Although it is the smallest of the US states, there
is plenty of attractions in Rhode Island to keep visitors
entertained. A popular getaway on the east coast, this picturesque
state offers visitors memorable sites and experience satisfying a
varied number of interests.
Rhode Island is popular with those who have a love
for the outdoors. 400 miles (644km) of shoreline and more than 100
beaches provide the perfect settings for relaxing and sunny
vacation spent soaking up the sunshine.
For the more active, Rhode Island has plenty of lush
woodland preserved in 53 state parks. This makes the state ideal
for camping, hiking, and cycling. Nearby Block Island is only a
ferry ride away and offers excellent bird watching and beachcombing
prospects.
A favourite among visitors to Rhode Island are the
lavish 19th-century mansions of America's wealthy families, slices
of opulent history frozen in time. The National Museum of American
Illustration is adored by art lovers, as is the Rhode Island School
of Design Museum with its many textile and fine art
exhibitions.
The cities of Providence and Newport are both worthy of a visit,
offering insights into their previous colonial pasts via a number
of fantastic museums. Both cities have beautiful sidewalks and
atmospheric old neighbourhoods to explore, as well as excellent
restaurants and bars.
State Capitol
Rhode Island's magnificent Georgian-marble state house was
inspired by London's St Paul's Cathedral and the US Capitol. It has
the distinction of sporting one of the largest self-supporting
domes in the world. The beautiful building in Smith Street houses
the original Rhode Island Charter of 1663 and an historic portrait
of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart, a Rhode Island
native. The Washington portrait is renowned for being the one used
on the American dollar bill.
John Brown House
Designed by Joseph Brown for his brother John in 1786, sixth
president John Quincy Adams once described the three-storey mansion
on Power Street as being the most incredible and elegant private
mansion ever seen on the continent of North America. The Georgian
architecture features elaborate woodwork, French wallpaper, and
18th-century locally made furnishings. John Brown House also
contains silver and decorative oriental objet d'art, gathered by
John Brown who made his fortuning trading with China.
John Brown House in Providence
Daniel Case
Waterplace Park
Providence's renovated downtown waterfront is known as
Waterplace Park, a haven of romantic Venetian footbridges and
cobblestone walkways that has won national and international design
awards. Sited at the junction of three rivers, the river walk was
the centre of the shipping trade in the city's early years. Today
it draws enthusiastic crowds to the popular WaterFire events, held
several times a year. This multimedia festival involves nearly 100
blazing braziers that rise from the river, seemingly to dance atop
the water to the tune of rhythmic music. WaterFire events are not
held to schedule and visitors can find out from the visitor
information centre in the clock tower (open daily from 10am to 4pm)
when the next is to be held. Free concerts and plays are also
frequently held in the Waterplace Amphitheatre.
View of Providence from Waterplace
Park.
WFProvidence
Rhode Island School of Design Museum
The small but comprehensive museum attached to the Rhode Island
School of Design features many changing exhibitions, particularly
relating to textiles. The museum's permanent collection includes
the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller collection of Japanese prints, Chinese
terracotta, Greek statuary, and some French Impressionist
paintings. Highlights are works by masters such as Monet, Cézanne,
Rodin, and Picasso. There is also an American section containing
paintings by Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, and John Singer
Sargent. Please note that there are two entrances to the museum,
the Museum's Benefit Street entrance and the Chace Center entrance
at 20 North Main Street.
Rhode Island School of Design Museum
John Phelan
Roger Williams Park Zoo
Providence's zoo is situated in 16 hectares (40 acres) of
beautiful woodlands and is accessed from Elmwood Avenue on the
south edge of the city. The Roger Williams Park Zoo focuses on
conservation and also contains a museum of natural history and a
planetarium, as well as offering a relaxing spot to picnic, feed
the ducks, ride a pony, or rent a paddleboat.
