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.
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 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 October 1. The 7-acre property overlooks Narragansett Bay.
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.
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 China’s deep influence on Newport from the 18th century through the Gilded Age. This exhibition brings together more than 100 extraordinary objects and illuminates how many different people of Chinese heritage, including artists, merchants, immigrant entrepreneurs and women suffragists, shaped all aspects of life in Newport.
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.
A great Newport tradition! See The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms dressed in their festive holiday finery. It’s the most spectacular time of the year at these awe-inspiring Gilded Age mansions.
Updated December 8, 2023. Schedule is subject to change
All houses close at 2 pm on Sunday, December 24 All houses closed on Thanksgiving Day & Christmas Day Please note: Advance reservations are required for all guide-led tours
House & grounds close one hour after last tour admission
Beneath The Breakers Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10:30 am
November 18 – December 3 Open Monday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm for self-guided tours Open Saturday & Sunday 10 am – 3 pm for self-guided tours
December 4 – December 24 Open Monday – Wednesday 10 am – 4 pm for self-guided tours Open Thursday – Sunday 10 am – 3 pm for self-guided tours
December 26 – January 1, 2024 Open Tuesday – Saturday 10 am – 3 pm for self-guided tours Open Sunday & Monday 10 am – 4 pm for self-guided tours
Sparkling Lights at The Breakers – See schedule below.
On December 16, The Elms will be open until 6 pm.
The Elms Servant Life Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10:30 am & 2:30 pm
On December 16, Marble House will be open until 6 pm.
Houses & grounds close one hour after last tour admission
Rosecliff closed November 16 – December 3 for special events
Friday, November 17 Saturday, November 18 Friday, November 24 Saturday, November 25 Friday, December 1 Saturday, December 2 Sunday, December 3 Thursday, December 7 Friday, December 8 Saturday, December 9 Sunday, December 10 Thursday, December 14 Friday, December 15 Sunday, December 17 Thursday, December 21 Friday, December 22 Saturday, December 23 Tuesday, December 26 Wednesday, December 27 Thursday, December 28 Friday, December 29 Saturday, December 30
Please note: Advance reservations are required for all guide-led tours
Beneath The Breakers Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10:30 am & 3:30 pm
The Elms Servant Life Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10:30 am & 3:30 pm
Download our tour app before your visit and bring your earbuds.
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.
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
