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Rhode Island
Rhode Island, the smallest of the US states, isn't actually an island. Although it only takes about an hour to traverse, this little wonder packs in more than 400 miles of coastline with wonderful, white-sand swimming beaches and some of the country's finest historic architecture, galleries and museums. What's more, Rhode Islanders are about as friendly as folks come.
Hugging the rugged shoreline before heading inland, seaside resorts, quaint Colonial villages and extravagant country homes give way to lush fields of berry farms, vineyards and horse studs. Rhode Island's main cities – Providence, with working-class roots, and Newport, born of old money the likes of which most cannot conceive – are among New England's finest.
With year-round cultural attractions, festivals, events, top-notch restaurants and seriously cool bars, it's no wonder the nouveau riche continue to flock here for summer shenanigans. While visiting Rhode Island ain't cheap, it's worth every penny.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Rhode Island.
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Rough Point
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 philanthropist Doris Duke’s impressive art holdings, including medieval tapestries, furniture owned by French emperors, Ming dynasty ceramics, and paintings by Renoir and Van Dyck. Built in 1889 by Frederick W Vanderbilt on a rocky bluff jutting out into the ocean, Rough Point was later purchased by tobacco baron James B Duke, and passed to his only daughter, Doris (then aged 12), in 1925 along with his $80 million fortune. Throughout her teenage years Doris spent her summers here, and as an adult Rough Point was one of her favorite houses. The contents of the house are exactly as she left them at the time of her death in 1993, when she bequeathed the house to the Newport Restoration Society (which she founded) with the directive that it be opened as a museum. Particularly interesting is a glassed-in sunroom containing just about the only pedestrian furniture (the couch appears to be from a department store). Also on hand are mannequins wearing some of Duke's eight decades of bizarre clothing.
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The Breakers
A 70-room Italian Renaissance megapalace inspired by 16th-century Genoese palazzi, the Breakers is the most magnificent of Newport's grandiose mansions. At the behest of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, Richard Morris Hunt did most of the design (though craftspeople from around the world perfected the decorative program). The building was completed in 1895 and sits at Ochre Point, on a grand oceanside site. The furnishings, most made expressly for the Breakers, are all original. Don't miss the Children's Cottage on the grounds. Admission includes entry into The Breakers' Stable & Carriage House, also designed by Hunt, on the west side of Bellevue Ave. The Preservation Society of Newport County also has an excellent value two-house ticket (adult/child $29/9) which offers entry into The Breakers and one other property under the Newport Mansions banner. For architecture buffs, a five-house ticket (adult/child $35/12) can't be beaten.
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The Elms
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 that will have you snaking through the 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 of how a Newport mansion functioned, although it is exhausting. Contact the Preservation Society of Newport County for advance reservations. Discount tickets providing entry into multiple houses are available.
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Rhode Island State House
Designed by McKim, Mead and White in 1904, the Rhode Island State House rises above the Providence skyline, easily visible from miles around. Modeled in part on St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, it has the world's fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome and houses one of Gilbert Stuart's portraits of George Washington, which you might want to compare to a dollar bill from your wallet. Inside the public halls are the battle flags of Rhode Island military units and a Civil War cannon, which sat here for a century loaded and ready to shoot until someone thought to check whether it was disarmed. The giant half-naked guy standing on top of the dome is The Independent Man, continuously struck by lightning.
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Fort Adams State Park
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 venue for the Newport jazz and folk festivals and numerous special events. A beach, picnic and fishing areas, and a boat ramp are open daily. To explore the fort in greater detail join one of the tours, which take you deep into its underground tunnels and up onto the ramparts for fabulous views of Newport Harbor and the bay.
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Providence Athenaeum
One of the most prominent buildings on Benefit St, the Greek Revival Providence Athenaeum was designed by William Strickland and completed in 1838. This is a library of the old school with plaster busts and oil paintings filling in spaces not occupied by books. Edgar Allen Poe used to court ladies here. Pick up a brochure for a self-guided Raven Tour of the building's artwork and architecture.
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Watch Hill
A 5-mile drive southwest of Westerly town center, you'll come to the cloistered community known as Watch Hill, where New York's rich and/or famous have lavish and beautiful cliff-top mansions overlooking the wild Atlantic Ocean. Parking here is tricky, but the best thing to do is find a spot for your chariot, then stroll the hilly streets and lanes, respectfully taking a peek at how the other half live: a good place to start is around the Ocean House hotel. At the base of the steep hill you'll find the compact Watch Hill Beach, beside which is the lovely, kids-only, Flying Horses Carousel, but if you're walking, remember, what goes down, must go back up again.
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National Museum of American Illustration
This acclaimed museum features an impressive collection of 'the most American of American Art' including Maxfield Parrish's impossibly luminous works in color, NC Wyeth prints, Norman Rockwell's nostalgia and the illustrations of other American graphic heavyweights. If you can, take the free guided tour on Friday (3pm; available year-round), which sheds light on the stories behind the images and how they molded American culture through the decades. The museum is housed within the palatial Vernon Court (yet another mansion, this one from 1898) set within Olmsted-designed grounds.
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Newport Car Museum
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 than 60 vintage, classic, hot-rod and muscle cars that will elicit sighs of envy from any self-respecting rev-head. The state-of-the-art 50,000-sq-ft exhibition space features meticulously preserved European and American cars dramatically lit in the style of a contemporary art gallery. Accompanying displays show tech specs and tell the stories behind the cars. There's an excellent cafe and gift shop too.