Newport, Rhode Island was the summer playground of America’s wealthiest during the Gilded Age, and it has plenty of still-standing mansions that live to tell the tale.
The preservation and restoration of the Gilded Age mansions give visitors a glimpse of the opulence, artistry, and complicated culture that went into these time capsules.
If nothing else, the beautiful architecture and cliffside views of the ocean should be enough to inspire you to visit this area.
Today, this article lists down the best Newport mansions to tour, as well as the lesser-known mansions in the area.
History of Newport Rhode Island Mansions
The mansions of Newport, Rhode island are remnants of the fancy Gilded Era. Built between late 19th century and early 20th century, these luxury residents were not even the primary homes of their owners. In fact, the rich of that time built these RI mansions as their “summer cottages.”
When the Gilded Age ended around the 1910s due to the start of the federal income tax, followed by the First World War, parties at the mansions declined.
The Great Depression eventually put a stop to the rich vacationing at their mansions, which in turn resulted in the properties falling to demolition or abandoned completely.
A group of residents founded The Preservation Society of Newport County in hopes of saving the 200-year-old Georgian Colonial home – the Hunter House – located on the harbor waterfront.
In doing so, they were able to save several other mansions at Newport Rhode Island, starting with Marble House, then Chateau-sur-Mer, The Breakers, Kingscote, and Rosecliff. Today, the organization remains steward of 11 historic properties in the area.
Best Preserved Newport, RI Mansions To Tour
The Preservation Society of Newport County is a cultural organization aiming to protect and preserve Newport County’s rich cultural heritage. Here are the Newport Mansions
1. The Breakers
By far the most popular Newport mansion, The Breakers is the Italian Renaissance-style Vanderbilt estate widely acknowledged to be the grandest, most extravagant mansion in Newport and is thus the signature symbol of the Gilded Age.
The mansion features 70 rooms, a 45-foot high Great Hall, gold- and platinum-covered walls, and intricate panels with mythological beings. All these sit on a 13-acre estate overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
It is recommended to visit this mansion first, as this is also the site of the Welcome Center of the Preservation Society, where you can get information about all the other mansions they’re in charge of and make your visit to the Newport mansions easier to plan.
Essential Information
- Address: 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $29 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: The Breakers
2. Marble House
One of the first stone mansions in the area, Marble House is another extravagant mansion. Alva Vanderbilt, the original owner of the house, is said to have spent $7 million then (equivalent to almost $128 million today) on the marble used to construct it.
With 50 rooms spread over four levels decorated in various styles, as well as a Chinese Tea House that was a later addition, the Marble House is an elegant structure and one of the earliest done in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture.
Essential Information
- Address: 596 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Marble House
3. The Elms
The Elms mansion was the summer residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind. It isn’t as extravagant as the previous two mentioned, but its beautiful architecture modeled after the French chateau d’Asnieres is remarkable and well worth studying and appreciating.
The interior is designed to show off Berwind’s Renaissance ceramics, 18th-century paintings, and jades from Asia.
Fun fact: It is one of the first houses wired for electricity in this area.
Essential Information
Address: 367 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI | 401-847-1000
Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
Website: The Elms
4. Rosecliff
Rosecliff was home to Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs of Nevada.
Inspired by Versailles’ Grand Trianon, which was the garden retreat of French kings at Versailles, the architectural style is Baroque and Baroque Revival, producing clean lines and perfect symmetry.
If this house looks familiar, it may be because it has been used as a set location in movies such as The Great Gatsby, Amistad, and True Lies.
Essential Information
- Address: 548 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Rosecliff
5. Chateau-sur-Mer
Considered the first of the great Newport mansions, Chateau-sur-Mer was recognized as the most palatial in Newport from its completion in 1852 until The Breakers and the Marble House were built.
This mansion was built for William Shepard Wetmore in High Victorian architecture and was subsequently remodeled in the Second Empire French style. Unlike many of the other mansions in the area, Chateau-sur-Mer was not built as a summer residence but as a year-round residence.
Essential Information
- Address: 474 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Chateau-sur-Mer
6. Kingscote
Kingscote is one of the earliest mansions designed in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. Originally owned by George Noble Jones, the property was acquired by William Henry King when the Civil War broke out.
The dining room features the earliest known installation of Tiffany glass, which is a type of glass produced between 1878 and 1933 at the Tiffany Studios in New York.
Essential Information
- Address: 253 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Kingscote
7. Isaac Bell House
The Isaac Bell House, also known as Edna Villa, is acknowledged as the first Shingle-style house in the area and the best example of its kind.
The architects and designers of this house drew inspiration from a mix of international styles, such as Japanese, European, and Old English elements.
