Newport County Arts & Culture Experience
Are you ready to plan your visit to the Ocean State? You’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of events, attractions, and dining to choose from this spring.
How about a beautiful and serene couple of hours walking among tens of thousands of blooming flowers at Blithewold Mansions, Gardens & Arboretum’s Daffodil Days in Bristol? Other fun things to do in Bristol include a visit to the Herreshoff Museum, Mosaic Arts Gallery, or the Mount Hope Farmers Market (Saturdays only). In the next town over, you can get lost browsing Imagine Gift Store in Warren, which contains a candy store and ice cream shop, and is one of the largest gift shops in New England. For food in this area try Café Water Street for some amazing crepes, Blount Clam Shack for clam cakes and chowder, or The Revival Craft Kitchen & Bar for an outdoor or indoor dinner.
From the Bristol area it's a short ride over the Mount Hope Bridge to Newport and if you like cars, check out one or both of the area’s automotive museums: The Audrain in Newport and the Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth. And if you’re a fan of grand architecture and opulence, a visit to Marble House is a must. For the ultimate Newport experience, you really need to get on the water. Take a daytime boat tour or sunset cruise with Coastal Queen Cruises and see the “city by the sea” from an entirely different point of view, or take a fun and informative guided tour of Newport with Experience Rhode Island Tours.
Breakfast options in the area include Custom Coffee House and Cru Café. Try Flat Waves Food Shack for "Cali-Mexi-Fusion", or Boru Noodle Bar, for a fast, casual ramen-inspired experience. The Fifth Element offers rustic industrial décor, intriguing cocktails with names like Mexican Short Rib and The Thinker, and an inventive menu with something for everyone. For an upscale, contemporary culinary experience with a side of history, go to the “oldest operating restaurant in the U.S.” and 10th oldest in the world: White Horse Tavern (1673).