Cliff Walk

The two finest things Newport [1] has to offer—its natural seaside beauty and the architectural relics of its Gilded Age—collide along the seaside Cliff Walk (www.cliffwalk.com [2]), arguably one of the country’s grandest strolls. Beginning at the western end of First Beach (a.k.a. Easton’s Beach), the 3.5-mile path runs between the rocky beach and many of the town’s most impressive mansions—designated a National Historic District.

Cliff Walk was also deemed a National Recreational Trail in 1975, thus making the walk a double-whammy of natural and manmade glory. Along its path, strollers pass such palatial marvels as Marble House [3], Beechwood [3], The Breakers [3], and Rosecliff Mansions [3], plus the French Gothic chateaux (complete with high roofs, turrets, and gargoyles) belonging to Salve Regina University.