During the Gilded Age, America’s wealthiest families flocked to Newport, turning the area into their summertime playground. The popular HBO series, The Gilded Age, has peaked the public’s curiosity about this era of high society.

From the creators of Downton Abbey, The Gilded Age follows the story of “old” and “new money” in New York's and Newport’s high society, set in 1882. This Julian Fellowes masterpiece was filmed at and features many Newport Mansion properties: The Breakers, Marble House, The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms, Rosecliff, Chateau-sur-Mer and Hunter House.

Today, visitors can experience how America's elites, and their staff lived with behind-the-scenes mansion tours, historic lectures, access to the breathtaking grounds and cliffside vantage points, all without those pesky corsets!

Gilded Age Experiences

These upcoming events allow visitors a chance to step back in time and experience the grandeur of the Gilded Age.

The Blue Garden

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Where:
The address, directions, and information about parking will be emailed to you when tickets are purchased
When:
Every Thursday from June 15 to October 12, Tours at 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, and 2:00 PM
Cost:
$20

Nothing says Gilded Age like beautiful, vast, and private gardens. The Blue Garden is open to the public once a week - every Thursday from June 15 - October 12. The Olmsted Brothers firm originally designed the property in 1908, after many years of neglect it fell into disrepair and was later restored in 2014 to its original glory.

The garden incorporates a palette of blues and purples and has something in bloom each month the garden is open. The Blue Garden is known today as a classic example of American landscape art and a triumph of historic preservation. There are three tours a day, exclusively on Thursdays and costs $20 per person.

 

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Gilded Age Punch Bowl

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Where:
The Vanderbilt
When:
Available from 11:00am - 11:00pm
Cost:
$80 per bowl, serves 4-6 guests

Step into the parlor or the library at the sophisticated Vanderbilt Hotel and order one of The Vanderbilt's specialty cocktails. Choose from a signature punch bowl or a seasonal bubbly large-format aperitif, which pay homage to cocktails from the Gilded Age infused with The Vanderbilt's playful spirit.

 

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Book Smart: Enjoy the library visited by Gilded Age Greats

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Where:
The Redwood Library and Athenaeum
When:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Cost:
Free

Enjoy reading in a library visited by Gilded Age greats.

Literary legends like Edith Wharton, Henry James and poet Julia Ward, who also co-founded the American Woman Suffrage Association, visited the library. Today the library is free to the public and offers lectures, exhibitions, fine arts displays and other educational activities.

ICYMI: The Redwood Library and Athenaeum celebrated its 275th birthday in 2022.

 

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Inside ''The Gilded Age''

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Where:
Newport Mansions, Marble House, The Elms, The Breakers, and Chateau-sur-Mer
When:
Fridays: 1:15pm - 4:45pm until July 14
Cost:
Adult: $250 (ages 13-up only), Preservation Society members: $200

Fans of HBO's "The Gilded Age" will love this guided tour of locations in the Newport Mansions where the show was filmed. 

Interested now? Find an episode deep-dive breakdown here.

 

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Stay at the Hotel Viking

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Gilded Age Getaway

Escape to the Gilded Age and walk in the steps of the ladies of Bellevue Avenue. This package includes breakfast at One Bellevue, $50 Credit to Spa Fjör, and Newport Mansion tickets.
 

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Picnic at a Gilded Age Mansion

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Available at any open property during tour hours.

The Newport Mansions invite their guests to bring a picnic to enjoy on the grounds as part of their Newport Mansions experience. Bring your own picnic basket, cooler, blankets and lawn chairs and choose the perfect spot to savor the million-dollar view! Available to Preservation Society members and Newport Mansions tour ticket holders.

 

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Newport Jaguar Tours

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The HBO® Gilded Age Locations Tour

The secret is out. Set in the 1880s, the HBO® smash hit The Gilded Age® (both season 1 and 2) was filmed largely in Newport. Let Newport Jaguar Tours, with a private guided tour in a classic Jaguar motorcar, show you where key scenes were filmed, including difficult to find series’ locations. With insider knowledge, once you get the lay of our own Hollywood-land, we can even help you with guidance to secure interior locations tours. This is a half or full-day tour, personally designed for you. 

