6 Best Sights in Downtown, Providence

The 14,000-square-foot outdoor ice rink, right in the heart of downtown Providence, is twice the size of the one at New York City's Rockefeller Center. The facility is open for skating and ice bumper cars daily, late November–mid-March, and skate and helmet rentals are available. In summer, kids love driving the bumper cars, roller skating (and roller disco!), and bubble soccer (trying to score while wearing a giant bubble). The center also hosts movies, summer concerts, festivals, and other events.

The vibrant, interactive, hands-on learning environments here are geared to children ages 1 to 11 and their families. Favorite exhibits and activities include Water Ways, ThinkSpace, Maker Studio, and Coming to Rhode Island, which encourages kids to imagine the experience of immigrating to the Ocean State. Littlewoods, for toddlers, has a tree house, bear cave, and a slide. Kids can also explore an outdoor climbing structure and imitate burrowing creatures in Underland.

Officially the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge (named for a prominent civil-rights advocate, business leader, and driver of economic advancement in Providence), this 450-foot-long footbridge spans the Providence River. Similar in style to New York's High Line, the bridge features performance spaces, public seating, and fantastic skyline views. Opened in 2019, the bridge is the final link creating a downtown loop walk that includes new parks on the East Side and the Jewelry District banks of the river, and extending north through downtown's Waterplace Park.

Designed by the noted architecture firm McKim, Mead & White and completed in 1904, Rhode Island's beautiful capitol building boasts the world's fourth-largest self-supported marble dome. The gilded Independent Man statue that tops the dome was struck by lightning at least 27 times before lightning rods were installed in 1975. Inside, visitors can see a full-length portrait of George Washington by Rhode Islander Gilbert Stuart, who also painted the portrait of Washington that appears on the $1 bill. On display in the Governor's State Room are the military accoutrements of Nathanael Greene, a Quaker who served as George Washington's second-in-command during the Revolutionary War. The State Library, on the north side of the building, has moon rocks and the state flag carried on board Apollo 11's first lunar landing mission in 1969 among its displays. The centerpiece of the State House's Charter Museum is Rhode Island's original 1663 Colonial Charter granted by King Charles II—the first charter signed by a monarch that guaranteed religious liberty. Guided tours lasting 50 minutes are offered at 10 am and 1 pm on weekdays, excluding holidays. You can also follow a self-guided tour.

Venetian-style footbridges, cobblestone walkways, and an amphitheater encircling a tidal basin set the tone at this 4-acre tract along the Woonasquatucket River near where it joins the Moshassuck to form the Providence River. In summer and fall, it's the site of WaterFire, a multisensory installation featuring music, performances, and 80 wood-fired braziers permanently placed in the middle of the river and set afire between dusk and midnight on some nights. WaterFire attracts nearly 1 million visitors annually. Gondola and riverboat tours of the park and rivers are offered seasonally at during special events.