Sailing Mystic Hearts

You can’t sail through New England without making a stop in Newport! A convenient pass-through on your way north to Maine or back south toward Long Island, Newport is geographically surrounded by water and well-known for its rich maritime history, including the America’s Cup and has been home to many of our nation’s wealthiest citizens, as seen in the many Gilded Age “summer cottages” that dot the eastern side of town. From walking the Cliff Walk, learning about the town’s history, touring the mansions, and eating your weight in seafood, there’s something for everyone in Newport.

We’ve been to Newport several times now since our first visit in 2014. We’ve walked almost every inch of downtown, eaten at only a fraction of the restaurants, and have toured a majority of the mansions open to the public. And yet, Newport never gets old. There’s always something new to discover in this lively town. Our recommendations are below.

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES

THE CLIFF WALK – About 3.5 miles long and running along the backside of some of Newport’s lovelist mansions, this is a must-do activity! You don’t have to walk the entire trail to get a sense of its beauty (in fact, check before visiting, as some parts of the trail are closed due to reconstruction). Portions of the path range from being paved to walking over large stones in the water, so proper footwear is important if you intend to do the full length of it. Over several visits to Newport, we’ve walked almost the full length of the trail, but have yet to do it in one go. The views are incredible and it definitely works up an appetite.

MANSION TOURS – The Preservation Society of Newport County does a great job of preserving its mansions. By opening them up to the public for tours, they are able to use ticket sales to maintain the properties and ensure they are open for generations to come. Some of the mansions in Newport are privately owned and not owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County, so if there is a particular mansion you wish to tour that is not on the Preservation Society’s website, you can likely find the info on Google Maps.

The list below are the mansions we have toured so far. We’ve both agreed that The Elms was our favorite (the accompanying gardens are fantastic), followed by Marble House for the amount of stone and detail. The Breakers was breathtakingly large and opulent, but overdone in our opinion. All are certainly worth a visit, but if you have limited time and only wish to see one or two, those are our recommendations.

1. The Breakers – Built in 1895 in the Italian Renaissance style and owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt II. This is probably the most popular mansion to tour.
2. Marble House – Built in 1892 for William Vanderbilt, the younger brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
3. The Elms – Built in 1901 in a French style and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Berwind.
4. Chateau-sur-Mer – Built in 1852 as an Italianate-style home for William Wetmore.
5. Belcourt of Newport – Built in 1894 for Oliver Belmont; now owned by Carolyn Rafaelian, billionaire jewelry designer of Alex & Ani.
6. Rough Point – Built in 1891 for the Vanderbilts. Later owned by tobacco heiress Doris Duke.
7. Rosecliff – Built in 1902 in a French style and owned by silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs.

THE SAILING MUSEUM & NATIONAL SAILING HALL OF FAME – Recently opened since our last visit to Newport in 2021, we really enjoyed checking out the interactive sailing exhibits and learning more about the history of the America’s Cup. The museum is housed in the same building as the City of Newport Maritime Center next to the Ann Street Pier on Thames Street.

STROLL THE WHARVES – It isn’t a visit to the Newport waterfront without checking out the wharves, particularly Bowen’s and Bannister’s. Full of shops, restaurants, and schooners, it’s a must-stop while in town. If you have extra time, book a sunset sail on a schooner. We did this pre-boat life back in 2014 and enjoyed the harbor views.

CHECK OUT THE NEIGHBORHOODS

1. The Point (neighborhood north of the Newport Marriott, running between Washington and Third Streets) – This historic neighborhood is full of some of the oldest homes in town, many dating back to the mid-1700’s.
2. Bellevue Avenue – Even if you don’t plan to do any of the mansion tours, it’s still worth a walk down this street known for its Gilded Age “summer cottages” that line the road. American heirs and heiresses who made their fortune from the railroads, steamships, coal, tobacco, etc. built these homes.                                  

