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.
With Kathryn Sheehan, Executive Director of the Hart Cluett Museum
Spiritualism was a religious movement claiming that spirits of the dead are able and willing to communicate with the living. The spiritualist movement began in the 19th century and continued through the early 20th century. Prominent individuals, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, supported spiritualism. Along with the spiritualist movement there was a growing religious movement in New York State that spread to New England and included the use of spiritualists and mesmerists in the treatment of physical and mental disorders. This period gave rise to a fascination with mediums and séances and the lasting impact can be seen in today’s haunted houses and Ouija boards.
Photo on Events & Programs page: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1922 (detail), photograph by Ada Emma Dean. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Kathryn Sheehan
Kathryn Sheehan is Executive Director of the Hart Cluett Museum, formerly the Rensselaer County Historical Society. A native of Troy, N.Y., she has been historian for the Rensselaer County and Troy County since 2006. She has lectured on topics including Uncle Sam, the Underground Railroad, woman suffrage and most recently "The Gilded Age" in Troy. She has presented her work on local radio and television as well as the History Channel, PBS, C-Span and Russian and Japanese network television. She resides in the historic district in downtown Troy and is the author of Architecture Worth Saving in Rensselaer County Revisited, 50 Years Later.
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.
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
