Newport, Rhode Island Travel Guide—My Favorite Restaurants, Beaches, and Mansions

Plus, a couple hidden gems for jumping off rocks and making out with your significant other.

Nicknamed the Queen of Summer Resorts, for nearly two centuries my hometown of Newport, Rhode Island has been one of the most famous destinations in the U.S., if not the world. 

From the 1870s until the Great Depression nearly everybody with a great fortune in America–Astor, Vanderbilt, Bennett, Baker, Morgan, Berwind, Fair, Lorillard, Fahnestock, James, Burden, Slater, Goelet, Havemeyer, Sears, Belmont, Brown, Duke, Drexel, Widener–built or rented here. It held the first U.S. Open for golf, as well as the first U.S. Open for men’s tennis, and was the home of the America’s Cup sailing race for 50 years.

It’s famous for its mansions, colonial-era historic downtown, sailing, and of course, beaches.

So before summer is out, Newport is the subject of my third destination guide. Previous ones, for those interested, are on Menorca and Paris.

Destination guides are locked for paying subscribers, although the Menorca one is free so you can get a sense. I’ll be back next week with the free newsletter :) 

For those who don’t want to read descriptions, I’ve put on Google Maps the restaurants, beaches, and activities in Newport: