goodness

This month we are all flying to visit our child at Brown for four nights, we will be a total of five people. We would like to go on 2 different day trips. RI is new to us. This should consist of a day trip where we can walk, eat and possibly enjoy some history. A guided tour for an hour of a historical event or building would be great. Thank you..

dfrostnh

The Native American museum at Foxwoods (separate building and area from casino) is fascinating. It's in CT but could be an easy day trip. http://www.pequotmuseum.org/

Ackislander

Providence is renewed and has FANTASTIC places to eat. Visiting the historic section of town and the RISD museum will occupy a whole day if you do it right: two hour lunches and three hour dinners. A major foodie city. Let your kids show you around.

The other obvious day will be driving to Newport via Warren, Bristol, etc. A string of historic towns, some sadly invaded by MacDo and its ilk, links Providence to Newport, but all have interest and charm on the Main Streets and along the water.

If you have seen this already, you can explore the back roads of Tiverton and Sakonnet to the east or go to the South Coast and visit the area between Watch Hill and Stonington or Mystic CT. And Boston is no more (well not much more) than an hour away by car or train.

goodness

We will have three full days, thank you for the above information. Is there anything more specific? I will look up Tiverton and Sakonnet...We have visited Boston..Is an overnight to Marth's Vineyard a good/bad idea?

MP07950

On a recent road trip, I detoured over to stop at the Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth. You can tour the hour (but I didn't due to time constraints) but the real treat is to wander around the beautiful gardens. Plenty of place to have a nice picnic lunch, as well.

HappyTrvlr

Newport is very worth your time, a beautiful town with history and all of the ocean walk mansions. As mentioned before, Providence itself is a wonderful city to explore.

goodness

This sounds great!! um,,,,restaurants in Providence? Anything goes.

Ackislander

Martha's Vineyard could be done, but presumably your student will be at Brown long enough for you to take other trips. Unfortunately, the fast ferry from Quonset Point is done for the season, so you would have to fly from Green Airport in PVD to make a visit worthwhile. Then if it rains . . . .

goodness

Got it!!! Happy to do day trips with 5 people.

lvk

Here are some links that might help with Newport: Where you can have a nice drive, some nice walks and good food:

www.newportmansions.org (The Breakers is my favorite)
www.newportrestoration.org
www.cliffwalk.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...de_Island.html

If you are interested in wine tasting in the Newport/Sakonnet area, this also makes a nice day trip, especially in the fall:
http://www.coastalwinetrail.com/

dhutch2

Definitely see the Newport Mansions and do the walk around the properties like mentioned above. There is so much history and the mansions are crazy! You have to pay to get in, we picked two places and they tour you around and they talk all about RI as well. Next time I go there I want to see Thames Glass and some of the RI lighthouses

HappyTrvlr

In Newport area, go to Flo's Clamshake for lunch if you like fried clams, steamers, clams on the halfshell, etc.
In Providence, we had a great lunch right by the river at Nuovo. It wasn't far from Brown and there was parking nearby.

lvk

Just remembered this thread with a couple of great trip reports about visits to the New Bedford Whaling Museum & Historical district, another possible side trip from Providence:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ode-island.cfm

goodness

Thank you! No to wine tasting and our daughter has been to Newport. Is the there an area not in the city, that we could rent bicycles for a scenic ride?
Thank you

Lookin_Glass

Beware that there is no overnight street parking in downtown Providence.

nanabee

I was just in Newport, R.I. I can recommend a few things - the city bus tours are a great way to get an overview of the city including the beautiful Newport Mansions.

We like two restaurants: Thames Street Kitchen or TSK.
http://thamesstreetkitchen.com/tsk/

And a very popular restaurant called Anthony's Seafood
http://www.anthonysseafood.net/ (It's actually a very short drive outside Newport.)
They were featured on Diner's, Drive-In's, Dive's hosted by Guy Fieri. I've always wanted to go to one featured on TV. We enjoyed it.

Lookin_Glass

I haven't been to TSK. It looks fantastic, and I love the weekly limited menu concept.

An overnight in Newport would be fun, if you are staying in hotels anyway. Lots of places to stroll and hike, weather permitting, and the mansions to explore the good the bad and the ugly of the gilded age.

I have to strongly disagree with Flo's. It is completely inconsistent depending who is cooking and caring for oil quality. It can be very good, but it can also be very bad. I suggest ordering one seafood platter to share, and see how the quality is before ordering more.

lvk

The East Bay bike path is quite scenic and would normally take you along the river from India Point Park, (not far from Brown) to the towns of Bristol & Barrington. However, the part of the path that crosses the river near Providence is closed right now, so you might rent bikes in Bristol and do a round trip from there. Bristol has some historic sites that may fit your requirements as well.

http://www.dot.ri.gov/bikeri/east_bay_bike_path.asp
http://www.dot.ri.gov/bikeri/bikeshops.asp

lvk

For another partial day, you could try Wickford Village. Probably not enough to keep you busy for a full day, but it is kind of charming.
http://wickfordvillage.org/about/

bachslunch

Agreed with the suggestions to sight-see in Providence itself (worth a day or two), Newport (can be several days if you want to tour lots of the mansions), New Bedford (a full day's worth of stuff), and the Pequot Museum at Foxwoods.

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Re Newport -- there are tons of good food places there. I posted the following back a while ago:

I've generally found the quality of Newport RI restaurants to be good. Views and low prices tend to be mutually exclusive, though.

Have especially enjoyed food at the Black Pearl and 22 Bowen's when I've tried them, maybe not the most panoramic water views but they're on Bowen's Wharf -- both are a little pricey. Views at The Mooring are good, food's not bad, also a little pricey. The Spiced Pear at The Chanler Inn has scrumptious food and a fine view, but dress better than jeans or shorts and bring a very healthy credit card -- this is a real special occasion dining spot. No views and no credit cards at Scales and Shells (Italian seafood and pasta), but good quality eats and not killer expensive depending on what you get. Flo's Clam Shack is a no-frills stand in line clam shack spot with okay prices, and depending on what table you score you may have a bit of a patio style view -- decent fried seafood, no waitress service. Brick Alley Pub and Salvation Cafe are decent and cheap family style pub grub spots, no views.

============

In Providence, consider some of the Italian spots on Federal Hill such as Mediterraneo, Costantino's Venda Ravioli, Pane e Vino, and Angelo's Civita Farnese. Julian's is a very good brunch option. Al Forno is also a good Italian option not on Federal Hill, especially for pizza. Worthwhile and cheap options include Haven Brothers (an after-hours lunch wagon next to City Hall), Olneyville New York System Hot Weiners, Geoff's Superlative Sandwiches, and Antonio's Pizza by the Slice.

Am thinking Martha's Vineyard may be too ambitious from here. You'd need a bare minimum of one full day here (2-3 is better), and if memory serves, the nearest ferry leaves from New Bedford.