Newport: The Jewel of the Great New England Trail
The Great New England Trail runs through the most magical region of the United States. Towns and small towns with charm and spectacular gastronomy stand out in it. The landscapes are full of romance and are so varied that they will amaze you: beaches, forests, cliffs, covered bridges and mountains on a route that visits the beautiful city of Boston.
Great New England Trail
This region shows its best colors in autumn, red and yellow colors that make you fall in love, but New England is worth visiting at any time of the year.
The six states that make it up (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) create a fantastic circuit, and you will be able to discover all its essence even if the getaway is for a few days.
Newport
Today we will tell you about a hidden paradise. Three and a half hours from New York, Newport is known for its famous mansions and as the summer resort of New England's elite.
Newport is a city surrounded by water at its southern, eastern and western ends and it is a great pleasure to walk around observing its colonial architecture, its cliffs and cobblestone streets, visit museums and shops and it is also a paradise for lovers of water sports, tennis and golf.
In the 19th century, wealthy and socially prominent families like the Vanderbilts and Astors came to Newport, escaping the stifling heat of the city to take refuge in their coastal "cottages." However, only an aristocrat would understand what they meant by "cottage".
Built in the days before income taxes, antitrust laws and other levellers, each mansion built was larger than the last and boasted an aesthetic Louis XIV would have liked.
Over time, the proliferation of these families made Newport the regatta capital of the United States and ensured a steady stream of “rich and famous lifestyle” tourism for decades to come.
Cliff walk
While Newport has many attractions, one that stands out is the famous Cliff Walk.
Overlooking Easton Bay, past Gilded Age mansions and the homes of Newport's rich and famous, the path sees over a million visitors a year looking for exercise or a leisurely walk, regardless of the time of year.
The Cliff Walk is 3.5 miles and runs from Memorial Boulevard to Bailey's Beach.
Sights along the walk
The ride is incredible and every turn will fascinate you.
The Breakers
Today about a dozen of the old “cottages” are open to the public, including The Breakers, a 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palace built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
Oversized in design and proportions, the palace has 23 rooms, a 2,500-square-foot dining room gilded with gold and lit by 13-foot-tall chandeliers, and a fabulous room designed to represent an open-air Italian courtyard, with a ceiling sky blue almost 14 meters high.
The works began in the autumn of 1893 and ended in the summer of 1895; 2,000 workers and craftsmen were needed for the construction, including a group of master craftsmen specially brought from Europe.
Marble house
While none of the other Newport mansions are as big as The Breakers, some are close behind. Built between 1888 and 1892 for William, Cornelius Vanderbilt's younger brother, Marble House was the precursor to the rest of the mansions and features $7 million worth of marble in a design inspired by Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon at Versailles.
The 8 square miles are filled with other examples of striking 17th and 18th century architecture, including 83 structures purchased by the Newport Restoration Foundation, created by tobacco heiress Doris Duke in 1968.
The foundation owns all the mansions and takes care of maintaining them; the mansions under his administration have a sign that says "NFR". Most are privately rented. Duke's own mansion, Rough Point, is open for tours.
