Operating Schedule
See which of the mansions are open and when. Search by date or month, or view the full year’s schedule.
Guest Information
View our FAQs, parking information, guidelines and more.
Tours, Groups, Exclusive Experiences
Explore our various tour types to find what’s best for you and your group.
Accessibility
See specific information about access at each house and property.
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.
“Inside the Newport Mansions” Gilded Age Conversations
Noted historians and authors share their insights into all aspects of Gilded Age America in this monthly series of interviews with the Preservation Society.
Become a Member
We invite you to become a member of the Preservation Society today.
Premium Memberships
We invite you to join these exclusive levels of membership for patrons interested in enhanced access and benefits at the Preservation Society.
Current Members
As a member, you can enjoy unlimited general admission to our properties and do not need tickets. Simply bring your membership card for admission.
Membership FAQs
Membership gives you free, unlimited access to regular guided and audio tours at all Newport Mansions properties.
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 has appealed 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.
With Philip Rylands, President and CEO of The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida, and former Director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice
This lecture tells the story of Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979), one of the most fascinating and influential figures of the 20th-century avant-garde, remarkable for her collection of Cubist, Surrealist and Abstract art and for her patronage of Jackson Pollock.
Guggenheim belonged to the celebrated New York family of copper magnates. In 1921 she traveled to Europe where, thanks to her first husband Laurence Vail, she joined avant-garde literary and art circles in Paris. She opened a contemporary art gallery in London in 1938 and a year later began planning her own museum of modern art. The outbreak of World War II constrained her to return to the United Sates. She married her second husband, Max Ernst, and opened a now-legendary museum/gallery in New York called Art of This Century. When the war was over, she returned to Europe, and in 1951 fulfilled her ambition to open a museum, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, on the Grand Canal in Venice.
Philip Rylands
Philip Rylands earned an art history Ph.D. from Cambridge University and has published books about the church of the Madonna dell’Orto in Venice (1976), Palma Vecchio (1988 and 1992), the history of the US Pavilion of the Venice Biennale (1993) and Peggy Guggenheim (2004). He has curated exhibitions, written exhibition and book reviews on art, and taught for several U.S. universities. From 1979 to 2017 he was Administrator, Deputy Director and Director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (a branch of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation) in Venice. Since 2019 he has been President and CEO of The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida.
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time. Tour times may vary. See the event webpage for details.
For the first time in the 130-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts is open for public tours. Tour times may vary. See the event webpage for details.
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. Tour times may vary. See the event webpage for details.
Fans of HBO’s "The Gilded Age" will love this guide-led tour of locations in four of the Newport Mansions where Julian Fellowes' historical drama series was filmed. Offered Tuesdays and Fridays only.
Calling all intermediate and above watercolorists! Join Bill Lane, award-winning local watercolor artist, for an intermediate-level daylong workshop on plein air painting at Marble House.
Coinciding with the U.S. semiquincentennial, this guide-led tour of Arnold Burying Ground will focus on the final resting place of Governor Benedict Arnold’s family and take a close look at the colonial gravestones.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Liaquat Ahamed will speak on his new book exploring the world-changing financial collapse of 1873.
"Pearls of Newport" is the perfect theme for the 30th anniversary Newport Flower Show, celebrating the city's coastal identity and maritime history.
To mark the U.S. Semiquincentennial, "Revolution Reimagined: Evolving Stories from Newport’s Past" explores Newport’s vital role in the American Revolution through the lens of myth and memory.
The play “Loyalty or Liberty” highlights the difficult choices faced by many during the American Revolution and explores themes of freedom, honor, duty and love in times of uncertainty. Offered Tuesdays & Saturdays.
Join us for an unforgettable evening of dinner and dancing to celebrate Summer in Newport.
Grab your clubs for an unforgettable day on the greens at the Preservation Society’s Annual Golf Outing at Newport National Golf Club, a challenging links-style course with views of the Atlantic Ocean and Sakonnet Passage.
Three days of fun and educational seminars, tastings, dinners and the fan-favorite Sunday Brunch await you at Rosecliff! Tickets available in early July 2026
Founded in 1993, the Newport Symposium has been an annual convening of fine and decorative arts experts and enthusiasts from across the country and the world. Attendees listen to stimulating lectures, experience behind-the-scenes study opportunities and gather together to network and discuss the future of our history.
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
PAPER Professional, 100% cotton watercolor paper. I use Arches and Saunders 300# mostly Rough but sometimes Cold Press. 140# is fine but always use a good sheet of 100% cotton watercolor paper – no junk! You’ll never learn to paint watercolors on cheap paper, trust me! And painting outside has enough challenges without fighting your paper too!! Watercolor “blocks” are fine too, and they give you a rigid surface to use on an easel. MY PALETTE
BRUSHES
MISCELLANEOUS
FOR PLEIN AIR PAINTING
FAQ
