The Mansions, Newport

Favorite thing: Most people visit Newport to see the mansions, and why not? They are the result of wealth and oppulence during this nation's growth.

The three main mansions are quite stunning and retain most of their original furnishings. The mansions conduct tours and you are not allowed to see them on your own. There is no photography and no touching allowed.

I takes between 1-2 hours (depends if you visit the grounds) to see the parts of the mansions that are on view. If you plan your visit carefully, you can see quite a few of them in one day.

Fondest memory: I love wandering the beautiful rooms of all the mansions seeing things for the 8th or 9th time or even seeing them for the first time.

Favorite thing: The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19th century.

44 Ochre Point Avenue
Newport, Rhode Island

Fondest memory: The Breakers and a guided tour of this magnificent mansion. Completed in 1895, the mansion is situated on a 13-acre estate overlooking a spectacular view of the rugged Atlantic and the Cliff Walk.

Favorite thing: Touring the Newport Mansions is the big thing in Newport , Rhode Island .

The mansions were owned/build by American industrialists in the late 1800's .

There are twelve mansions open for viewing . Some are not open year round and some are cloesed on specific days .

Do not worry about this as taking a look at two should do.

The number one mansion is "Breakers" built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II .

At the Newport Visitor Centre in the center of the city you can purchase various types of packages.

The " Breakers Plus Package "
( $21 (US) in 2002) gets you in to The Breakers and one other property .

Budget 1.5 hours per house . There are guided tours or you can go on your own with an audio cassette.

Fondest memory: The mansions are mostly located on Bellevue Avenue . After your tour(s) head south on Bellevue until you hit Ocean Drive and follow it around the coast line back to the center of Newport .

Favorite thing: There are so many beautiful old houses in Newport that it was difficult to chose between them. Actually, I took far more photos than I thought, so I will place some of them in a Travelogue.

This is another fine house, on the Historic Houses Register.

Favorite thing: Here's a really nice old property, one of those few remaining ones that's crying out for renovation. I imagine that it will be on the 'list', and would love to see it in a year or so's time.

Favorite thing: This fine doorway, draped in creeping vegitation, probably lead to a church or chaple years ago. I couldn't really see any sign of its former use, but it is now another fine Newport home.

Favorite thing: Visiting the many mansions and the ocean

Fondest memory: Our daughter went to college in Providence. She had a great time.