Newport, RI - What's it like?
 

Hey all!

I'll be heading up to Newport, Rhode Island soon to attend OCS and become a Naval Officer and was wondering if anyone had any insight on what there is to do in and around the region?

I'll be up there a few weeks before my particular Officer Candidate School begins, and. I was hoping to check out some local sites, as A single trip to. NYC has been my only experience being in the northeast, coming from a life spent in the South.

Appreciate any suggestions! Thanks very much!

http://www.discovernewport.org/visitor-center
http://www.discovernewport.org/request-a-travel-guide
http://www.newportmansions.org/
http://www.cityofnewport.com/history.cfm

Above are some links to get you started.

Lots to do in Newport...particularly the "cottages", Fort Adams, the Cliff Walk and Ten Mile Ocean Drive...

It sort of depends on what you mean by "soon".

Spring doesn't really begin in this part of the world until late April. In summer, there are beaches, sailing, and fishing as well as massive bar action, but if you are in OCS, you aren't likely to have time for this.

Mansions and the tennis hall of fame are going to stop being interesting pretty soon. I would suggest using your time to visit Providence, Boston, and the Connecticut coast. You can get a train from Providence to NYC easily. But I might suggest you not come to Newport until the last minute.

My husband did leadership training at Newport and I would come up and stay part of the time and loved it. We tried a number of places to eat and loved Brick Alley in Newport but we also took trips to Concord, Waldens Pond and Boston. We explored the cape one day. You can take the ferry to the vineyard also. We did one of the mansions but the walk along the cliffs was nice. We stayed on base at the navy lodge. Hope it is not real hot when you are there because I remember the sound of the ambulance picking of people that were passing out in training.

Bookmarking for a future trip.

Thanks for all this good information. My husband and I are thinking of taking a trip to Newport in the early fall. How many days would you guys recommend staying? We're mainly interested in doing tours of the mansions - how many do you think you can comfortably see per day? Brick Alley looks great - what other restaurants would you all recommend? We're up for pretty much anything.

Newport has a fabulous boat show in September. http://www.newportboatshow.com

However, unless you are an avid boater, you should avoid that weekend. The town is mobbed, restaurants are fully booked and hotels are at a premium.

Restuarants- Pasta Beach- not fancy but amazingly delicious, Salvation- yummy, yummy, yummy.
Perro- good mexican food (as long as you're not from texas!)

Newport is my favorite place in the world- enjoy!

http://www.newportmansions.org/

The Newport home tours are really a lot of fun!

don't forget the ocean board walk - considered one of the most beautiful in the US with house museums on one side and (somewhat cliffy) ocean on the other

needmore, I'm so glad to hear you love Newport. Thanks for all the restaurant recs. We definitely don't need fancy food. We love outdoor dining and anything with a view of the water would be a bonus.

All of these links are really helpful too. Weekend, how long do you think it would take to do the walk? Do you guys think 4 nights is about the right amount of time to spend there? It looks like a city with lots of charm.

Walk could be done in less tnan an hour unless you want to continue to the beach. I always did the day trips never spent the night but would think if you love the beach you could easily spend 4 days. 2 night weekend would be sufficient too:)

We both love the beach - yea, I'm excited! Any suggestions for hotels or cute B&Bs? Something with charm that maybe allows us to walk to the mansions or good restaurants? Our budget is open at this point.

Went for my niece's graduation from Brown about 10+ years ago and loved Newport. They have a good Italian section? in the old town - and in the summers - light fires in the river (think elevated burn pits) - and it's very nice to stroll along.

My wife's cousin - Patty - one of the nicest people you could ever meet - and her husband Bruce - (whose family was from Providence - for generations - and he is a good guy and they made a great "team" & had a wonderful marriage) - started a very highly acclaimed restaurant - called New Rivers - and he/they helped start the small farms to your table "movement".

Sweet Patty passed on and Bruce eventually sold to his long time chef but it still gets good reviews. see: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...ers+Providence

It's within 2 blocks of the River - before you head further up the hill to the Rhode Island School of Design and then Brown University above that.

There is also a place I/we wanted to get to but never had the time - called Brock? Island - a small, very cute place - where you take the ferry over - to get away from it all. http://www.blockisland.com/

Oops - loved Providence and also drove around Newport a bit.

And it's called Waterfire: http://waterfire.org/

That does look cool, Tom - how long does it take to get from Newport to Providence?

And if anyone has any good places to stay in Newport, that would be great. Thanks again for all the help.

It's not very far. A little over 30?" miles.

Thanks for the info. I think we may end up staying at the Hydrangea House Inn - does anyone know if that's in a good location? We'd like to be able to walk to restaurants and maybe a little shopping. Is HH close to the mansions and the Cliff Walk area?

http://goo.gl/maps/VgFOH

Above is a map. There is a parking lot near the mansions and maybe a bus you could take.

It looks like a convenient location for walking to the harbor area. You may want to drive to the mansions though, depending on the weather and which ones you'll be visiting.

You'll be quite close to the Newport Art Museum and the Redwood Library. Both are worth a quick visit.

For seafood or just a drink overlooking the harbor, I love the Moorings. Another old stand-by is the Black Pearl. Both are on the harbor.

Thanks, everyone - the map is great. I think we'll drive to the mansions since it looks like adequate parking is available. Love all the restaurant suggestions - it's going to be hard to narrow those down. They all look wonderful.

We'd also like to go sailing while we're there. Can you guys recommend a company to go out with? Maybe even a sunset sail? Not sure if they offer those.

And the Tennis Hall of Fame - do you guys think that's worth doing. We're not huge tennis buffs, but do you think it's still an interesting tour?

We found a company called Classic Cruises of Newport - looks like they have a lot of good options and sail through October.

Just following up - we're back from our trip and ended up doing a sailing trip with Classic Cruises of Newport and another boat trip with Gansett; the Gansett one was really fun since it was narrated, and they served us stuffies (stuffed clams) and champagne. The Classic Cruises was relaxing, and they also served champagne, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. We ate at Mission, Brick Alley Pub, 22 Bowen's, and Flo's Clam Shack. Tried to eat at the Black Pearl outside but we couldn't get a table. Our B&B was in a great location. The weather was fantastic, and we got to tour several of the mansions. Never made it to the Tennis Hall of Fame, but we loved Newport, and I'm sure we'll be back. We loved seeing The Marble House, The Elms, and the Breakers. The Servant Life tour at The Elms was great too. Thanks again for all the good info. The parking at the mansions was plentiful and easy to use. We want to try The Mooring on our next trip.