Rhode Island

Founded by religious heretics, Rhode Island has always been New England’s “black sheep,” maintaining a low profile compared to the other states in the region. But that’s just the way residents like it. Otherwise, they’d have to share their miles of beaches and quaint coastal villages with the tourists.

And the nation’s smallest state holds its own can’t-miss urban attractions in the arts mecca of Providence [1], and the picturesque yachting capital of Newport [2].