Welcome to Newport
Newport, Rhode Island, the new home of Yachting magazine’s editorial offices, has long been a mecca for boating enthusiasts. It’s the first home of the America’s Cup, thanks to the New York Yacht Club’s (www.nyyc.org) on-the-water summer club here, Harbour Court. The Museum of Yachting (www.moy.org) is in Newport, as is International Yacht Restoration School (www.iyrs.org), and the Tennis Hall of Fame (www.tennisfame.com).
Newport may be most famous, though, as the playground of the rich during the Gilded Age, when the titans of industry built enormous summer “cottages” here. Thousands of tourists flock to Cliff Walk and Bellevue Avenue each year to see the ornate mansions of the Gilded Age (www.newportmansions.org).
Downtown is choc-a-block with shopping, lots of it nautical in nature. There is no shortage of great places to eat, either. From the humble but scrumptious Flo’s Clam Shack (www.flosclamshack.net) in Middletown, just past Easton’s Beach, to the elegant Spiced Pear (www.spicedpear.com), you won’t go hungry in Newport. The Clarke Cookhouse (www.clarkecook.com), The Black Pearl (www.blackpearlnewport.com), The Mooring (www.mooringrestaurant.com), and the White Horse Tavern (www.whitehorsetavern.us) are a few other Newport favorites.
If you’re a water lover, a boating weekend in Newport is great fun. There are plenty of places to tie up, though it gets crowded in the summer, so reserve dock space in advance.
