Newport

Newport Travel Guide

The island city of Newport preserves Colonial industry and gilded-age splendor as no other place in the country does. The golden age of Newport ran from roughly 1720 to the 1770s, when products like cheese, clocks, and furniture, as well as livestock and the slave trade, put the city on a par with Charleston, South Carolina; the two cities trailed only Boston as centers of New World maritime commerce. In the mid-1700s, Newport was home to the best shipbuilders in North America.

Recreational sailing, a huge industry in Newport today, convincingly melds the attributes of two eras: the conspicuous consumption of the late 19th century and the nautical expertise of the Colonial era. Tanned young sailors often fill Newport bars and restaurants, where they talk of wind, waves, and expensive yachts. For those not arriving by water, a sailboat tour of the harbor is a great way to get your feet wet.