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 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.
Operating schedule is subject to change
The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial pre-eminence in the Gilded Age.
William Vanderbilt built Marble House as a 39th birthday present for his wife, Alva. It was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport's subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent Gilded Age mansions.
The Elms was modeled after an 18th-century French chateau but featured the latest technology of the Gilded Age. It houses an outstanding collection of paintings, statuary and tapestries, and its landscape features formal gardens, terraces, pavilions and fountains.
Rosecliff is best known today for its world-class exhibitions, which fill the second floor with vibrant, ever-changing displays of art, design and culture. While its heart-shaped staircase and grand ballroom recall its Gilded Age past, the house is now lightly furnished to allow for frequent private events—letting the exhibitions and architecture take center stage. Its cinematic beauty has also made it a favorite film location, featured in more than a dozen movies, including "The Great Gatsby" and "True Lies."
Chateau-sur-Mer epitomizes High Victorian architecture, furniture, wallpapers, ceramics and stenciling. It was the most palatial residence in Newport until the appearance of the Gilded Age Vanderbilt houses in the 1890s.
Chepstow is highly evocative of the taste and collections of a descendant of one of America's founding families, placed in the context of a contemporary Newport summer home.
Home to more than 80 topiary animals and other figures for more than a century, Green Animals also blazes with colorful flowers from May until October. The 7-acre property overlooks Narragansett Bay.
Hunter House (c. 1748) is one of the finest examples of Colonial architecture in Newport. The house was owned by wealthy merchants who furnished it with decorative arts produced by expert craftsmen. Such a luxurious lifestyle depended on the labor of enslaved people of African descent. Recent research by the Preservation Society has identified at least 13 enslaved individuals who lived and worked at Hunter House. Today's Hunter House honors their perseverance and incalculable contributions to Newport’s past.
Isaac Bell House is one of the finest surviving examples of shingle-style architecture in the country. Designed by McKim, Mead & White, it blends international and American influences into a distinctive Gilded Age style. With minimal furnishings, the house allows its innovative interior and exterior design to take center stage —highlighting the craftsmanship, natural materials and open layout that make it architecturally significant.
Kingscote is a landmark of the Gothic Revival style in American architecture. Its appearance in Newport marked the beginning of the “cottage boom” that would distinguish the town as a veritable laboratory for the design of picturesque houses throughout the 19th century.
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time.
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 returns when The Elms reopens November 22.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.
Explore The Breakers from top-to-bottom with one of our expert tour guides. Members will experience all three of our offered tours at The Breakers, all rolled into one. Offered on select dates.
SOLD OUT
Updated November 12, 2025. Schedule is subject to change.
Please note: Advance reservations are required for all guide-led tours.
Last admission at 4 pm.
Beneath The Breakers Tour – Guide-led tour daily at 10 am & 12 pm.
The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour – Guide-led tour daily at 12 pm & 2 pm.
*The Breakers will close at 4 pm on Friday, November 21.
All houses closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
All houses close at 3 pm on December 24; last admission at 2 pm.
*The Breakers will close for daytime tours at 4 pm on Monday, December 22, and Tuesday, December 23, with last entry at 3 pm.
The Elms Servant Life Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10 am & 2 pm.
Sparkling Lights at The Breakers is an outdoor holiday light display & includes access to the mansion interior during the same visit. Special, timed ticket required. Timed admissions every half-hour from 4 pm to 6 pm. House & grounds will close at 8 pm.
Here are the dates for Sparkling Lights:
Friday, November 21, 2025 Saturday, November 22, 2025 Sunday, November 23, 2025
Friday, November 28, 2025 Saturday, November 29, 2025 Sunday, November 30, 2025
Thursday, December 4, 2025 Friday, December 5, 2025 Saturday, December 6, 2025 Sunday, December 7, 2025
Thursday, December 11, 2025 Friday, December 12, 2025 Saturday, December 13, 2025 Sunday, December 14, 2025
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Sunday, December 21, 2025 Monday, December 22, 2025 Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Friday, December 26, 2025 Saturday, December 27, 2025 Sunday, December 28, 2025
Download our tour app before your visit and bring your earbuds.
With the Breakers +1 and Breakers +2 tickets, you can tour multiple mansions and gardens at a discounted price.
See tour options, frequently asked questions, information on our policies and everything else you need to know.
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.
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