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The Breakers
The Breakers Review
The largest of the Newport mansions was built in 1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, president of the New York Central Railroad. Architect Richard Morris Hunt modeled the four-story, 70-room residence after the palaces of the Italian Renaissance. From the outside, beginning with your walk through the Ivy League-like gate, you can see that this mansion is not only big but grand—be sure to look for the sculpted figures tucked above the pillars. The interior includes rich marbles and gilded rooms, with open-air terraces revealing magnificent ocean views. A few of the marvels within are a blue marble fireplace, rose alabaster pillars in the dining room, and a porch with a mosaic ceiling that took Italian artisans six months, lying on their backs, to install.
- Address: Ochre Point Ave., 424 Bellevue Ave., Newport, RI, 02809 | Map It
- Phone: 401/847-1000
- Cost: $18
- Hours: Jan.-Mar., daily 10-4; Apr.-Dec., daily 9-5
- Website: www.newportmansions.org/explore/the-breakers
- Location: Newport
Contact Information
Member Reviews
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jules_loves_you, from Boston, MA
This is no doubt one of the best Newport mansions. To the person who rated this a one, well duh, if you go in the middle of July it's prime tourist season and it's going to be busy and you're going to have to wait for a tour thing--life isn't on-demand. Oh, and about the air conditioning too, they were built in the Guilded Age--long before air conditioning.
Anyways, everything in this is gorgeous! I highly recommend going. -
FlyingMaltese, from Hershey, PA
We went on a Saturday in July and there were no tours available--NO TOUR GUIDES OR AUDIOGUIDES. They provided us a pamphlet that we read in 5 minutes. We walked out of there disappointed.
We had a much better experience at the Elms, Marble House, and Rough Point. Rough Point was expecially nice because it was air-conditioned and was sited on the prettiest stretch of Cliff walk.
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