Elms

Nearly identical to the Château d’Asnières built near Paris in 1750, the Elms offers a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour which will have you snaking through the basement operations, servants’ quarters and up onto the roof. Along the way you’ll learn about the activities of the army of servants and the architectural devices that kept them hidden from the view of those drinking port in the formal rooms. Taking the regular tour in addition to the behind-the-scenes variant will give you the best idea about how a Newport mansion functioned, though a double tour is exhausting. The place was designed by Horace Trumbauer in 1901. Of all the mansions, The Elms easily possess the most lavish gardens – enjoy symmetrical flower beds around fountains, specimen trees and a sunken garden.