Essential Information
- Address: 70 Perry Street
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Isaac Bell House
8. Hunter House
Away from the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, where most of the other mansions are located, the Hunter House is one of the finest examples of Georgian Colonial architecture.
It originally belonged to Jonathon Nichols, Jr., and the subsequent owners of the house added or renovated parts of the house. The most prominent owner of the mansion was William Hunter, a US senator after whom the house is named.
Essential Information
- Address: 54 Washington Street, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $18 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Hunter House
9. Chepstow
Chepstow is an Italianate-style villa that is a prime example of a Victorian summer cottage.
Originally owned by Edmund Schermerhorn, it contained various valuable paintings, including the Morris family’s collections, as well as 19th-century landscape paintings by the Hudson River school of Artists.
Essential Information
- Address: 120 Narragansett Avenue
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Chepstow
10. Green Animals Topiary Garden
Green Animals is the oldest topiary garden in the US, but when Thomas Brayton bought this property in 1872, it consisted of seven acres of land, a white clapboard summer residence, farm outbuildings, a pasture, and a vegetable garden.
The superintendents of the property were responsible for creating the topiaries, sculpting more than 80 pieces in different shapes from yew, California privet, and English boxwood.
Today, Green Animals is a rare example of a self-sufficient estate with a Victorian house, topiaries, vegetable gardens, and orchards.
While not technically in Newport, it’s still considered one of the Newport Mansions.
Essential Information
- Address: 380 Corys Lane, Portsmouth, RI
- Phone: 401-847-1000
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $25 per head for adults; discounts available for children
- Website: Green Animals Topiary Garden
Other Newport Mansions Worth Visiting
As I’ve mentioned, not all of the Gilded Age mansions in Newport are managed by the Preservation Society. Here are other Newport mansions you should consider visiting.
11. Ochre Court
Ochre Point was commissioned by Ogden Goelet in 1892 in a châteauesque architectural style and is second only to The Breakers in size.
Nowadays, it serves as the main administration building for Salve Regina University and is used for occasional social functions.
Essential Information
- Address: 100 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-6650
- Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm
- Website: Ochre Court
12. Belcourt of Newport
Oliver Belmont commissioned this mansion in 1891 to have a summer cottage for him as well as his many horses.
With this vision, the architect, Richard Morris Hunt designed the ground floor around an enormous carriage room and stables, with only a single bedroom where Belmont can live with his horses in privacy.
However, when Alva Vanderbilt (yes, the same Alva Vanderbilt who owned the Marble House) moved in with him, she had the ground floor transformed to be more suitable for humans than for horses.
Ownership then changed hands many times before Carolyn Rafaelian bought it in 2012. Currently, Carolyn Rafaelian is in the process of restoring Belcourt to its former glory.
Essential Information
- Address: 657 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI
- Hours: Fri–Sun 11am–2pm
- Cost: $20 per head for adults; discounts available for children (Book Tickets Here)
- Website: Belcourt of Newport
13. Rough Point Museum
Commissioned by yet another member of the Vanderbilt clan, Rough Point is at the south end of Bellevue Avenue and is built in the style of a stately English manor.
After a few more transfers of ownership, the last owner of the house was Doris Duke before it got turned over to the Newport Restoration Foundation, which Doris Duke herself founded in 1968.
Nowadays, Rough Point looks more or less the same as it looked when Doris Duke lived here. It’s not by accident; the house is carefully maintained to get a lived-in look. The result is that when you tour the house, it feels less like a museum and more like a visit to your distant aunt’s house.
That is, if your distant aunt were a billionaire who owned plenty of expensive art and furnishings, as well as a couple of camels.
Essential Information
- Address: 680 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI
- Phone: 401-847-8344
- Hours: Tue–Fri 10am–4pm; Sat–Sun 10am–5pm
- Cost: $20 per head for adults; discount available for students with ID
- Website: Rough Point Museum
14. Vernon Court
Vernon Court was commissioned by Anna Van Nest Gambrill and was built in 1900 in French classical style, loosely based on the French mansion Château d’Haroué.
At some point, it was considered one of the ten most beautiful mansions in America.
It remained in the Gambrill family until 1956, after which ownership changed hands a number of times.
At present, Vernon Court houses the National Museum of American Illustration (NMAI) and is temporarily closed for renovation.
Essential Information
- Address: 492 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI |
- Phone: 401-851-8949
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $20 per for adults; discounts available for seniors, children, students with ID, and military
- Website: National Museum of American Illustrators
Unique Newport Rhode Island Mansions Tours
15. The Breakers Stable & Carriage House
- Address: 53 Coggeshall Ave, Newport, RI 02840
- Hours: Vary depending on the season; Check their calendar prior to your visit
- Cost: $20 per for adults; discounts available for seniors, children, students with ID, and military. Admission is free with any Newport Mansions ticket or Preservation Society membership.
