Tour (Optional, 60 mins) → Newport → The Breakers (Optional, 90 mins) → Boston Hotel：Sonesta Select Boston Lowell Chelmsford; Westford Regency Inn and Conference Center or similar Day 2: Itinerary: Hotel → Boston → America's First Tour (Mandatory, 3 hours) → Boston Harbor Cruise (Optional, 60 mins) → Quincy Market (Optional for Boston lobster, 60 mins) → View Boston at Prudential Center (Optional, 50 mins) → New York The Firsts of America Exploration Tour Itinerary: Harvard University (1 hour, offical campus tour included) → The Old State House (the birthplace of the American Revolution and the place where the Declaration of Independence was first published) → The Tremont Street Subway Marker (the first subway system) → Boston Common (the first public park) → Boston Public Garden (the first public botanical garden) → Boston Public Library (the first large-scale free municipal library funded by the public) → Boston Trinity cathedral (Outside visit) Note: If the Boston Harbor View Boat is closed, this attraction will be replaced by: New England Aquarium (Optional, 60 mins).

Join a tasting tour of Providence's local libations, including delicious beer and spirits produced right here in Rhode Island's capital city. Between sipping on local brews, learn about the incredible history of Rhode Island prohibition in a state that never ratified the Prohibition amendment. Immigrant-rich Providence found it a little too difficult to part with its Old World drinking cultures, despite what the Feds had decided was "moral." From the zealous coalition who brought it to Congress, to liquor loopholes, to famous bootleggers and undercover agents and corrupt officials, Providence's Prohibition history is rich with characters and culture you won't find anywhere else. Meet in the Lobby of Hotel Providence and enjoy this 1.2 mile walking and tasting tour. Visit and enjoy local restaurants such as Malted Barley, Eno Fine Wines, Rouge Island Local Kitchen & Bar, Moonshine Alley, Plant City while learning the ins and outs of Providence's rich Prohibition history.

From pivotal social justice movements to the personal narratives of unsung heroes, Voices of Resilience offers a deeper understanding of Providence’s identity and legacy of courage, resistance, and triumph. The tour highlights the lives and contributions of Providence's Indigenous peoples, African Americans, immigrants, women, and other historically underrepresented groups who helped shape the city. We'll take a closer look at how Rhode Island's tremendous profit on the international slave trade powered the Industrial Revolution, how the state barely overcame revolution in defiance of rebellious suffragists, all the way through how the state fought but failed to prevent the first Gay Pride parade from taking place in Providence in 1976. Providence has been home to diverse, courageous, and resilient people who were able to achieve incredible feats despite the deck being stacked against them in every way. Learn about Edward Bannister, a 19th-century Black barber who overcame prejudice to become a painter of national acclaim; Princess Red Wing, a passionate educator, storyteller, and Narragansett and Pokanoket activist; Maritcha Lyons, who testified at the age of 16 in favor of Rhode Island school desegregation; and the 1902 labor strike that stopped Rhode Island's urban core in its tracks. The walk begins on the Michael Van Leesten Pedestrian Bridge and concludes after a 1-mile stroll at Roger Williams National Memorial. 

Discover the eerie writings of H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most significant supernatural horror fiction authors of the 20th century, on a walking tour of Providence. Follow in the tortured author's footsteps through his traumatic upbringing and favorite haunts. Meet some of the fictional characters that Lovecraft wrote into the city's fabric through dramatic retellings of his creepiest tales. But Lovecraft isn't the only author that ambled the city's centuries-old sidewalks. Sarah Helen Whitman was an eccentric local spiritualist and poet who was briefly engaged to master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe. Explore her life and relive the couple's whirlwind- and doomed- romance.