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.
“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.
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. 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 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.
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 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.
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 129-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts is open for public tours.
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 in a range of media. Closed Nov. 22-Dec. 8
A great Newport tradition! See the great mansions of the Gilded Age dressed in their festive holiday finery. It’s the most spectacular time of the year at these awe-inspiring historic houses.
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 lavishly decorated rooms inside the house. Open on select evenings through the season. Includes access to The Breakers interior during the same visit.
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.
Updated December 10, 2024. Schedule is subject to change.
Please note: Advance reservations are required for all guide-led tours.
All houses closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
All houses close at 2 p.m. on December 24.
House & grounds close one hour after last tour admission.
*The Breakers will close at 3 pm on Monday, December 23.
Beneath The Breakers Tour – Guide-led tour daily at 10:30 am.
The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour – Guide-led tour daily at 1:30 pm.
*On December 14, Marble House will be open until 6 pm.
*On December 14, The Elms will be open until 6 pm.
The Elms Servant Life Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10:30 am & 2:30 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 22 Saturday, November 23 Sunday, November 24
Friday, November 29 Saturday, November 30 Sunday, December 1
Thursday, December 5 Friday, December 6 Saturday, December 7 Sunday, December 8
Thursday, December 12 Friday, December 13 Sunday, December 15
Thursday, December 19 Friday, December 20 Saturday, December 21 Sunday, December 22 Monday, December 23 Thursday, December 26 Friday, December 27 Saturday, December 28 Sunday, December 29
Beneath The Breakers Tour – Guide-led tour daily at 10 am.
The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour – Guide-led tour daily at 2 pm.
*Open through January 12.
*Open starting January 18.
The Elms Servant Life Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10 am & 2 pm.
The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 12 pm & 2 pm.
Grounds close one hour after last tour admission.
Brayton House at Green Animals is not open for tours.
The Breakers Children’s Cottage will be open to tour daily 9 am– 4 pm in June & July.
The Elms Servant Life Tour – Guide-led tours daily at 10 am, 12 pm & 2 pm.
*Rosecliff will be closed from June 18-23 for The Newport Flower Show.
Offering guide-led tours only. Special, timed ticket required.
Included with any Newport Mansions ticket.
*Rosecliff will be closed September 18-22.
The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour – Guide-led tour daily at 12 pm.
*The Breakers will close at 3 pm on Friday, November 21.
*The Breakers will close at 3 pm on Monday, December 22, and Tuesday, December 23
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 Friday, December 19, 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 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
