Headed to both places this weekend… looking for suggestions on restaurants, lodging and things to do.
In Newport I think we’re headed to the Breakers unless one of the other mansions should be our choice. We also might do a Segway tour because we did one a few years ago and had a lot of fun with it. Any great stores we should poke into? We’re avid readers but not looking for antiques. Where might we stay that won’t break the bank? Need to keep it under $200/night.
I have a small Lizzie Borden obsession, so that’s the reason for the stop in Fall River. I need to go see the house!
The husband hates seafood but I love it, so restaurants that have decent offerings of all types are appreciated. Any cool hole in the wall places to look for? Great breakfasts? Casual lunches?
I have only stayed overnight in Newport on the Navy Base for work, since I live so close. Most of the shops are on Thames Street, along the water. Along with a ton of restaurants. The White Horse Tavern is the most historic, and the Black Pearl and Christie’s are also popular. Most places have seafood on the menu, but other things too.
As for Fall River, if you also like the Titanic, the Marine Museum has a fairly big exhibit of stuff, thanks to a connection with Bob Ballard who found the sucker.
Fall River is also the home of the Battleship Cove collection of museum ships and exhibits, including USS Massachusetts BB59, and several smaller vessels.
However, I’d be leery of trying to combine it with visits to other places in Fall River. For someone with an interest in the exhibits, I think the cove would be a very full day. Without that interest, I can only imagine how tedious even an hour there might be. A very hit or miss sort of place, I’d think.
Breakers is the mansion to go to if you are only going to one. It is the biggest, and probably most impressive, though I think there are “prettier” houses out there, like Marble House and Beachwood.
Newport hotels can be a bit pricey, but if you want to stay in Middletown, they have plenty of nice chain hotels within a 10 minute drive.
Thames Street/America’s Cup Ave (as recommended above) is the place to go for shopping and there are plenty of places for lunch as well. There are some cute Irish pubs there.
If you have time, you can take a stroll along Cliff Walk - great ocean views and you can see the back of the mansions (most are still privately owned).
Great suggestions, and I will note that Marble House is, IIRC, the one used in the move The Great Gatsby.
Also, be aware that Thames street is pronounced as spelled (rhymes with James), not like the river in England.
I haven’t been there for awhile, but my favorite restaurants are The Black Pearl and The Whitehorse Tavern. The latter is billed as the oldest continuously operating restaurant/pub in the US. At The Black Pearl, have the lobster and chowder. It’s real NE clam chowder like you’ve never had before.
The Lizzie Borden house isn’t the only place with her “relics”. The supposed weapon itself and other items are in the Fall River Historical Society.
If you go to Newport, you can always go see the Newport Tower. It was held by some to be built by the Vikings, or a Greenland archbishop before Columbus. Historical excavation seems to supports its being built by Governore Benedict rnold (ancestor of the Revolutionary War Figure)
Fall River has tons of Portuguese and seafood restaurants-many are very good. It also has the old mills-many of which are now cut-rate shopping malls (I bought a name brand suit at one for about 80% off). You can also vistit Dighton Rock State Park-it is kind of interesting.
Newport and FR are worlds apart-Newport id rich, FR is poor to middle class.
I’ve never been to Newport but I’ve read many books about the Vanderbilts. Marble House was actually by far the more expensive house, and its owner- the horrid Alva Smith Vanderbilt (a penniless belle from Bama who hit paydirt and later forced- literally with threats of murder- her daughter to marry the Duke of Marlborough) rarely used it other than for suffragette meetings after she married her second husband, O.P.H. Belmont, and moved into his mansion at Belcourt when in Newport. Belcourt is famous for having stables that were part of the mansion.
I’ve been there to see it. Several years ago, I brought my not-yet-wife Pepper Mill to see Dighton Rock, but the Rock is now housed in a structure, which was locked. to this day, she hasn’t seen it.
We always joke about how we went to see Dighton Rock, “but it was closed.”
The Moral is: If you want to see Dighton Rock, check the schedule to be sure it’s open.
When we were in Newport last year, we went here and spent a couple of hours on Heritage. My husband even got to take a turn at the helm. It was an amazing experience for sailors and novices alike. The captain and mate were not only great boat handlers, but they shared all kinds of interesting trivia about the places we sailed past. I can highly recommend it.
Yeah, the Breakers went the audio tour route about 2 years ago. And just looking, it seems 4 of them are now audio tours. Here is the info for the main Mansions - other are open, but are not part of the Preservation Society of Newport. Oh, if you like Tennis, the Hall of Fame is there too.
