Newport lies at the southern tip of Aquidneck Island, in Narragansett Bay, and it is a town built on a double identity. For a century and a half it was a rich colonial port, with a synagogue dating to 1763, the oldest in the country, and a harbour full of ships. Then, in the late nineteenth century, America's richest families chose it for their summer cottages, which were mansions in everything but name. The Breakers, built for the Vanderbilts in the 1890s, has seventy rooms of marble, gilt and carved stone, and several other great houses along Bellevue Avenue are open to the public. It was, by any measure, an extraordinary display of money.
The best way to see the coast is on foot, along the Cliff Walk, a path of about five kilometres between the mansion lawns and the ocean, with the sea crashing on the rocks below. Sailing is the other love. The America's Cup was raced out of Newport for more than fifty years, and the harbour still fills with elegant yachts every summer, while the Tennis Hall of Fame and the long-running jazz and folk festivals show how the town has kept its place on the social calendar.
For riders, the great attraction is Ocean Drive, a loop of about ten miles along the southern shore. It curves around rocky headlands, past Brenton Point and its kite-flyers, with waves breaking on granite and views over the open Atlantic. The road is narrow, patched and busy in summer with cars, bikes and joggers, and the speed limit is enforced, so enjoy it slowly. Cross the Newport Bridge, high above the bay, to Jamestown for quieter lanes, or take the road east toward Sakonnet, where stone walls, farms and vineyards fill the country.
Newport is crowded on summer weekends, parking is hard and the main streets can be gridlocked. Go in the early morning or on a weekday, or come in September when the water is still warm and the crowds are fewer. Fuel is easy to find on the island, mostly along Route 138, and the harbour restaurants specialise in chowder, stuffed quahogs and lobster. Fog and sea breeze can lower the temperature quickly, and winter is cold and windy.