Hi, I'm sorry, because I may be way off base here, but how exciting is it for two 11 year-olds to visit an old mansion and a synagogue? Aren't there better choices for kids this age in Newport?

Gene...my son, who was 11 at the time, loved visiting the mansions. They're incredible!!!!

You can take a trolley tour of Newport, which includes one or two stops at the mansions. It takes you around Newport and gives you a nice history of the city. We all enjoyed it, including my then 11 year old.

I don't know anything about the synagogue, sorry!

Have fun!

My kids did too BuffaloGirl. They've been twice, first as 6 and 3 year olds, and again as teens. Our son at 3 obviously could have cared less, but otherwise, they were as amazed as we were and remember it fondly. These "cottages" absolutely defy description!

To visit the Tuoro Synagogue you need to park at the Newport Gateway Center - it is about a 5-10 minute walk from there - and at the Gateway Center you can get lots of info about transportation, trolley, tours, pamphlets, etc.

There is a RIPTA pass and those trolleys leave the Newport Visitors Center every 10 or 15 minutes I think, and get you to the mansions and the Cliff Walk.

The Synagogue has specific visiting hours, so you should visit their web site
tourosynagogue.org

Then you can figure when you need to do that and then plug in time for the Cliff Walk and Breakers.

Mansion web site is newportmansions.org and can answer all your questions shoudl you decide to drive between your destinations.

The Synagogue had been closed for awhile for repairs and renovations, but it is a lovely historical and religious building, one often overlooked by visitors to Newport. You will enjoy it..

Since you have a car, I would also suggest at some point, on your way in or out, you do the Ocean Drive , often called the 10 mile drive, andy ou can see that on
oceandrivenewport.com

Sundy night eat downtown, walk the wharf areas, even if things are closing down, it's nice to walk on Bannister Wharf, Bowens, etc and even venture further past the corner and the Red parrot and down that road a bit (Ben and Jerry's for ice cream)
the kids will especially like walking America's cup at night.

YOu should be able to fit in the Synagogue, Breakers and Cliff Walk in one day witih some time on the beach - if you do those 3 things by trolley from the visitors center, you could then return to the center, get your car, do the ocean drive, and then hang at a beach.

If you do the Ocean drive, stop at Castle Hill for the view too.

You could do the drive on your way in,, the next day, or on your way out.

You don't want to walk between those sites - you can, but it will eat up too much time.

Also, at Breakers, you could walk down Bellevue if you want to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, (and at least peak inside the entry way and horseshoe veranda area - even if you don't go into the museum (altho it's fabulous) and then take the trolley from there back to your car.

Not much time, but you can still do what you want. After you check in to your hotel, take the water taxi from Goat Island Marina across to the wharf area (the center of historic Newport), this will give a an abbreviated "cruise" of Newport Harbor. Eat dinner there, then you can either take the water taxi back or even walk back to the hotel (assuming you are all able bodied, it really isn't that long a walk). The next day I would use your car instead of the trolley..you don't have the time to be waiting around for it. And although Newport has a poor reputation for traffic and parking, the only place you are targeting to visit where this will be a factor is the Touro Synagogue. Your plan to do Cliff Walk, then Breakers, then Synagogue (with maybe the beach thrown in) has only one flaw; the last Touro tour starts at 4:30. I guess it all depends how early you want to get up on Sunday. Assumming breakfast at 8 am, you could be on the Cliff Walk by 9, Breakers by 10. Out of the Breakers by 11:30, then maybe the drive around Ocean Drive, stop for lunch somewhere on the way to the beach (or eat at the beach at Flo's clamshack), be on the beach say 1:30 to 3:30, drive to visitor's center, walk to Synagogue in time for last tour (or try to find parking by the synagogue-it will be Monday mid-afternoon, you might find parking easier than you thought). Then another dinner in the wharf area (if you don't mind getting to Boston late) or leave right after visiting Touro.
My other suggestion would be to not dally too late in Mystic, as probably that Sunday evening will be your only chance to see the heart of Newport (the waterfront).

If you have the time, in your Ocean drive, stop at Castle Hill for lunch. It will be the best food, as well as some of the prettiest views you will have in Newport. Eat outside on the patio overlooking the water and the sailboats coming in and out. It's an experience not to be missed!

Malesherbes, good idea. I revise my suggestions to include lunch at Castle Hill Inn instead of finding a place on the way to the beach. Then go back the way you came (Ocean Drive) to go to the beach.

mariya, ExploreNewEngland.com has a wonderful section on Newport. In the Boston Globe last week, it also had the locations of the entrances to the Cliff Walk, how to arrange a trip to the Rose Island Lighthouse (just off Goat Island) and links to the cottage sites. It was well done, and would be a great help in your planning.

Larry: I think Flo's was a good rec too- lunch at Castle Hill is wonderful, (first outing with my then husband to be!) - it just sounded to me like they wanted to do so much in one day, a quick lunch might fit better in their schedule - so now mariya has two good options depending on their preference - Castle HIll, or hey, nothing wrong with some good seafood before hitting the beach!

Newport is so lovely, it's difficult to choose for a one day plan - savoring Newport is just too delightful !

Thanks a lot for all advices!
Mariya