Make a weekend of it
Explore Newport
Newport is one of our favorite places on earth, and September might be its best month: warm days, quiet beaches, and the summer crowds gone. These are our personal picks, not a tourist brochure. Tap the filters to match your crew.
♥ Andrew & Jenna's pick
Sweet Berry Farm
Fresh farm market, an amazing breakfast and coffee stop, and pick-your-own apples in September. An easy, delicious morning ten minutes from Newport.
Belle's Cafe
Dockside breakfast inside Newport's working superyacht shipyard. Get the Slammin' Shipyard sandwich and watch the boats, a ten-minute walk from Goat Island.
Corner Cafe
The locals' Broadway breakfast spot. Order the Portuguese sweet bread French toast and go early, because the line on weekends is real.
♥ Andrew & Jenna's pick
Co-Dough
The best cinnamon buns, period: viral sourdough buns from the bakery inside Market on Broadway. They sell out by late morning, so go early.
♥ Andrew & Jenna's pick
Ocean & Fifth Cafe
Our go-to coffee shop, in Newport's Fifth Ward. Locally roasted coffee and an easy, excellent breakfast a few minutes from the beaches.
Flo's Clam Shack
The classic Rhode Island clam shack, right across from the beach: clam cakes, chowder, and a tray of fried clams eaten upstairs at the raw bar with an ocean view.
Anthony's Seafood
A fish market with tables attached. The stuffies and lobster roll are as fresh as it gets on the island, and it's where the locals actually go.
The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar
A short walk from the Goat Island causeway, with a patio floating right over the harbor. Start with the 'bag of doughnuts' (warm lobster-crab fritters) and stay for sunset.
White Horse Tavern
America's oldest tavern, pouring since 1673: candlelit colonial rooms and a proper special-occasion dinner, an easy stroll from the Goat Island causeway.
Giusto
James Beard-nominated 'freestyle Italian' on Hammetts Wharf. Share the pastas on the harborside patio and let the kitchen show off.
The Breakers
The grandest of the Gilded Age 'cottages': the Vanderbilts' 70-room palace over the ocean, and the one to pick if you only see a single mansion.
The Elms
A French chateau with gorgeous sunken gardens. The behind-the-scenes Servant Life tour is the sleeper hit if you loved The Gilded Age.
Marble House
Alva Vanderbilt's 500,000-cubic-feet-of-marble birthday present to herself. Wander out back to the Chinese Tea House perched right on the Cliff Walk.
Rough Point
Doris Duke's oceanfront house kept exactly as she left it: lived-in, eccentric (she kept pet camels on the lawn), and far less crowded than Bellevue's big names.
International Tennis Hall of Fame
Inside the gorgeous old Newport Casino, freshly renovated with interactive exhibits, and you can actually book time on the historic grass courts.
Cliff Walk
The essential Newport walk: ocean on one side, mansion backyards on the other; start at Forty Steps and stroll to The Breakers for the best stretch.
Brenton Point State Park
The best stop on the ten-mile Ocean Drive loop. Bring a kite and a picnic and watch the Atlantic crash where the bay meets the open ocean, ideally at golden hour.
Fort Adams State Park
A massive 1820s coastal fortress you can tour tunnels-to-ramparts, with lawn and harbor views looking straight back at Goat Island across the water.
Sachuest Beach (Second Beach)
A mile of soft sand with gentle surf on one end and surf lessons on the other. Grab twin lobster rolls at the snack bar and a Del's lemonade for the full Rhode Island beach day.
Schooner Madeleine
A classic two-masted schooner sailing from Bannister's Wharf right past Goat Island. The sunset sail is the single best way to see the harbor.
Norman Bird Sanctuary
Seven miles of easy trails ending at Hanging Rock, a rocky ridge with a knockout view over Second Beach, and the perfect low-key morning between wedding events.
Clarke Cooke House
Newport's legendary wharf institution: cocktails downstairs with the sailing crowd, a Snowball in Hell for dessert, and dancing in the Boom Boom Room if the night runs long.
The Lawn at Castle Hill
Adirondack chairs on a sweeping lawn above Narragansett Bay. Claim two seats an hour before sunset with a cocktail and watch the boats come home.
Newport Vineyards
Wine and beer tastings ten minutes from town, with daily vineyard tours and a proper restaurant. An easy, unhurried afternoon that works for the whole crew.
Ragged Island Brewing Co.
A real farm brewery on 37 acres overlooking Narragansett Bay: food trucks, lawn space for the kids to run, and pints in the greenhouse when the breeze kicks up.
Pour Judgement
The Broadway bar where Newport locals actually drink: a serious craft tap list, a famously good cheap burger, and zero wharf-tourist pretense.
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