Snow has melted, and the ice is gone from Newport. There’s nothing to show for all that shoveling, and it’s time to leave the house again. The stores are reopening, and the tourists are beginning to return, not to mention that the resident-only parking sticker comes into effect May 1! Time to take advantage of the Newport attractions without all the tourists ruining your view. The real key is avoiding paying to park, and in spring you can actually find a spot on Thames Street.
I feel obligated to lead with recommending the mansions, and if you’ve seen any of them, you get it. These awe-inspiring ‘cottages’ are monuments to Newport’s Gilded Era and the wild social scene that put Newport on the map. I mean, simply building the exterior of a house out of that amount of marble is unfathomable today, and the interiors and contents are just as spectacular. These historic summer homes, run by the Preservation Society, are free to tour for Newport Residents. Check out the The Breakers, The Elms, Marble House & Rosecliff now; Chateau-sur-Mer starting March 18; and Green Animals, Kingscote, Hunter House, Isaac Bell House and Chepstow starting May 20. The International Tennis Hall of Fame, which used to be the Casino (that’s a Rhode Island-ism), is a great place to visit if you are at all into tennis, (both lawn and real tennis), architecture or history. James Gordon Bennett Jr. founded the Casino after he was kicked out of the Gentleman’s Reading Room for drunkenly daring his friend to ride a horse into the building. After deeming them “stuffy,” he founded the Casino in 1880, which became the main place to be seen in that day. You can eat at LaForge next door, walk the shops on Bellevue Avenue and visit the Audrain Museum and drool over the car exhibit.
If you’re thinking about brunch, go to Pour Judgment on the newly face-lifted Broadway, Franklin Spa on Spring Street or Gary’s Handy Lunch on Thames Street. Annie’s on Bellevue is great, too, and Empire has fantastic teas. If you’re looking for a vintage shop excursion, my ultimate favorite hidden gem is Maison D.N.A. on the corner of Touro and Spring Streets. Also, there is Closet Revival on Broadway or Vintage to Vogue on Thames Street and I’ve had great luck at all three. I find that shopping second-hand in historically affluent places results in some amazing finds.
The Norman Bird Sanctuary is a fantastic hike! They unfortunately, but understandably, do not allow dogs (bird-eating or not), but the hike to Hanging Rock is more than worth it, not to mention the other sights along the way. When my social-media-conscious sister came to visit, we hiked to Hanging Rock so she could get her outdoorsy photo shoot in with surfers-end in the background and compete with her friends’ beachy selfies, which are so overdone.
If you’re like me and bring your dog everywhere until you get kicked out (thank you numerous restaurants, CVS, Ash Mart, etc., but I get the food prep argument), there are always options. Walk the Cliff Walk and catch the back view of the mansions, their lawns and an unparalleled view of the ocean; the Cliff Walk starts at First Beach, has a few entrances along the way, and ends at Rejects Beach. The best entrance, in my opinion, is Narragansett Street because you can park, there is a new restroom, garbage cans, benches and a water fountain. This is also the location of the Forty Steps — don’t trip! You can easily walk toward First Beach and back or down the other way toward Rejects, where you can stand on literally the same beach and look past the line drawn in the sand at the exclusive Baileys Beach Club. There is no parking for Rejects Beach, so it’s a walking or biking destination. The terrain of the Cliff Walk gets choppy once you pass the Ruggles entrance, so leave your strollers behind and get ready to carry your kids or teach them to jump from rock to rock. It’s not all THAT rugged, and worth the walk to see the Chinese Tea House at Marble House. Other places to take your dog are Ballard Park, Brenton Point (which is also my number one spot to catch incredible sunsets) or the reservoir by Second Beach. The trick to the reservoir (Gardiner’s Pond) is to park in the little triangle parking lot on Hanging Rock Road and Sachuset Point Road and walk Hanging Rock Road until you see a random staircase to the right and just climb up toward somewhere you can’t really see. Trust me, it’s not trespassing, and it’s a great trail. In the summer, you either have to pay to park at the beach, go after 5pm when they stop charging or just walk.
I’ve found that the biggest DOG obstacle is where to sit down and grab some food. My favorite daytime-dog-spot is O’Brien’s on Thames Street. You can buy your pup various sizes of dog burgers, they give you a water bowl and even supply biscuits. It might be a little cold still, but worth a shot. And they have a little bit of a building overhang to block the cold. You also can go to Frosty Freeze (open April – October) and buy dog frozen yogurt, regular ice cream and soft serve AND Only 8 frozen yogurt, which is only 8 calories and delicious. At The Deck off of Thames also allows dogs, but you have to sit outside.
If you’re looking for a movie destination, Jane Pickens Theatre shows interesting, smaller films that make going to the theater more meaningful, and they have a bar. On the film front, Newport Film has a lot of relevant, interesting film screenings, accompanied by key personnel from said movie giving a discussion afterward. Check out their website for the schedule. They also host in interesting places, and it’s worth the entrance fee to just see an artistic screening in a cool spot.
Dinner places in Newport: Perro Salado always, or I like The Whitehorse Tavern (oldest tavern in America), Salvation Café on Broadway, Diego’s or Wharf Pub. I think it’s tougher to get a table than have a bad meal around here, and spring is the best time to take advantage of table availability. And if you find yourself hungry in the middle of the night, Ma’s Donuts is always open!
