1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
Daily Tour
15 people
English
Experience Newport's only open air trolley tour with breath-taking views of Ocean Drive and the Gilded Age mansions along Bellevue Ave and the Cliff Walk. This narrated tour covers 150 points of interest including Newport's Gilded Age, Colonial era, and Naval History . Shopping, dining, boat tours, lighthouses, sunsets and Newport's best activities of today are also explained See TV and movie sets come to life such as Hocus Pocus 2, HBO's The Gilded Age, and classics such as Amistad, True Lies, The Great Gatsby, and a dozen others. Your guide also explains how to navigate the city on your own and the best places to park for free.
(For ages 5 & up only). Park in the public lot at 23 America’s Cup Ave (Newport Transit Center) and locate the white open air trolley at Platform #7-9 outside. Show your cell phone or printed ticket to driver.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
The trolley tour will enter Fort Adams, a historic 1799 landmark and home of today’s annual Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival. The fort is also home to President Eisenhower’s summer home called the Eisenhower House.
The Welcome Center features a snack bar, clean restrooms, and ticket sales counter to take a tour inside of the fort.
There are also 2 water taxi stops and free public parking at Fort Adams State Park. The Bennington Overlook section of Fort Adams offers breathtaking sunsets over Narragansett Bay with free parking as well.
• Admission Ticket Free
The trolley tour passes by Brenton Point State Park, former estate of RI’s 2nd governor William Brenton (elected 1665). This is a free public park offering pristine views of the Atlantic Ocean on 2 sides of the park plus free sunsets over the water 12 months per year. Seasonal restrooms are available in the stone building.
• Admission Ticket Free
The trolley tour travels through the Ocean Drive Historic District. Visitors will begin to see Newport’s Gilded Age Mansions lining the Atlantic Ocean with breathtaking scenery.
Mansions on Ocean Drive include Mavis and Jay Leno’s Seafair, and several filming locations of HBO’s TV series “The Gilded Age” including Indian Spring Castle, The Ledges and Crossways mansions.
• Admission Ticket Free
Once the trolley tour enters the Newport Cliff Walk area of the Bellevue Ave Historic District, riders will begin to learn about the Gilded Age mansions along the Cliff Walk, which are on the ocean side of the mansions for 3.5 miles between Reject’s Beach and Newport Beach.
Your guide will explain how to best access the Cliff Walk and areas where parking is free to enjoy the Cliff Walk and the best areas for viewing.
• Admission Ticket Free
The trolley tour stops in front of the 2nd of the 3 Newport Vanderbilt mansions “The Marble House”.
This small palace built in 1892 was instrumental in the passage of the women’s suffrage movement, as Alva Vanderbilt hosted fundraisers in her pagoda (Chinese Tea House on the Cliff Walk) whereby she raised a great deal of money to pass the 19th amendment.
Both the Marble House and Chinese Tea House were the Asian wedding set in the Katherine Heigel classic movie “27 Dresses”
Free parking for Marble House tour visitors is available across the street at 585 Bellevue Ave.
• Admission Ticket Free
The trolley tour stops in front of the Rosecliff Mansion, a 1902 ‘summer cottage” of Tessie Fair-Oelrichs. The most famous movie filmed here was The Great Gatsby (Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston).
Tours are available at the Rosecliff mansion on a seasonal basis.
• Admission Ticket Free
The trolley tour stops at The Breakers Newport, the 3rd Vanderbilt Mansion in Newport and discharges passengers who purchased this interior tour option.
This 1895 ‘summer cottage’ is the largest mansion in the region and is RIs most visited tourist attraction. It sits on the Newport Cliff Walk facing SE towards the Atlantic Ocean.
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
The trolley tour continues along Bellevue Ave and passes by The Elms Newport, a Gilded Age mansion of Edward and Sarah Berwind. The guide explains the 2 tours that are available inside the Elms Mansion
• Admission Ticket Not Included
The trolley tour passes by the front door of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the 1881 site of the old Newport Casino (shopping district of the Gilded Age millionaires). The guide explains the free and for-fee tours available inside the ITHOF.
• Admission Ticket Not Included
The trolley tour continues into Downtown Newport’s bustling waterfront district anchored by Bowen’s Wharf. The guide explains the shopping, dining, boating excursions, and other waterfront attractions along America’s Cup Ave.
• Admission Ticket Not Included