 
The Scandalous Newport Tour

Get the Gilded Age scoop while being driven around in a Jaguar. Your guide and driver will share some of the more scandalous stories surrounding Newport families during this era. The Newport Jaguar Tours’ fleet of classic British motorcars offers guided, private tours. The local Newport guides have extensive knowledge about the area and era.

 

Newport Jaguar Tours

 

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Croquet anyone? Tennis?

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Don’t miss a chance to experience a sport most people have only read about or seen on television. Visit The International Tennis Hall of Fame for some friendly competition. Step back in time on the grass grounds where croquet enthusiasts have been playing since the late 19th century.

A croquet pro will oversee this classic lawn game played on the property’s historic grass courts. Also, take the opportunity to play tennis on three grass courts open to the public.

 

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Gilded Age Boating

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Where:
Classic Cruises of Newport
When:
Available Seasonally

Earn your sea legs aboard the 1929 classic motor yacht, Elco (Rum Runner II), with Classic Cruises of Newport. Rum Runner II was built in 1929 during the height of Prohibition, for the purpose of smuggling cases of rum and other contraband alcohol along the East Coast. Today, she is fully restored, and offers the luxury of a classic motor yacht and the thrill of a high-speed bandit—with a history all her own.

Rum Runner Sunset Cruise

 
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Walk, Talk, and Learn

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The Newport Historical Society offers a variety of tours including one about Newport’s Gilded Age summer colony and how the city transformed socially and economically during that period. Learn how Newport supported and encouraged religious freedom. 

Find out about the early history of Newport’s people of color, enslaved and free. You can pack in a lot of history in these tours that range from 60 to 90 minutes. Step outside and learn about Newport’s rich and storied history.

 

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“The Gilded Age” on HBO

From the creators of Downton Abbey, HBO's The Gilded Age premiered season 1 in January 2022, and follows the story of "old" and "new money" in New York's high society, set in 1882. This Julian Fellowes masterpiece was filmed at and features many Newport Mansion properties;  The BreakersMarble HouseThe ElmsRosecliffChateau-sur-Mer and Hunter House. Stream the first season of The Gilded Age now on HBO Max. Season 2 is currently in post-production and was also partially filmed in Newport—release date to be announced.

 

 

Explore the Newport Mansions

From a 70-room Italian-renaissance style palazzo to the first home run on electricity without a back-up, the Newport Mansions are like nothing you’ve ever seen – we promise.

The Breakers

The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America.

Today, visitors can experience both mansion and grounds tours, special events, and The Breakers Café, a small cafe at the Welcome Center located on site. 

Location:
44 Ochre Point Avenue
Hours:
Open Daily, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Cost:
Adult: $29, Youth (6-12): $10, Member: Free

 

 

The Elms

Welcome to the summer retreat of Philadelphia coal magnate Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind who made his fortune in the coal industry. The Elms, a 48-room mansion on historic Bellevue Avenue, was modeled after the mid-18th-century French chateau d'Asnieres (c.1750) outside Paris. 

The Elms offers both a mansion tour, with access to the grounds, and a servant life tour for visitors. 

Location:
367 Bellevue Ave
Hours:
Open Daily
Cost:
Adult: $25, Youth (6-12): $10, Member: Free

 

 

Marble House

Marble House was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport's subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent stone palaces at the time it was built between 1888 and 1892.

Visitors can experience tours, special events, and afternoon tea in the Chinese Tea House at Marble House.

Location:
596 Bellevue Avenue
Hours:
Open Daily, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Cost:
Adult: $25, Youth (6-12): $10, Member: Free

 

 

Rosecliff

Commissioned by Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs in 1899, architect Stanford White modeled Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of French kings at Versailles. Scenes from several films have been shot on location at Rosecliff, including The Great GatsbyTrue Lies, Amistad and 27 Dresses. 

Today, visitors can experience tours, special exhibits, private events, and the iconic Newport Flower Show at this wondrous mansion. 

Location:
548 Bellevue Ave
Hours:
Open Daily, September 1 - December 31
Cost:
Adult: $25, Youth (6-12): $10, Member: Free

 

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Virtual Mansion Tours

We're grateful the Newport Mansions expanded their exhibits and experiences into the digital space with virtual tours of these following properties.

more to explore

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