TOUR FORT ADAMS STATE PARK – It has been many years since we toured Fort Adams (2014, in fact), but we love a good fort and historical tour. This particular one was completed in 1857 and also is known for hosting the Newport Jazz Festival every year.

ACTIVITIES ON THE LIST FOR NEXT TIME

MANSION TOURS

1. Chepstow – Built in 1860 as an Italianate-style home for Edmund Schermerhorn.
2. Kingscote – Built in 1841 in the Gothic Revival style for Southern planter George Jones.

INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME – Tennis fans must make a visit here, which was the site of the first U.S. Open Championship in 1881, along with exhibits and history of the sport.

RESTAURANTS

SMOKE HOUSE – Definitely one of our favorite BBQ restaurants! We have a saying that every time we arrive in Newport we have to have “arrival nachos.” Pair the pork nachos with some of their incredible cucumber gin drinks and you’re in for a wonderful treat.

WHARF FISHHOUSE & TIKI BAR – A local recommended this spot to us while we were waiting for our mansion tour at Belcourt, and we were not steered wrong! A fun Polynesian-inspired spot at Bowen’s Wharf with tiki cocktails and a variety of delicious small plates (island and New England inspired) to share. We loved the lobster sliders and mahi skewers.

DIEGO’S – Also located on Bowen’s Wharf, Diego’s serves Mexican style cuisine. We’ve enjoyed their tacos, burritos, and margaritas. 

THE BLACK PEARL – While this restaurant is located in the touristy side of town, and the prices are probably a tad higher than they should be, we’ve had nothing but tasty meals from this establishment. Their lobster tails and halibut are equally fantastic, and if the weather is just right, sitting on the outside patio overlooking the water is so nice.

COLD FUSION GELATO – I love all the fruit flavored gelatos this shop has. Wish they would stop serving their gelato with plastic cups and spoons though.

SHOPPING

HELLY HANSEN – The largest Helly Hansen store we’ve visited to date (2-3 times larger than the Annapolis location), full of your favorite sailing jackets, pants, and other foul weather gear. If you’re lucky, you’ll even get to meet the sweet store dog, who greets visitors and does a great job looking after the store. 😉

THE BLACK DOG GENERAL STORE – The popular Black Dog clothing and lifestyle brand that you’ll find in historic waterfront towns like Edgartown, Nantucket, and Annapolis.

HELPFUL INFO FOR BOATERS

ANCHORAGES – There are two main anchorages in Newport: the southern and northern. The southern is located in between the channel entrance into the harbor and the mooring field. This anchorage is typically busier, but is closer to the dinghy docks. (Of our three times anchoring in Newport, we were two for two with somewhat negative experiences in the southern anchorage that involved boats anchoring too close to us. Perhaps a story for another day.) The northern anchorage is just south of the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge off of Battery Park and is generally less busy, but a longer dinghy ride.

DINGHY DOCK – Our favorite location to tie off the dinghy is at the City of Newport Maritime Center dinghy dock.

PUMP OUT – The City of Newport does not run a pump out boat, but there is a private business running a pump out boat in the harbor.

FUEL – There is a fuel dock at the end of Bannister’s Wharf. We have not brought the big boat here, but do bring our diesel jerry cans to top off.

TRASH – There are large dumpsters available for trash next to the City of Newport Maritime Center.

WATER – There is a small water barge near Bannister’s Wharf that boats can tie up to and refill from a spigot. We’ve topped off our tanks by bringing our water jerry cans.

RESTROOMS/SHOWER FACILITIES/LAUNDRY – There are public restrooms at the City of Newport Maritime Center along with coin-operated showers and laundry machines. Laundry here is expensive (about $5 each load, wash and dry), but there is a coin machine that you can put cash into for quarters in the lobby.

MOORINGS – Radio the harbormaster for assistance.

GROCERY – The Stop & Shop located on Bellevue Avenue is the primary grocery store in downtown Newport. It’s approximately a 15 minute walk from Stop & Shop to the dinghy dock located at the City of Newport Maritime Center.