Newport Rhode Island Mansions for Newbies | Don't Miss The Gilded Age at its Finest

If you’re headed to Newport, Rhode Island the Newport Rhode Island Mansions are a total must see! Experience the grandiose lifestyle of the elite from The Gilded Age.

So if you’re wondering if it is worth it to visit the Newport Rhode Island Mansions, it totally is! If you hate history like me, these breathtaking mansions just may have you singing a new tune! I felt like we were on the set of Downton Abbey. We visited these mansions during the COVID-19 Pandemic, therefore, The Rosecliff was closed. I was devastated because I really wanted to see that mansion as movies like The Great Gatsby and 27 Dresses had scenes filmed there. The other two mansions on my list were The Breakers and Marble House. These were the only two mansions open at the time, so we toured both of them.

In this post I will be sharing pricing and touring tips as well as some beautiful photos. My goal is to really set the scene and make you understand why the rich would come here every summer. Yes, these mansions were their summer “cottages”. Crazy, I know!! Happy reading!!

If you’re looking for a place to stay in Newport, check out this post:

Where to Stay in Newport Rhode Island | My Favorite Little Inn in Newport

This post is all about Newport Rhode Island Mansions.

As of April 1, 2022 The Breakers, Marble House and Green Animals Topiary Garden are open daily 10-5pm, last tour admission is at 4pm, grounds close at 5pm. For the most current hours see their website here.

Newport Rhode Island Mansions: Pricing

If you plan to only visit one of the mansions, it is best to just pay for the one visit. At this time The Breakers admission is $26 for adults and $8 for children (8-17 yrs old). Tickets to see two properties, such as The Breakers and Marble House are $34 for adults and $10 (8-17 yrs old). They also offer a membership that allows unlimited admission for a year to open properties. The cost of the membership at the time of this post is $90 for an individual +1 (2 adults). The membership also comes with discounts at the gift shops and specialty tours that are offered. We opted for the membership for an individual +1 because we had hoped Rosecliff would open within the year…it did not. Check their website, here, for current pricing as prices may change.

Mansion Parking

Parking at The Breakers and Marble House is free.

Are there refreshments?

The Breakers has a garden cafe inside their welcome center where you can have self serve food and drinks.

How much time do I need to tour each of the mansions?

I would say that you need a minimum of 1 hour to tour each mansion or 1.5 hours if you’re kind of moseying along. The Breakers is the bigger of the two mansions, however, Marble House has the Chinese Tea House on the grounds so we ventured over to see that.

How do the tours work?

The self guided tour is provided through their app on your smartphone so I recommend downloading the Newport Mansions App on your phone ahead of time. This is nice because you can take your time and move at your own pace. The tours are offered from the perspective of the different walks of people who lived in the mansions. They are offered in numerous languages. Be sure to remember your ear buds:) If you do not have a smart phone, don’t fret, they offer a paper tour script.

tip: The breakers and marble house offer children’s audio tours. So be sure your kiddos have a phone with the app downloaded and Earbuds so they can enjoy the experience through youngster’s eyes.

The Breakers

This is the most grandiose of the summer “cottages”. They hosted grand house parties and the center of the house totally lends itself to that. It is easy to envision the parties that were thrown there.

Cornelius Vanderbilt was one of the richest men of his time, and his summer home totally shows that. Beyond being rich, though, I personally enjoyed the perspective of the tours. I noticed, although very wealthy, this family seemed to be humble and grounded in a way the Vanderbilt’s of Marble House seemed to lack. They seemed to love spending time together as a family and using their home to host events for others to enjoy the house as well.

If you choose to visit only one of the mansions, this should be the one! The kitchen was one of my favorite areas because it totally reminded me of the kitchen scenes in Downton Abbey. You can see pictures of the kitchen below.

You can read more about the history of The Breakers on the official site, here.

Marble House

Marble House, although smaller, seemed to be flashier and more flamboyant. This home was built by William Vanderbilt as a gift for his wife’s 39th birthday. His wife Alva Vanderbilt seemed to be ahead of her time. She was also pretty flashy with her style and decor in the house, hence a house made of marble. Hers was the only bedroom worth showing in this post, if that tells you anything.

Marble House stayed cool before air conditioning because the marble used all over kept it cool. I’ll pop a photo in here of the marble.

After some time Alva Vanderbilt added a Chinese Tea House to the property overlooking the ocean cliffs. She used this location to host rallies for women’s rights. The tea house is pictured below.

You can read more about the history of Marble House on the official site, here.

Both locations have small gift shops, the breakers being a bit bigger.

That’s a wrap for Newport Rhode Island Mansions!

I hope that this quick guide to the Newport Mansions is helpful to you if you’re planning a trip to Newport. They really set the stage for an amazing city. I enjoyed picturing the people of that time living way ahead of their time. There is so much history to be seen in Newport. The mansions are the perfect way to understand the dynamic of Newport during The Gilded Age! They make history fun!! Happy travels!!