Operating Schedule
See which of the mansions are open and when. Search by date or month, or view the full year’s schedule.
Visitor Info
View our FAQs, map & parking, guidelines and more.
Tours, Groups, Exclusive Experiences
Explore our various tour types to find what’s best for you and your group.
History of Newport and the Mansions
Founded in 1639, Newport was an important port city, a center of the slave trade, a fashionable resort and the summer home of the Gilded Age rich.
What was the Gilded Age?
The Gilded Age was a period of unprecedented change in America. Fortunes were spent on luxuries such as the lavish "summer cottages" of Newport.
Deep Dive into the Show
Learn about the people, places and events depicted in Julian Fellowes' popular historical drama series.
Current Members
Current members can see a full list of benefits and any information regarding Members Events.
Become a Member
We invite you to become a member of the Preservation Society today. In addition to joining an active community of preservation supporters and advocates, members are offered unlimited access to all open houses.
About Us
Our mission is to protect, preserve, and present the best of Newport County's architectural heritage. Learn more about us and our work.
Wind Farm Federal Appeal: FAQs
The Preservation Society of Newport County is appealing federal agency approval of two massive wind farms off the Rhode Island coast.
Personal Photography on the Grounds
Rent our museums for commercial photography & videography, TV production, and wedding photography.
Commercial Filming or Photography
Museum Rentals & Weddings
Host your wedding, rehearsal dinner, corporate event, or other celebration at our historic museums.
Surround yourself with the magic of the Newport Mansions during the holiday season! See The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms in all their festive finery – a beloved Newport tradition.
These great Gilded Age houses will welcome visitors with spectacular holiday displays. Nearly 30 Christmas trees are exquisitely decorated to complement the décor and theme of each room, like Mr. Vanderbilt’s tree in The Breakers, ornamented with trains and top hats! Hundreds of poinsettias, garlands, wreaths and fresh floral arrangements add color, warmth and life. As always, the 15-foot-tall poinsettia tree in the Great Hall of The Breakers – made up of 150 poinsettia plants – provides a perfect holiday photo opportunity.
Make your plans now to visit the Newport Mansions for the holidays – and prepare to be dazzled!
Buy Tickets
See the Newport Mansions Operating Schedule for opening days and hours for each house.
This outdoor spectacle of holiday lights will dazzle and delight you! The 13-acre landscape of The Breakers turns into a wonderland of color and light. Includes tour of the lavish decorated rooms inside the house. Open on select evenings through the season. Includes The Breakers interior tour during the same visit.
Fourth-grade Trim-a-Tree at The Breakers
Local fourth-graders will add their own festive touch to the holiday decorations at The Breakers! The Trim-a-Tree program, a longtime partnership between the Preservation Society and Pell Elementary School in Newport, returns this year with 160 fourth-graders creating ornaments along the theme of “Taking Flight.” The kids’ ornaments will be displayed on seven lighted trees in the kitchen of The Breakers for the duration of Holidays at the Newport Mansions. Please stop by and admire their creativity!
Hold your holiday private or corporate event at The Elms!
This holiday season, we’re making one of our most elegant and beloved mansions available for private events. The Elms is available for the month of December for receptions up to 200 people. The mansion will be decorated for the season with ornamental evergreens, Christmas trees, wreaths, flowers and more. Just add your guests, food and drink, and it’s an event they will never forget! Please email Megan Kenney Pharo for pricing, options and availability: MKenney@NewportMansions.org
Holiday Tea at the Chinese Tea House
Located on the back lawn of Marble House and overlooking the ocean, the Chinese Tea House is an unmatched setting for a three-course holiday brunch by Stoneacre Brasserie. The menu includes a three-tier tea tower, an entree selection and assorted desserts. Complimentary tea service is included. Specialty cocktails and wines are available for purchase. Exclusive to Preservation Society members and Newport Mansions tour ticket holders. For available dates and to make reservations, go to Stoneacre's Resy page. Questions? Email TeaHouseReservations@gmail.com.
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time.
See and hear how the other half lived. This tour will highlight the stories of some of the men and women who worked to service the social whirl of Newport during the Gilded Age. *Sept. 1-Sept. 30 10:30 & 3:30. The Elms closed after Sept. 30.
For the first time in the 129-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts is open for public tours. *Sept. 3-Oct. 14, offered twice daily at 1:30 and 3:30 pm. Starting Oct. 15, offered once daily at 1:30 pm.
Wild Imagination will explore the changing place of animals in the Gilded Age, a period that transformed how we view and treat the animal world, through more than 100 animal-themed artworks across a range of media.
Fans of HBO’s "The Gilded Age" will love this guide-led tour of locations in four of the Newport Mansions where the show was filmed. Tuesdays and Fridays only, September 3 through 27.
SOLD OUT
In an exclusive for our members, Director of Museum Affairs & Chief Curator Leslie Jones will give a wide-ranging update on the state of the Preservation Society's collections.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a 3,000-year-old tradition from China that celebrates togetherness. We invite you to a family program celebrating this festival on the grounds of Marble House and in the Chinese Tea House.
Save the dates for the 19th annual festival, featuring the Vintner Dinner, Sunday Brunch and tasty yet educational seminar experiences. Plus, special guest appearance by Jacques and Claudine Pepin!
Join us for a masterclass and tasting of Sonoma County wines and Kentucky whiskeys finished in French oak wine casks.
The perfect pairing: Fine wines from Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival sponsors and inspiring cuisine from the world-class chefs at participating local restaurants.
In this insider’s look at the Preservation Society’s new exhibition “Wild Imagination: Art and Animals in the Gilded Age,” curator Dr. Nicole Williams explores the evolving relationships between Gilded Age Americans and their pets and wildlife, with a focus on Newport history.
This guided tree walk is a unique opportunity to learn about the Kingscote arboretum, hosted by the Preservation Society’s Director of Gardens & Landscapes, Jeff Curtis.
Join Curator of Collections Dr. Nicole Williams on a tour of our latest exhibition, "Wild Imagination: Art and Animals in the Gilded Age."
What is spiritualism and how did it become popular in the Gilded Age? Learn more about the spiritualist movement and the beliefs it fostered about the spirits of the dead.
Download our tour app before your visit and bring your earbuds.
Parking is free onsite at all properties except for Hunter House and The Breakers Stable & Carriage House, where street parking is available.
Answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Explore the 11 properties under the stewardship of the Preservation Society and open as historic house museums.
Partners in Preservation
