Visitor Info
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Tours, Groups, Exclusive Experiences
Explore our various tour types to find what’s best for you and your group.
Explore 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.
Episode Deep Dive
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.
Museum Rentals & Weddings
Host your wedding, rehearsal dinner, corporate event, or other celebration at our historic museums.
at the Newport Mansions
View 2023 schedule at a glanceOperating 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 Vanderbilt. 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 was built for Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs, who used it to host many fabulous Gilded Age entertainments. Architect Stanford White modeled Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of French kings at Versailles.
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.
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.
Isaac Bell House is one of the best surviving examples of shingle-style architecture in the country. Its architects and designers drew from a mix of international and American influences to create a unique Gilded Age style.
Home to more than 80 topiary animals and other figures for more than a century, Green Animals also blazes with colorful flowers from mid-April through mid-October. The 7-acre property overlooks Narragansett Bay. Green Animals will host the exhibition "Sean Kenney's Nature Connects" May 26 through September 10. A special, timed ticket will be required during those dates.
Hunter House (c. 1748) is one of the finest examples of Colonial architecture in Newport. Built on the harbor front at a time when the city was a bustling seaport in the British empire, the house was owned by wealthy merchants and overlooked the wharves that serviced their trading ships. These prosperous families furnished the house 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.
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.
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time.
Who are the French kings and Greek gods depicted on the walls? Why is the Gothic Room so ... Gothic? Hear all the details of this spectacular house, and stories of the people who lived and worked there, from one of our expert guides.
Learn about the historical set locations of Julian Fellowes’ “The Gilded Age” on HBO; African American designers and dressmakers who created the garments worn by privileged Newporters; cocktails that were all the rage in the Gilded Age; and the music that brought elegance and beauty to the soundtrack of the period.
Panelists from three locations where HBO’s “The Gilded Age” was filmed will discuss how the show has impacted period houses. In-person attendance sold out. Zoom still available.
With the Duo and Trio tickets, you can tour multiple mansions and gardens at a discounted price. These tickets can be used on different days and they do not expire.
See tour options, frequently asked questions, information on our policies and everything else you need to know.
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
