travelinwifey

Hammersmith Farm sounds pretty nice, I'd love to see it one day.

Patrick

"Message: I always heard that Hammersmith Farm was Jackie Bouvior's (sp) home, not the Kennedy's."

Yes, that's true. But don't we all call her one of the Kennedys? JFK and Jackie apparently stayed there numerous times as there were a lot of pictures around of them on the grounds.

Judyrem

TTT for my visit to Newport.
Any new advice?

lvk

Hammersmith Farm is not open to the public.

If you were only going to do one of the Newport Preservation Society's mansions ( www.newportmansions.org ), The Breakers would be it.

Mrs. Astor's Beechwood and Belcourt Castle are privately owned and sometimes have theatrical-type tours (tour guides in costume and character). www.belcourtcastle.com/

Rough Point, Doris Duke's former home, usually has interesting exhibits. www.newportrestoration.org/visit/rough_point/

chickenlittle

Great topic -- I am book marking this -- thanks!

china_cat

I would consider including Marble House just to see the gothic art collection which belonged to the Vanderbilts, and is on loan to display in its original setting this summer.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rho...ar_ri_mansion/

lvk

Oops, it looks like Beechwood is no longer open for tours, either. It apparently has been sold to Larry Ellison (and he's not sharing )

bachslunch

Hammersmith Farm is no longer open to the public, and apparently neither is Astor's Beechwood (luckily, got a chance to tour the latter a few months before it closed).

Have been to most of the rest open for tours (except Chepstow as of now) and purely from a house-based standpoint would rank them in must-see order this way: The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms, Rosewood, Belcourt Castle, Rough Point, Chateau Sur Mer, Kingscote, Isaac Bell House, and Hunter House. But BC, RP, HH, and Kingscote also have excellent collections of period furniture and paintings and antiques which make them well worth the visit.

Best of all, they're all quite different from each other, so there's no sense of "seen one, seen them all" here. Most folks find seeing 2-3 mansions in a day is about all the sensory overload they can take (three is about right for me).

volcanogirl

Bookmarking.

yk

Judyrem, you didn't say when you're going, but the Newport Flower Show takes place the last weekend of June at the Rosecliff. http://www.newportmansions.org/page4702.cfm

Judyrem

Hi yk, we are going the first weekend in August. Staying at the Attwater Villa. I am very excited about seeing the mansionsand Cliff Walk.
I think we will do the Breakers and Marble House and maybe one more. I would love to see the period furniture and paintings, bachslunch. Thanks for the info!

lvk, Larry Ellison bought Beechwood? Shoot, I was going to buy it! ;-)

yk

Judyrem, make sure you bring appropriate footware for the Cliff walk - preferably Teva-like sandals or sneakers. I made the mistake of wearing flip-flops, not a good idea. Parts of the walk is not an actual trail, but stepping from one large boulder to the next. I almost lost my flip-flops (as well as my balance)!

Enjoy your visit!

Judyrem

Thanks yk.
I have Keen sandals that can be used for hiking.

1travelbug

bookmarking

panecott

>>> I always heard that Hammersmith Farm was Jackie Bouvior's (sp) home, not the Kennedy's. >>>>

Right, it did not belong to the Kennedy's. I think it may have belonged to the family of Hugh Auchincloss, Jackie's stepfather.

Jackie and JFK were married in Newport and had their wedding reception on the grounds of Hammersmith Farm.

panecott

P.S. I agree that seeing two or three mansions is sufficient - at least for this visit. I also second the reco of the Cliff Walk. You will get to see the grounds and the facades of many of the mansions.