Time-travel in Newport

Visitors to Newport always think it's going to be SOOOO expensive...Well, it isn't - or at least, it doesn't have to be. There are plenty of great ways to enjoy Newport with little or no money, and actually, many of them are the best ways to experience Newport, period.

My personal favorite is the Cliff Walk. Put on your sneakers, pack a sandwich & a bottle of water- if it's a really nice day, maybe even put on a bathing suit - and head over to the Chanler Hotel overlooking First Beach, which is where the famed 3.5 mile National Recreation Trail begins.

This scenic walk manages to incorporate the best of just about everything Newport has to offer. A rugged windswept coastline - lined with magenta wild beach roses - strewn with giant smooth boulders, perfect for lying back on and sunning - crashing waves - glorious world-famous 19th century "cottages" - impossibly manicured lawns - the empty heaving brightness of the Atlantic Ocean - and above it all, the seagulls, soaring and cawing over the heads of rich and poor alike. It's a place where past & present fuse...a place where for 150 years, people have been travelling just this path, for just these reasons, and now you too are one of them.