Is a week too long to spend in Newport? This is our first trip there. We plan to see the mansions and drive around along the water, have nice dinners, etc. Will that take a week? What else should we see and do? Thanks for your advice.

You could check out Providence (best italian food on Federal Hills Mediterraneo's. Take the ferry to Block Island.

Probably. I was just there in July and for whatever reason... it just didn't grab me for lack of a better word. Usually I have very positive experiences wherever I travel and often the places I visit will become very special to me and I didn't really have that this time.

Right off the bat I, for the FIRST time ever, had a regret in my choice of lodging so that may account for my less than positive impression. Honestly, I dont think I've ever had a bad lodging experience until Newport. The shame of that is Newport is loaded with nice places to stay, Clarke Street alone must have 5 and they all looked nice. I toured several places for future reference and still kick myself for not staying at the Francis Malbone or any of the more historic ones on Clarke St.
The place I stayed was Artful Lodger on Spring St and please trust me on this and dont stay there!!! I cant tell you it was dirty, it wasn't, but we're talking basement rec room ambiance and the website is not a true depiction by any stretch of the imagination except the address really is 503 Spring LOL

The Mansions are certainly not to be missed and I got to them all except Chepstow and I was only there for four days. I enjoyed all of them, but the Breakers is probably my favorite. Astors Beechwood was the most fun, its all done in character by actors and they were also doing a Murder Mystery called "Bal Masque" and I enjoyed that very much! The Ghost tour at Belcourt Castle was also extremely popular.

If theres a bad place to eat in Newport trust me, I FOUND IT I am not hard to please in the food dept but boy did I hit some less than impressive dining choices UNTIL I had dinner at Castle Hill. Castle Hill was superb! I also enjoyed ... I think it was called Black Pearl down on the wharf. The much touted Scales and Shells wasn't impressive in the least and I was very disappointed by that. I'm sure Newport has some wonderful dining, but I seemed to have an uncanny knack on this trip of not finding them!

I enjoyed driving to the end of Bellevue and up Ocean Drive, thats how you get to Castle Hill actually and there are lots of places to pull over and public beaches. I will say this I did not regret having a car in Newport and I was there in July. I had no trouble parking at the mansions and only really got into any kind of traffic once on Memorial Blvd and driving into town was a little slow. I'd been warned traffic was horrible, but fortunately I really didn't find that to be the case. I also found some open lots that I thought were reasonable down closer to Bannisters Wharf and that area. Newport has a lot of history apart from the Mansions and you could even say it's almost like two separate Newports in a way.

A week probably is too long for just Newport, but others may disagree. What I did was the first part of my trip was Martha's Vineyard which was wonderful! Newport was the second leg of my trip and I flew home from Providence. You could do that or Nantucket and flights from Providence to both are available.
I'll probably go back to Newport one day, because there were a lot of things I missed.

We went to Newport for 4 nights. We were struggling to find things to do after our third day.

I love Newport, BUT a couple days is enough time to see all the major mansions. Don't forget allow some time for the Cliffwalk which in my opinion is the best thing to do in Newport.

Newport is 1-2 days. I would rethink staying a week.

There is a small winery in next-door Middletown. As long as you're not coming from California, it might be fun! The murder mystery at Astors is a blast, and we really loved the tour at The Elms, which was the only self-guided audio at the time. There is also some touristy shopping and the Cliff Walk to enjoy. Is this for next year, when you might want some down time at the beach? Then a week might be okay. Otherwise, you may want to combine it with a visit to Connecticut, Cape Cod, or Boston and the "Northshore."

Newport is a nice place to visit, but a week is too long. My advise would be to go to Newport for a day or two and spend the rest of the week in Boston, if you haven't been to Boston. Have fun.

