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.
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.
The “Golden Age of Cocktails” blossomed in the decades after the Civil War, when rapid industrialization led to the accumulation of staggering wealth for the very few and great prosperity for a burgeoning middle class. From the 1870s through the 1910s, discriminating palates delighted in new inventions dubbed cocktails. In New York, New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco and Newport, found that a whiskey or gin drink cooled with ice and blended with fruit or other flavorings enhanced dinner parties and sporting events, luncheons, balls, ocean crossings and cross-country sojourns by rail. The Gilded Age beckons us to visit its cocktail culture, when bartenders became the Edisons of libations and the forefathers of classic cocktails of today: the Martini, Manhattan, Old-Fashioned and many more. A signature cocktail from Tichi’s book will be served at the reception after the lecture and the author will be available for a book signing.
Cecelia Tichi is an award-winning teacher and the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English Emerita at Vanderbilt University. Her books span U.S. literature and culture from the 17th century through recent times, including a biography of Jack London and a book, “Civic Passions,” profiling seven activists in the tumultuous years of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era of the 1910s. Tichi’s books have been reviewed in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Publishers’ Weekly and elsewhere. Her work has been supported by the Rockefeller and Mellon Foundations, and she has held the Chair in Modern Culture at the Library of Congress. She has lectured widely in the U.S. and internationally from Europe to East Asia. Tichi’s research and teaching inspired “What Would Mrs. Astor Do? The Essential Guide to the Manners and Mores of the Gilded Age,” followed by “Gilded Age Cocktails” and “Jazz Age Cocktails,” which set the stage for her mystery crime novels—the “Val and Roddy DeVere Gilded Age Series” that boasts “Gilded” in each title—the first, “A Gilded Death,” is set in Newport in the summer of 1898.
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
Celebrate with us the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in Blue" with this live performance. Gershwin's work is an important part of Newport’s musical history.
SOLD OUT
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 The Breakers interior tour during the same visit.
Members attending Sparkling Lights on this evening will be able to take advantage of special giveaways and activities!
Learn how the magic of holiday decorating comes together at Newport's largest and most popular mansion. Tours also offered on December 12 & 19.
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. The Elms is closed Oct. 1-Dec. 6.
Want something new for your front door this holiday season? The Preservation Society's Holiday Wreath-Making Workshop returns with plenty of unique ideas.
This program will guide you through designing a holiday floral arrangement that goes beyond poinsettias!
This elegant gala is set in Newport's grandest mansion dressed in its holiday finest.
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 to network and discuss the future of our history.
Thank you to all of our sponsors, guests and volunteers for another successful Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival. See you next year for the 20th annual festival, September 19-21, 2025, at Rosecliff. Become a Preservation Society member and receive early access to purchase 2025 tickets before they become available to the general public.
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
