Guide to Newport, Rhode Island: how to get there and where to stay, what to see and where to go in the evening. Highlights of Newport, Rhode Island: fresh reviews and photos, places to see, signature entertainment and shopping.
According to toppharmacyschools, Newport is a beautiful resort town in Rhode Island, famous for its old mansions, picturesque scenery and shopping. And also – expensive yachts, presidential residences, elite clubs and other attributes of a chic life. Newport is also known as the place where the annual folk and jazz festivals take place, as well as many other holidays and fairs. Cobbled streets pierce the city’s tourist center filled with galleries, shops and fine restaurants, all located right on the water. And having driven only a few kilometers from the city, tourists get to wonderful beaches, rocky cliffs and other delights of the ocean coast.
Newport is one of the leading cities in the United States in terms of the number of surviving colonial buildings. Some of Newport’s historic mansions, which reflect 250 years of history and architecture, have been designated national landmarks.
How to get to Newport
The nearest commercial airport is Warwick, and there is a shuttle service to Newport from there. The journey takes 30-40 minutes. By train, you can get to Newport from Boston or New York via Providence and Kingston. In addition, there are many marinas in the harbor of the city, to which sailboats, boats, millionth yachts and cruise ships moor.
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Entertainment and attractions in Newport
Newport is one of the leading cities in the United States in terms of the number of surviving colonial buildings. Some of Newport’s historic mansions, which reflect 250 years of history and architecture, have been designated national landmarks. A variety of tours have been developed for their inspection, including those with audio guides. The most famous of them are Belcourt Castle built for Oliver Belmont (1894), the Vanderbilt Breakers mansion (1895), Chateau-sur-Mer, Chepstow, Elms, Hather House, Isaac Bell’s house, Astor Beechwood mansion. The highest concentration of famous buildings is found in the Downtown Historic District and the Bellevue Avenue block.
The famous Cliff Walk was built in 1975. It’s a 5km-long road along the coast that offers some of the best views in New England. Plus, majestic residences overlook the Cliff Walk, some of them can be considered real architectural masterpieces. And motorists should definitely take a ride along Ocean Drive, a 16-kilometer highway along the coast. Along the way, you pass the Green Bridge, beautiful private beaches, Brenton Point State Park, Castle Hill, and other natural and man-made attractions in the region.
As you walk along the Cliff Walk, you will come across the “forty steps” – the famous staircase that descends directly to the ocean. During Newport’s golden era, waiters and workers from the surrounding mansions gathered here. Here they could dance and listen to traditional Irish music at the end of the week.
SeaFair is a megayacht and almost a work of art. With a displacement of 2,800 tons, this privately owned yacht is one of the largest in the United States. On board you can see a collection of fine glass gizmos, paintings, photographs, sculptures and jewelry. SeaFair often hosts special events and dinners overlooking the harbour.
Fort Adams can be reached by water taxi from the harbour. This is a historical and at the same time entertaining attraction, which has been around for more than 180 years. It is clearly visible from Newport Bridge. The fort itself remains the largest coastal fortification in the United States and hosts guided tours during the season to see the barracks and the Naval College museum display. And today the fort is the venue for many festivals and celebrations.
John F. and Jackie Kennedy were married in St. Mary’s in 1953. And in the days of their administration, Kennedy and Eisenhower arranged for themselves the so-called summer White Houses in Newport. Eisenhower lived at the Navy College, and Kennedy lived next door, in Hammersmith Farm.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located on Bellevue Avenue. A museum has been opened with him, where you can see the world’s largest collection of memorable and significant items related to tennis. The hall of fame and museum are located in the Newport Casino building, which is a historical monument in itself and looks very memorable.
3 things to do in Newport:
- Drive across the Newport Bridge (officially the Claiborne Pel Bridge) spanning Narragansett Bay. The length of its main span is almost half a kilometer.
- Photograph the romantic Castle Hill Lighthouse.
- Enjoy a sumptuous seafood dinner at one of the many award-winning gourmet restaurants.
The Newport Museum of Art was founded by the city’s oldest art association in continuous operation in the United States. The association began its work when colonies of artists began to appear in the area and the Impressionist movement began to gain strength. In 1916, the association took possession of the colorful wooden mansion of John Griswood, built in 1864. Today, the mansion houses the main collection of the museum, where you can see the work of William Richards, John Kensett, John La Farge, Gilbert Stuart and contemporary artists.
Ballard Park is the pinnacle of Rhode Island park art. It is surrounded by an old forest and surrounded by a massive stone wall on one side. Citizens love to spend family picnics here. And the tiny Turo Park is worth a visit for a beautiful church and a mysterious tower of unknown purpose, which, according to some theories, may be considered the oldest building in America, having been built a century before Columbus arrived here. True, skeptics argue that this is just a mill and not so old.
You can not ignore the excellent beaches of the city: there are so many of them, and all are different. One of the most exclusive is Bailey Beach on Ocean Avenue, a private club historically frequented by wealthy families. Nearby is another exquisite private beach club open to the public – Gooseberry. Eastons Beach (often also called First Beach) offers a wonderful view of the Cliff Walk; there is a carousel and an aquarium for children. Fort Adams Park has a beach of the same name with picnic and fishing areas. And from the small beach of Kings, the Newport Bridge is perfectly visible.
Newport events
Every year the city hosts so many bright events that it is difficult to list them all. This is a St. Patrick’s Day parade that starts from City Hall and moves towards Washington Square and Thames Street, stopping at St. Augustine’s Church. This is a winter festival that brings together over 150 events with food, music and entertainment, sand sculptures, pizza parties, an auction and an ice cream sculpture contest. This is the Sunset concert series that takes place at the harbor every summer. This is an Irish Labor Day festival and a celebration of the tall ships that come to Newport Docks from all over the world in July-August. This is the “Taste of Rhode Island” with a hundred participating restaurants and an international chowder festival.
The most famous city holiday is the Jazz Festival, which takes place every August in Fort Adams. It was founded by jazz pianist George Wein in 1954.