The Breakers Stable & Carriage House was originally built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II with architect Richard Morris Hunt from 1894 to 1895. It is located about 2/3rds of a mile from The Breakers.
When the place was completed in 1895, the stable wasn’t just any humble stable. It had 26 stalls, 2 box stalls, and ample space for about 20 carriages, a five-room apartment for the head coachman, bedrooms for 20 grooms who operate the stables, an office, kitchen, dining room, workroom, office and harness room.
The Breakers Stable & Carriage House is open seasonally.
Newport Mansions Visitor Guidelines and Rules
Note that these rules and general guidelines apply to those mansions maintained by the Preservation Society of Newport County. Other mansions may have their own set of rules that you should still follow so that you and other visitors all have a great time.
- It is recommended to start your mansion tour in The Breakers so you can also visit the Welcome Center to get information about the mansions.
- Exterior photography through handheld cameras for social media and non-commercial purposes is allowed.
- Exterior photography through drones is strictly prohibited.
- Interior photography is allowed only for social media and personal, non-commercial purposes. No selfie sticks, tripods, or flash photography are allowed.
- Allot a minimum of one and a half hours for touring each mansion.
- With very few exceptions, mansions have free parking.
- Kids are welcome, but strollers and carriages are not.
- Mansions normally have a dress code. Shirts (except those that have offensive language printed) and shoes are mandatory.
- No large bags and luggage are allowed.
Newport Mansion Tour Tickets
If you plan to visit the mansions multiple times a year, membership to the Preservation Society is the most expensive option upfront but will work out to be the least expensive per visit as long as you visit frequently.
For one time visits to multiple mansions, various packages are also available for a wide range of mansions, with some packages even including popular activities aside from touring the mansions.
However, membership and packaged tickets will only cover the 10 mansions that the Preservation Society is maintaining.
The simplest, most straightforward way to get tickets is to just get it in the mansion you’re visiting. This is the most convenient and allows for spontaneity.
Tips For First-Timers to Newport, RI
Getting To Newport
If you’re flying into Newport, it’s almost 100% certain that you’ll arrive via the TF Green Airport.
From here, you can rent a car, ride the bus (via RIPTA or Peter Pan Bus Lines), or book an Uber to go to Newport.
Getting Around
Renting a car is by far the easiest and most convenient option for getting around, especially considering most mansions do not allow large bags and luggage inside.
Where To Stay
The magic of Newport is that wherever you decide to stay, you’ll be within walking distance of restaurants, bars, shops, and other attractions.
If you want oceanfront views, Castle Hill Inn & Resort, Club Wyndham Inn on Long Wharf, or The Chanler at Cliff Walk are solid choices.
However, if downtown Newport is more your style, Hotel Viking, Courtyard by Marriott Newport Middletown, or Mill Street Inn are also great places to stay.
What To Wear
Rhode Island weather is notoriously variable. From early June to mid-September, average highs reach above 70°F; mid-September to October is known for its Indian summers, with warm, dry weather during the day and cooler temperatures at night.
November is characterized by rainfall, and December to March sees average highs of around 44°F, with more than 20 inches of snowfall yearly.
It’s wise to dress according to the weather but plan for sudden changes. Layers are encouraged, as well as weatherproof footwear.
Best Time Of Year To Visit
The end of spring (around May) and the start of autumn (around September) are generally considered the best times of the year to visit Newport, weather-wise. Not too hot, not too cold, and a few drops of rain make it the ideal weather for walking around.
What To Eat
Your trip to Newport would be a waste if you don’t at least try some of Newport’s signature dishes and drinks.
Coffee milk has been the official state drink since 1993. Coffee is simmered with pure cane sugar to create a syrup, which is then mixed with ice-cold milk.
Del’s frozen lemonade started out as a mix of snow, lemons, and sugar in the 1840s and is now prepared by machine, producing a frozen product with a texture between a Slurpee and an Italian ice.
As a coastal city, Newport had plenty of ways to prepare various seafood. Clams casino is a dish made of littleneck clams stuffed with bacon, peppers, and breadcrumbs and then broiled.
They also like putting their unique twist on already-known dishes. For instance, johnnycakes are pancakes made of cornmeal, and their version of zeppoles aren’t fried donuts but creampuff-like pastries filled with custard-type cream and topped with more cream and a cherry.
Plan Your Newport Mansion Tour Today!
Exploring Newport mansions gives you a glimpse of how the rich lived in the Gilded Age, which is part of our history.
In fact, it’s one of the stops in a New England road trip itinerary that we’ve previously described.
Don’t forget to check out nearby Rhode Island wineries.
Start organizing and scheduling your trip to Newport today!
