Weekend: Vacationing With Your Partner’s Family ⛱️

This Coastal New England Gem Gets Even Better Off Season

theSkimm

Live your best coastal grandmother life — at least, for a weekend — in Newport, RI. While the “Sailing Capital of the World” is a go-to summer destination, we’d like to make the case for visiting this New England town in the fall, when some believe it’s even better. Not only is it less crowded, but the vibrant fall foliage and crisp, salty air create real rom-com vibes, ideal for roaming the historic, maritime streets, scoping out the Great Gatsby-style mansions, and enjoying fresh seafood by the water. And, of course, no matter the season, Del’s frozen lemonade is a must.

🛏 Sure, being in center of the action is convenient (see: Hammetts Hotel), but staying just outside of town can cut costs significantly — which is one reason we recommend the Wayfinder. Some other reasons? All of the rooms — ranging from standard kings to two-bedroom suites — have Scandinavian-meets-coastal-cool vibes, thanks to retro light fixtures, beachy rattan furniture, and a Nancy Meyers-esque color palette. Plus, the boutique hotel provides complimentary bikes, so you can easily ride into town.

⚓ Thames Street is the heart of downtown Newport and where you’ll find the Museum of Newport History and two postcard-worthy wharves, Bowen’s and Bannister’s. Both are filled with charming 18th-century buildings, seafood restaurants (order a lobster roll from Luke’s Lobster’s walk-up window), and local boutiques (pick up coastal-inspired body products at Saltwater Living), so plan to spend a couple hours there, before going to the interactive Sailing Museum to learn about the sport. Or, to experience the real deal, take a two-hour sail up the majestic Narragansett Bay on an immaculately restored yacht via America’s Cup Charters.

🌊 The Cliff Walk is a scenic, 3.5-mile trail along Newport’s rocky coastline that offers unparalleled ocean views (stop at the popular lookout spot, 40 Steps, which was once an “after-hours hangout” for mansion servants) and passes behind the iconic Gilded Age mansions, where some of America’s wealthiest families spent their summers. Many are now open to the public and are worth touring, like: the Versailles-inspired Rosecliff, where some of The Great Gatsby was filmed; Marble House, which was built as a 39th birthday gift for socialite and suffragist Alva Vanderbilt Belmont (lucky her); and perhaps most notable, The Breakers, a 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palazzo where the Vanderbilts once lived.

🍴 Rhode Island may be small, but there’s no shortage of excellent seafood spots. That includes the Clarke Cooke House (a local institution known for its oysters and “Snowball in Hell”) and The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar (try the lobster-shrimp fritters — aka, “the bag o’donuts”). If you’re lobster-ed out, head to Newport’s only Black-owned restaurant, Humming Bird, for authentic Jamaican dishes or order a Roman-style pie at Mother Pizzeria. You also can’t go wrong at the White Horse Tavern, believed to be “America’s oldest tavern.” And though it gets crowded, it’s worth trying to snag one of the Adirondack chairs on Castle Hill Inn’s lawn for sunset cocktails.