Best summer vacation spots in rhode island
Looking for the best summer vacation spots in rhode island? Look no further. Forget the beach, you want to spend your summer vacation in the Ocean State. In this post we take a look at everything that makes visiting Rhode Island during the warm weather months a good time.
Rhode Island offers some of the best summer vacation spots in New England. It’s diverse landscape, pristine beaches, and variety of water activities make it a popular destination for both New Englanders and tourist from further away. Whether you’re looking for a family beach vacation, or a relaxing trip with your significant other, there’s something for everyone in Rhode Island. If you’re considering a trip to Rhode Island, here are the top 10 summer vacation spots in the state that we recommend.
When it comes to summer vacation spots, only one state can offer you the weather, entertainment venues and natural wonders that are synonymous with the word “vacation.” But don’t just take my word for it. Gather your family and friends and head to the best summer vacation spots in Rhode Island where you’ll have better-looking skin, stronger bones and improved brain power!
The best summer vacation spots in Rhode Island include:
-The beach. There are plenty of beaches to choose from, including South Beach and East Beach in Newport and Scarborough Beach on Block Island. If you’re not a fan of sunbathing, the beaches are a great place to enjoy the water and play some beach volleyball or Frisbee golf.
-The Block Island Ferry. The ferry is an easy way to get from mainland Rhode Island over to Block Island, where you can enjoy hiking trails and beautiful beaches all day long. You can even get off the island for dinner or sightseeing if you’d like!
-The Newport Mansions. There are several mansions located in Newport that were built back in the 1800s as summer homes for wealthy families living there at the time. They’re now open for tours, so be sure to check them out!
Rhode Island is home to many beautiful beaches and quaint towns, making it a great place for summer getaways. Here are some of the best vacation spots in the state:
- Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a historic town with picturesque architecture and beautiful beaches. This charming city has been ranked as one of America’s most haunted places by Travel + Leisure Magazine. It’s also home to the famous Newport Mansions, which were built by wealthy families during the Gilded Age (1870s-1910s). You can visit these mansions during your stay at one of the many bed and breakfast inns or hotels located throughout Newport.
- Block Island, Rhode Island
Block Island is only accessible by boat or plane so it makes for an exciting destination! This little island offers some great activities like hiking through its remote areas or swimming at one of its pristine beaches. There are also some good restaurants if you want to eat out while you’re there!
- Providence, Rhode Island
Providence has lots of great things going on year round so there’s always something fun happening no matter what time of year you visit! Whether you want to go shopping at Waterfire
1. The Breakers, Newport
Newport’s most celebrated — and showiest — Gilded Age mansion was built by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1895 and reflects the unimaginable wealth of the Vanderbilt family. The Italian Renaissance “summer cottage” has 70 rooms, including a grand three-story dining room, and was built using imported French and Italian marble and alabaster.
Ceiling paintings, mosaics, marble columns, fine wood paneling, and carved stucco decorate its rooms lavishly and ostentatiously, as was intended by the Vanderbilts, who never risked being outdone by their wealthy competitors.
Accommodation: Where to Stay in Newport
2. Cliff Walk, Newport
Despite past efforts of mansion owners on the preferred ocean side of Bellevue Avenue to close off access, Newport’s Cliff Walk has remained a public walking path since the days when the great palaces were at their prime.
The pathway along the rocky shore provides walkers with views of breakers crashing on the rocks below, as well as the mansions’ gardens and sea-facing facades above, and is one of the most popular — and free — things to do in Newport. The Cliff Walk begins well before The Breakers, the first major mansion it skirts, and after 3.5 miles, it passes by Rough Point, at the end of Bellevue Avenue. The exotic Tea House at Marble House stands just above the path.
3. Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence
Despite its history as one of the country’s oldest zoos, Roger Williams Park Zoo is an outstanding example of modern zoo design and ethics. Largely cage-free, the zoo is a place where animals live in environments as close as possible to their native habitat, and where visitors can see them with a minimum of visible barriers.
In the 40-acre zoo, they can watch snow leopards, zebras, alligators, wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, kangaroos, red pandas, and dozens more native and exotic creatures in a setting that encourages kids and adults to learn more about them, their habits, and their habitat.
Because of its kid-friendly atmosphere and the number of things to do here, Rogers Williams Park Zoo is one of Rhode Island’s most popular places to go for families
The 435-acre park also contains a Botanical Center with New England’s largest public indoor display garden, the Museum of Natural History, a planetarium, and a carousel.
Address: 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island
Official site: http://www.rwpzoo.org/
Accommodation: Where to Stay in Providence
Read More: Top Things to Do in Providence
4. WaterFire Providence
The four-acre Waterplace Park and Riverwalk border the Woonasquatucket River as it winds through Downcity, Providence. Several times during the spring, summer, and fall, the city celebrates this river, which until late in the 20th century, was completely covered by roadways.
More than 100 bonfires are lit in large iron pans in the river’s center and kept blazing throughout the evening as residents and tourists stroll along the brick riverside walkways and footbridges. Street performers, vendors, and world music highlight these family-friendly celebrations.
5. The Elms, Newport
Philadelphia coal magnate Edward J. Berwind commissioned his mansion to be based on the mid-18th century Château d’Asnière, near Paris. Completed in 1901, the Berwinds’ summer home was embellished with Venetian paintings and furnished in French antiques from the period of the chateau it was modeled after.
Tours reveal details about the staff that was responsible for maintaining the house, and about the building’s technical systems. Be sure to allow time to visit the restored Classical Revival gardens, especially the lower gardens, which feature fountains, a sunken garden, and marble pavilions.
6. RISD Museum of Art, Providence
The Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence is remarkable not only for the staggering numbers of its collections, but for their breadth of scope. The historical and contemporary textiles and dress collection alone totals more than 26,000 objects, from ancient Egyptian clothing fragments and Elizabethan needlework to 20th-century American designers and Japanese Noh theater robes.
Other collections are equally impressive, including Decorative Arts and Design; Asian Art; Contemporary Art (which includes pioneering video arts); Ancient Art (complete with a mummy and coffin); and a Painting and Sculpture collection featuring works by Copley, Homer, Manet, Monet, Degas, Cézanne, Rodin, Picasso, Matisse, Maxfield Parrish, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
The museum’s shop is always a good source of gifts and household items that are unusual and reflect cutting-edge design.
7. Marble House, Newport
Built in 1892, Marble House was designed by the same architect as The Breakers, but pre-dates it. Modeled on the Petit Trianon at Versailles (French palaces were the model of the day), the house has an opulent gold-encrusted ballroom, inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. The rest of the house is equally lavish in its detail and is widely considered to be the most tasteful of the Belle Epoch mansions in Newport.
The elegant dining room, an almost exact reproduction of a salon at Versailles, is faced in pink Numidian marble. The solid bronze dining chairs were custom-made and, at 75 pounds each, must have been a challenge for the brawniest of footmen.
In 1913, Alva Vanderbilt added a red Chinese teahouse to the grounds, which you can see from Cliff Walk.
Address: 596 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island