Things to do in Rhode Island
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Perishable Theater
This small theater programs experimental plays as well as improv comedy groups. It conducts an annual Women’s Playwriting Festival and the Fledgling Festival, where you can see up-and-coming artists involved in burlesque puppetry and oddities of the stage.
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International Tennis Hall of Fame
The world's largest tennis museum is housed in the club where America's first tennis championships took place in 1881. For $90 you can jump into your whites and play a game on those classic grass courts.
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Jane Pickens Theater
This nicely restored one-screen art house used to be an Episcopalian church, built around 1834. Simple, pretty and old, the theater contains an organ and balcony. They screen both popular and art films, such as Evening, filmed in Newport and Tiverton.
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Living Room
You’ll want to be careful – some nights amazing indie acts make tracking down this hard-to-find joint worth the effort. But on others you might be exposed to some local high-school punks trying to piece together their first set.
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Cafe Yuni
Serving substantial pieces of fish, Cafe Yuni draws a loyal following with its fresh sushi and polite, charming service. The small restaurant also serves udon noodles, stir-fries and japachae (stir-fried potato noodles with vegetables).
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Coffee Grinders
Enjoy espresso and a pastry on some benches at this small shingled shack at the end of Banisters Wharf. You’ll be surrounded by water, with great views over yacht activity and crustaceans being unloaded at the Aquidneck Lobster Company.
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Mirabar
This venerable bar for gay fellows attracts devoted regulars, many on a first-name basis with the bartenders. It’s got two floors – the second, a sort of promenade, overlooks the action of the main level’s dance floor.
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Risd|Works
RISD maintains several fine galleries. A design showcase is risd|works, a shop displaying an assortment of goods (jewelry, photographic prints, flatware, coffee tables, children’s books) made by faculty and alumni.
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Taste of India
The bustling lunch crowd at this Indian joint comes for a tasty buffet ($7), curries and a top-notch mango lassi (yoghurt drink) made with strong rose water. The room contains cheap carpets, plastic plants and nooks for privacy.
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Gamm Theatre
Several smaller theater companies stage contemporary and avant-garde productions, in particular this intimate space, whose often intelligent and exquisitely acted experimental and mainstream plays make the drive to Pawtucket worthwhile.
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Gray’s Ice Cream
A rare traffic light marks Tiverton’s ‘Four Corners, ’ where you can stop at Gray’s Ice Cream for a coffee cabinet (milkshake with ice-cream), as beachgoers have been doing since 1923.
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Mudville’s Pub
With a back porch sitting about 10ft from the foul line of Cardines Field’s outfield, this bar fills many local sports fans with pub food and beer. It even sponsors a team (the Mudville Nine) that plays in a local league.
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Pastiche
Awash in soothing colors and warmed by a fire in winter, Pastiche offers a seasonal dessert menu. In summer, you might try the apricot almond chiffon cake, or pick up a favorite such as mascarpone tortes or chocolate layer cake.
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Brenton Point State Park
At the opposite end of the peninsula, Brenton Point State Park, due south of Fort Adams on Ocean Ave, is a prime place for standing on rocky outcroppings to watch the ocean crash about you and for flying kites.
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Rhode Island School of Design Museum
- Providence, USA
- Sights › Other
The wonderfully eclectic Rhode Island School of Design Museum showcases everything from ancient Greek art to 20th-century American paintings and decorative arts.
Perhaps the top art school in the United States, RISD leaves an imprint on Providence that is easily felt. From public statuary to film performances to indecipherable screen-printed flyers stapled to College Hill telephone poles, creativity oozes palatably from it across the small cityscape. Though some experience the pleasure of RISD by putting together portfolios that will eventually be rejected by the admissions committee, others earn style points simply by visiting the school’s many galleries. The…
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Gooseberry Beach
Other ‘pocket’ beaches exist along Ocean Ave, but most of these, such as Bailey’s Beach, are private. An exception is Gooseberry Beach, which has calm waters, white sand and a restaurant.
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Third Beach
Third Beach is a short distance east of Second Beach. Popular with families because it is protected from the open ocean, Third Beach also appeals to windsurfers because the water is calm and the winds steady.
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Scialo Bros Bakery
Since 1916, the brick ovens at this relic have turned out top-notch butterballs, torrone (a nougat and almond combo), amaretti and dozens of other kinds of Italian cookies and pastries. Avoid the mediocre cannoli.
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Sail Newport
As you'd expect in the hometown of the prestigious America's Cup, the sailing in breezy Newport is phenomenal.
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Meeting Street Café
For thick sandwiches and luscious desserts head to this perky cafe near Brown University. The meats are hormone-free, the veggies fresh and the servings so big that most everything feeds two.
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Costantino's Venda Ravioli
Grab one of the small tables lining this bustling deli for the most amazing dining experience on Federal Hill. Hanging salamis, crispy breads, every imaginable antipasto, real gelato – you'll think you're in Italy.
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Franklin Spa
This old-school joint slings hash, eggs and grease for cheap. Enjoy your freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade turkey noodle soup or coffee cabinet at a Formica-topped table on a worn white-and-red tiled floor.
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John Brown House
Also on College Hill, the brick John Brown House, called the ‘most magnificent and elegant mansion that I have ever seen on this continent’ by John Quincy Adams, was built in 1786.
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Little Traverse History Museum
In Petoskey, you can see the Hemingway collection at the Little Traverse History Museum, including rare 1st-edition books that the author autographed for a friend when he visited in 1947.
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Preservation Society of Newport County
Five of Newport's grandest mansions are managed by this society. Each mansion takes about 90 minutes to tour. From April to mid-October, the Breakers is open from 9am to 5pm and the other mansions from 10am to 5pm. Off-season hours vary – call ahead.
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