Hmm- what time of year are you going? Will it be beach weather? Do you like fishing and watersports? What's your budget? Actually, factoring in things like spending a few days at the beach, taking a day trip to Block Island, a half day fishing charter, a half day of sailing lessons, some time spent hiking the trails of the Norman Bird Sanctuary, a day trip to Providence, a day trip to Msytic, Conn., kite flying at Brenton Point State Park, attend one of the various weekend music/art special events (such as Jazz Festival, Folk Festival, Oktoberfest, Boat Shows), you certainly could spend a week (or more) of vacation in and around Newport. But if these activities don't excite you, or if it is the wrong time of year for them, then no, there isn't enough to do in Newport for a week.

A week IS too long for Newport, itself. You can easily see the sights in two days. The mansions are lovely, as JonEric mentioned. We ate at the Brick Alley Pub right in the heart of town, which we have done in the past, and found the food very good--with interesting atmosphere--and reasonable. From Newport, you can cross over on the bridge to the tiny community of Jamestown, which is an interesting place. You can also travel up the peninsula and then down the other side to some wonderful areas--Little Compton, Tiverton, the Sakonnet Vineyards (terrific wine) to Sakonnet Point. Tiverton has some unusual shoppes. My favorite is Courtyards. Some of the best icecream in this area can be found at Tiverton Four Corners--Gray's. A trip to Mystic Seaport was suggested, and that is a wonderful day trip. This is a recreation of a seafaring community in the 1800's. I understand there is a fairly large discount outlet area nearby, although we haven't been there. If you like to gamble, there are two choices within driving distance--Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. I would spend a day in Providence. Federal Hill near Brown U. has great restaurants and charm. If you like sculpted gardesn, there is Blithewold within driving distance of Newport. The Providence Zoo, while not great, is worthwhile, as well. I think you can eke out enough things to do in the area if you wish, or head up to Boston, if you've never been. I may be prejudiced, having been born there, but I think it is a
wonderful, tourist-friendly city.

We were just in Newport over Labor Day weekend for a night and 1 night was enough. I agree with the other posters, it just didn't grab me. Not much to do. The Mansions are nice, but if you see them once it's enough. We did go to Boston after and had a wonderful time!! I love Boston. So, I suggest not staying more then 2 nights in Newport and go to Boston. It's a great city!!

I've spent several weekends in Newport and I can definitely see spending 3 or 4 days relaxing and taking in the mansions, Ocean Drive, Cliff Walk, the shops, the wharf. It takes a few hours per mansion, and there are a half dozen anyway that you'd probably want to tour. At the first one you go to you can buy a package for several, will be less expensive than paying for each seperately. The topiary garden in Middletown is pretty too. We were just in Newport and they had a flyer for a day ferry trip to Block Island. I've been there 3 times and just love it. You can rent scooters, mopeds or bikes when you get off of the ferry and see the island that way, it's very quaint. It's also very hilly, so unless you're a seasoned bike rider, I'd definitely opt for a scooter. If you're going to RI in the next month or so, check out Waterfire in Providence (www.waterfire.com for schedule & details), the fires along the canal in downtown Providence are typically on Saturdays, through Oct. 18th, and they have gondola rides too. Also second the vote for the casinos. www.foxwoods.com and www.mohegansun.com will give you info.. Both of these casinos have venues for perfomances, if you're interested in seeing some great headliners. Lots of choices! Have a great time!

I agree--a week seems like a long stay for Newport unless you use it as a base from which to hit other spots. You've had good suggestions for other day trips...as someone mentioned the topiary gardens are lovely, Mystic is a good day in itself. You might want to take a cruise on one of the America's Cup boats, but after that, the mansions, Cliff Walk, the Wharf, then what?

Jon Eric...I'm glad you found AND enjoyed Castle Hill. It's a wonderful place isn't it? Our best meals in Newport have always been there. Black Pearl is good as well, but if I had the option, it'd be every meal at Castle Hill, trying something new each time.

Hi Olive! Yes, Castle Hill is a fond memory of mine now! The view, the service and the cuisine were all fabulous. It really was an enjoyable experience out there watching the sunset.