Newport County Days Is Back at the Newport Mansions

Newport County residents can get in free to the Elms and other properties on Oct. 28 and 29. (Photo by Gavin Ashworth for the Preservation Society of Newport County)

Get ready, Aquidneck Island residents — it’s Newport County Days at the Preservation Society of Newport County, which means island residents get in free at the Newport mansions. Residents of Jamestown, Tiverton and Little Compton are also included in this special perk that allows locals a glimpse inside the area’s most decadent homes on Saturday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 29, free of charge.

Take advantage of the fall weather this weekend to tour the Breakers, the famous, Italian-inspired summer cottage that hosted generations of Vanderbilts. Or, learn about Marble House’s famous socialite owner who divorced her husband a few years after receiving it as a thirty-ninth birthday present. Wander the gardens at the Elms, modeled after an eighteenth-century French chateau, or take in the sights at Rosecliff, recently reopened after a $7.4 million restoration project. Be sure to check out the second floor of Rosecliff, where visitors can learn about the connections between Newport and China and catch glimpses of the city’s early Chinese American community as part of “The Celestial City: Newport and China,” a new exhibit on display through February.

While there, be sure to brush up on your nineteenth-century history, as the second season of “The Gilded Age” premieres on HBO on Sunday, Oct. 29. Many of Newport’s historical homes were used as filming locations for the hit show, with the real-life bedrooms and ballrooms of nineteenth-century Newport filling in as the residences of the fictional elite. The Elms, Marble House, Chateau-sur-Mer and Kingscote are among the mansions expected to make appearances in season two. (Can you spot the Elms in the trailer below?)

The Breakers, the Elms and Marble House are open on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rosecliff is open both days from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free admission also extends to personnel at Naval Station Newport and their immediate families as well as students of Salve Regina University. The deal does not include specialty tours such as Beneath the Breakers or the Elms Servant Life Tour, so be sure to book those experiences in advance. Proof of residence, or a Naval Station Newport or Salve Regina University student ID, is required. Learn more about Newport County Days at newportmansions.org.

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