Newport

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

$19.99

Shop Book

Getty Images

Overview

Established by religious moderates, ‘new port’ flourished in the independent colony of Rhode Island, which declared itself a state here in 1776. Downtown, shutterbugs snap excitedly at immaculately preserved Colonial-era architecture and landmarks at seemingly every turn.

01 / Attractions

Must-see attractions

Rough Point
Newport
While the peerless position and splendor of the grounds alone are worth the price of admission, this faux-English manor house also contains heiress and…
The Breakers
Newport
A 70-room Italian Renaissance megapalace inspired by 16th-century Genoese palazzi, the Breakers is the most magnificent of Newport's grandiose mansions…
The Elms
Newport
Designed by Horace Trumbauer in 1901, the Elms is a replica of Château d'Asnières, built near Paris in 1750. Here you can take a 'behind-the-scenes' tour…
Fort Adams State Park
Newport
Fort Adams is America's largest coastal fortification and the centerpiece of this gorgeous state park, which juts out into Narragansett Bay. It's the…
National Museum of American Illustration
Newport
This acclaimed museum features an impressive collection of 'the most American of American Art' including Maxfield Parrish's impossibly luminous works in…
Newport Car Museum
Newport
Located in Portsmouth, 6 miles north of Newport, on the site of a former missile manufacturing plant, this fantastic, new-in-2017 museum showcases more…
Redwood Athenaeum
Newport
Founded by Abraham Redwood in 1747 as an important archive of American history and architecture, this beautiful neoclassical library was designed and…
Touro Synagogue National Historic Site
Newport
Designed by Peter Harrison (architect of the Athenaeum and King's Chapel, Boston), this synagogue is the finest example of 18th-century Georgian…