The Newport Mansions were built in the Gilded Age by wealthy beneficiaries of the Industrial Revolution who constructed these "cottages" as summer homes.



The most famous cottage - The Breakers - was built in just two years (1893-1895) and cost what would have been the equivalent of about $150 million today. It has 70 rooms (33 of which are for the staff). Up until 2018, members of the Vanderbilt family could still use the third floor of the mansion as their private residence. The mansion was named 'The Breakers' after the waves that constantly crash into the cliffs below the property.



The Preservation Society of Newport County maintains the Mansions, and you can buy tickets to tour inside.

If you're up for a stroll and want to see the Newport Mansions on a budget (i.e. free), be sure to check out the Cliff Walk. It's a 3.5 mile trail around Newport's east coast with breathtaking ocean and mansion views. You can start and stop at several places along the trail, so you don't have to walk the whole thing. Keep your eyes peeled for surfers, and when you see those waves hit the cliffs, you'll understand why they call them "the breakers."



Harbor Walk - stroll downtown Newport



Ocean Drive - drive around Newport and see the mansions



Newport Art Museum



Newport Vineyards 



 International Tennis Hall of Fame



Newport National Golf Club



Save the Bay Exploration Center and Aquarium 



Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge



Fort Adams State Park

Newport is an old colonial town with a rich history. Located in Narragansett Bay, Newport was purchased from Algonquians in 1639 by colonists who had been exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for advocating religious freedom and separation of church and state.



In 1776, Rhode Island became the first state to renounce allegiance to England. RI settlers supported the Articles of Confederation, and refused to ratify the Constitution until the Bill of Rights and other amendments that limited federal authority were added.



Although Newport prospered from the sale of rum to Europe during

the slave (triangular) trade era, it wasn't until after the Industrial Revolution when massive wealth came to Newport.



Industrialists and financiers from New York who made fortunes off railroads, coal mining, textiles and manufacturing needed a haven to escape the city's summer heat, so they built massive "cottages" along Newport's breezy shores to host parties and socialize with the newly formed high society.



Today, Newport is still known as a New England summer getaway and is famous for its "cottage" mansions, its rich sailing history, and for hosting the first U.S. Open tournaments in both tennis and golf. It's also the home of Naval Station Newport, which houses the U.S. Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and an important Navy training center.