The zoo is home to more than 900 animals from 156 different
species, with display areas divided into different habitats,
including Tropical America, the Plains of Africa, and Australasia.
Animals on exhibit include cheetahs, elephants, snow leopards, red
wolves, bison, and many more.
Special features include an exhibit focusing on survival and
adaption, as well as separate environments illustrating the natural
worlds of both Africa and North America. There is also a wetlands
trail, a mini trek reproducing the journey of Marco Polo, and a
rainforest exhibition.
Giraffe at Roger Williams Zoo
Jude
Benefit Street
Lined with an impressive concentration of original
colonial-style homes, Benefit Street, Providence boasts one of the
most extensive collections of 18th and 19th century urban
architecture in America. The 'Mile of History' takes in all the
well-restored buildings that were home to merchants and sea
captains. The street overlooking the city's waterfront also
features churches and museums. The Providence Preservation Society
cares for the area, providing information about the buildings and
escorted tours from their office at 21 Meeting Street.
Benefit Street
Daniel Case
Newport Mansions
The Bellevue Avenue Historical District in Newport, Rhode
Island, is home to some of the grandest, most ostentatious mansions
in the American architectural canon. Eleven in total, including
Kingscote, Marble House, and The Breakers, these enormous
residences are important milestones in tracing the development of
America's social history and seven of the properties are now
National Historic Landmarks.
Ranging in style and period, from Carpenter Gothic to Colonial,
Victorian to Gilded Age, visitors to Rhode Island have the
Preservation Society of Newport County to thank for their tireless
work in preserving and protecting these cultural treasures.
The Society runs expert guided tours of the mansions, during
which visitors are educated about each property's architecture,
interior, landscape, and social history. Consistently voted as one
of the Ocean State's must-see attractions, visitors to Newport
should not pass up the opportunity to experience these majestic
mansions first-hand.
Marble House, the Bellevue Avenue Historical
District
Daderot
International Tennis Hall of Fame
The Tennis Hall of Fame Museum in Newport is an inspiration for
fans of the sport. But even those who don't follow tennis will
still enjoy visiting this historic establishment, which served as a
premier gathering place of Newport society at the turn of the 20th
century. Built around a large interior piazza for lawn games,
turrets and verandas festoon the building commissioned by wealthy
publisher James Gordon Bennett. Originally a private social and
sports club, it became known as the Newport Casino. The venue now
hosts professional tournaments, while also opening the courts to
the public for play by reservation. The Hall of Fame museum
presents an exciting timeline of the sport's history, from its
beginnings to today's superstars. The collection contains more than
7,000 objects, including historic tennis equipment, period
clothing, and a tennis library.
International Tennis Hall of Fame
John Phelan
Touro Synagogue
The oldest synagogue still standing in the United States, the
Touro Street building was designed by Peter Harrison and dedicated
in 1763. The synagogue has, in its time, also been used as a venue
for town meetings. George Washington, who visited Newport in 1790,
attended a meeting in the synagogue and afterwards sent a letter to
the congregation, which has become regarded as a classical
expression of religious liberty in America. A copy of the letter is
displayed on the wall of the synagogue, which has been designated
as a National Historical Site.
Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode
Island
Swampyank
Museum of Newport History
Visitors interested in history will find the Museum of Newport
History an excellent place to begin a sojourn in the city. The
museum offers a comprehensive overview, utilising decorative arts,
artefacts of everyday life, graphics, old photographs, and
audio-visual programmes to bring the past to life. The Newport
Historical Society maintains the museum, which is housed in a
restored 1772 building in Thames Street, off Touro Street.
Highlights are an interactive computer tour of Newport's historic
district and a video tour of historic Bellevue Avenue presented
onboard a reproduction of an 1890s omnibus.
Museum of Newport History
Daniel Case
Block Island
Block Island lies barely 12 miles (19km) from the shore of the
modern east coast. A tiny treasure island, peaceful pleasure and
laidback relaxation are favourite pastimes and it's virtually
unspoiled by modern progress.
