Blithewold Mansion and Arboretum

While not as grandiose as some of the mansions of Newport, the Blithewold Mansion and Arboretum is still a gorgeous building with magnificent grounds to explore. Weddings are held here on a regular basis. You'll spend about an hour or so here, but can spend much more time in the gardens if you'd like. In addition, while in the house, the docents are very friendly and will explain anything about the house and grounds you wish to learn.

It is easy to reach Blithewold from both Providence and Newport.

Casino Marino

Located right outside the center of Dublin, the Casino Marino looks pretty cool from the outside. In order to see the inside though, you must do a guided tour. When we took the guided tour, we found the tour guide to be un-impressive, and the inside of the house itself didn't have too much to see. The tour guide explained what was located inside the building back when people lived on the estate and used the casino for entertaining, but that was about it. Most of the artwork has been removed from the building and what is there is either modern art or replicas from the time the casino was in use.

The most interesting item was in the basement where you enter, a model of what the area looked like when the estate was in use, and what is now an urban center of Dublin city.

While this is free to do with a Heritage Card, it's something we'd still suggest passing on.

Rough Point

At the end of Bellevue Avenue at the junction between the ends of Ocean Drive and Cliff Walk is Rough Point, a house formerly owned by Doris Duke.  While there are a lot of mansions available to tour in Newport, this one must be booked separately to visit.  The advantage of this is that you get a small private tour through the house with a maximum of 12 people, unlike the other mansions which can get quite crowded.

There are also more limited hours for this and it is suggested to book a reservation in advance to ensure you have a spot.  The tour gives a thorough history of the house, the artwork displayed in the house, as well as the history of the life of Doris Duke.  This is a great tour that really helps you understand what life in Newport was like during Doris Duke's lifetime.