The legendary Newport Cliff Walk is a 3.5-mile public access walkway that borders the shore line and combines the natural beauty of Newport with the architectural history from the gilded age. The Cliff Walk starts from the east end of Bailey's Beach to the western end of First Beach. There are public access points at Bellevue Avenue, Ledge Road, Marine Avenue, Ruggles Avenue, Sheppard Avenue, Webster Street, and Narragansett Avenue. The trail runs behind many of Newport's famous gilded mansions, such as Astor's Beechwood, Rosecliff, Marble House, The Breakers, Ochre Court, and Rough Point, where a bridge is located over an open chasm. Most of the cliff walk is paved and offers beautiful vistas, tunnels, and long winding pathways. The latter half of the cliff walk has unpaved sections and paths along rugged New England rocky shoreline. This section is more of a challenge but has impressive views.
The Newport Mansions were built in the Gilded Age by wealthy beneficiaries of the Industrial Revolution who constructed these "cottages" as summer homes. The most famous cottage - The Breakers - was built in just two years (1893-1895) and cost what would have been the equivalent of about $150 million today. It has 70 rooms (33 of which are for the staff). Up until 2018, members of the Vanderbilt family could still use the third floor of the mansion as their private residence. The mansion was named 'The Breakers' after the waves that constantly crash into the cliffs below the property. The Preservation Society of Newport County maintains the Mansions, and you can buy tickets to tour inside.
Ranked as the #1 public access course in New England, this 18-hole links-style course sports sloping fairways, marshes, and strategically placed bunkers. The dramatic setting features views of the Atlantic Ocean and Sakonnet Passage, while challenging golfers with steady winds coming off the Narragansett Bay. Newport National is reminiscent of courses in Ireland and the legendary Scottish links and Golfweek Magazine placed the course in the “Top Twenty New Courses in America”.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame preserves and promotes the history of tennis and celebrates its champions. It includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility. The courts are the nation's oldest, continuously used, grass courts. They are also the only competition grass courts open to the public to play on.
Thames Street is where you'll find Newport's local shops to window shop and explore!