Time seems to have stopped on Block Island, settling comfortably
into the Victorian era. This is particularly evident in its main
urban concentration known as Old Harbor. Ferries from Rhode Island
arrive several times a day.
Quaint architecture, spectacular views, and delicious native
seafood abounds. Charming inns, beautiful beaches, and gorgeous
bike trails make up the entire tourist infrastructure that lures
holidaymakers in droves every summer. It's also perfect for long
lazy days spent in the water beneath warm sunshine.
Winter brings some savage storms, making life fairly tough for
the 1000-odd permanent residents. Much of their living depends on
warmly welcoming the annual influx of summer visitors, as well as a
strong sense of close community.
Named after a Dutch navigator who chartered the island in 1614,
Block Island is only seven miles (11km) long and three miles (5km)
wide. It has a unique array of flora and fauna, varied terrain of
hills and freshwater ponds, and the spectacular southern Mohegan
Bluffs rising 200 feet (61m) above the sea.
Block Island
Timothy J. Quill
National Museum of American Illustration
Established in 1998, the National Museum of American
Illustration is devoted exclusively to American illustration
artwork. The museum is housed in the beautiful mansion of Vernon
Court, with its Gilded Age architectural style synonymous with the
Golden Age of American illustration.
The museum's American Imagist Collection exhibits work by Normal
Rockwell, James Montgomery Flagg, Maxfield Parrish, and more. The
impact of these illustrators on subsequent American artists cannot
be underestimated.
Working in the days before television, their art circulated in
all major print publications. It was not only the primary medium
through which members of the American public were exposed to images
beyond their everyday lives, it also created a host of iconic
characters.
These characters have formed an integral part of the American
aesthetic ever since, such as the iconic Uncle Sam. Don't miss out
on this opportunity to appreciate some of the art that was
essential to the birth of modern American culture as we know
it.
National Museum of American
Illustration
Erikb02809
The Rhode Island climate tends to be unpredictable
and changeable, though it is predominately humid with short summers
and cold snowy winters. On average, monthly temperatures range from
about 82°F (28°C) to 20°F (-7°C).
In comparison to the inland regions, the coastal
areas of Rhode Island, including Narragansett Bay, are usually
cooler in summer and warmer in winter. July and August tend to be
the warmest times of year and temperatures reach 80-85°F (26-29°C),
though inland is usually hotter.
January is normally the coldest month of the usually
chilly winters, with temperatures on average dropping to about 30°F
(-1°C). Storms and hurricanes do occur in Rhode Island, causing
considerable damage.
Theadore Francis Green Memorial State
Airport
Location: The airport is located about nine miles (14km) from
Providence.
Time: GMT -5 (GMT -4 from mid-March to the first Sunday
in November)
Getting to the city:
Rhode Island Public Transit Route 8 connects the airport to
downtown Providence, stopping at the InterLink facility on
Jefferson Boulevard. Peter Pan Bus Lines provides service from the
airport to central Providence, Foxboro, and Boston, with a bus stop
located at the far end of the commercial roadway in front of the
airport. On weekdays MBTA commuter rail service is available
between Southern Rhode Island (Wickford Junction), Green Airport
and downtown Providence. An airport shuttle is also available from
T.F. Green Airport to various locations around the city.
Car Rental:
Most major car rental companies are represented at the airport,
including Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, Alamo, Thrifty, Payless,
Enterprise, Zipcar and National.
Airport Taxis:
Taxis are available outside the airport and take travellers to
downtown Providence, Martha's Vineyard, and other local
destinations.
Facilities:
Facilities include restaurants, snack bars, cafes, shops, money
exchange, shoe shine, chair massages, a reflection room, a game
room and conference facilities.
Parking
Long- and short-term parking is available. Rates start at about
$3 for the first half hour, $6 for the first hour and $3 per hour
thereafter. Daily rates range between $12 and $25.