12 Best Photo Spots In Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a beautiful city in Rhode Island that is home to many great photo spots. From the Gilded Age mansions lining Bellevue Avenue to the lighthouses sitting on the coast, there is something around every corner. It is no wonder more than a million people visit the city each year! Check out these great Newport photo locations below:
#1 – The Breakers
- Address: 44 Ochre Point Ave, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
The Breakers is a Gilded Age home in Newport, Rhode Island, located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue. Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the rich Vanderbilt family, had it constructed between 1893 and 1895 as a summer retreat. Richard Morris Hunt designed the 70-room palace in the Renaissance Revival style, with 62,482 square feet of living space on five levels. Jules Allard and Sons and Ogden Codman Jr. were responsible for the interior design. The mansion takes up around 1 acre, or 43,000 square feet, of the 14-acre estate on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean’s Easton Bay.
In 1971, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1994, it was declared as a National Historic Landmark. It also belongs to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District as a supporting estate. The Newport Preservation Society owns and operates the property as a museum, which is open to the public all year.
#2 – Castle Hill Lighthouse
- Address: 800-870 Ocean Ave, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
The Castle Hill Lighthouse is a beautiful historic lighthouse on Ocean Avenue. The lighthouse is modest, but it is located on a rough, gorgeous stretch of coast that is ideal for photographs. The lighthouse can be found on the west side of Newport, near the Narragansett Bay’s East Passage, and is quite easy to find if you know where you’re going.
#3 – Forty Steps
- Address: Narragansett Ave, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
A flight of 40 rickety steps was erected down to the bottom of the cliffs of Cliff Walk in 1880. The steps had no actual purpose because there is no beach at the bottom. They did, however, become a gathering place for the servants, with music and dancing breaking up the monotony of labor at the huge houses.
The staircase became a popular tourist attraction over time. The steps were redone sometime in the early 1990s to make them safer and more attractive. The Forty Steps Restoration Fund provided the new granite steps.
There are few spots better than 40 Steps to enjoy the Atlantic Ocean and watch the waves crash against the rocky coast today. The iconic Cliff Walk in Newport features a staircase that leads down to the beach. The steps are free to access and open to the public.
#4 – Royal Male
- Address: 104 Spring St, Newport, Rhode Island
- Directions: HERE
One of the most beautiful facades in Newport is Royal Male. The store hand-selects Barbour and Mackintosh jackets, DuBarry, Schneider’s of Austria, and other quality British and European clothing and accessories for discriminating customers. Established in 1983, Royal Male is still a family-owned and -operated business with a personal touch. This Royal Male location is their flagship location and is located within a Pre-Revolutionary building on Historic Hill.
#5 – Bannisters and Bowen’s Wharf
- Address: Bowens Wharf, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
Bannisters and Bowen’s Wharf are perhaps the most popular spots in all of Newport. They feature a bustling harbor full of antique sailboats, mega-yachts, and more! On the shore, there are dozens of great shops. To experience the true energy of Newport, make a stop at these wharves.
#6 – Newport Harbor (Goat Island) Lighthouse
- Address: 1 Goat Island, Newport, Rhode Island
- Directions: HERE
The historic Newport Harbor Lighthouse, popularly known as the Goat Island Lighthouse, is located on Goat Island in Newport. The first light on Goat Island was built in 1824, but it was later moved to Prudence Island in 1851, where it is now known as the Prudence Island Light. The current lighthouse was built a few yards off the coast of Goat Island in 1842. A thin dike connects it to Goat Island.
The Coast Guard owns the lighthouse, which was leased to the American Lighthouse Foundation in 2000. The grounds are open to the public every day and are managed by the Friends of Newport Harbor Lighthouse non-profit organization.
#7 – Easton’s Beach
- Address: 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
Newport has a magnificent coastline and several public beaches where visitors can enjoy the surf, sand, and sun. Easton’s Beach, also known as First Beach, is the largest of them. Easton’s Beach is a 3/4-mile strip of sand with a boardwalk and Atlantic facing waves. The beach is located on Memorial Boulevard at the entrance of the City’s iconic Cliff Walk.
#8 – Claiborne Pell Bridge
- Address: RI-138, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
For 50 years, the Claiborne Pell Bridge, also known as the “Newport Bridge,” has graced the Narragansett Bay skyline. The bridge was hailed as a huge commercial breakthrough and a marvel of human engineering when it first opened in 1969. The beautiful bridge can be seen and photographed from many locations in Newport, including Fort Adams, Goat Island, and the Van Zandt Pier.
#9 – Rose Island Lighthouse
- Address: Rose Island, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
Rose Island Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse located about a mile off the shore of Newport. The lighthouse was built in 1870 using an award-winning design by Vermont architect Albert Dow. Sabin Point, Pomham Rocks, Esopus Meadows Light, and Colchester Reef are all sister lights to Rose Island Light. The lighthouse is located on a bastion of Fort Hamilton, which was constructed between 1798 and 1800.
The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation is responsible for maintaining and operating the lighthouse on Rose Island. The lighthouse is now a popular tourist attraction that can only be reached by boat. Visitors can spend a night as a guest or a week as the “lighthouse keeper” for a charge to the Foundation, undertaking many of the activities required to keep the lighthouse in good working order.
From the shore, the lighthouse can be best viewed and photographed from Fort Adams, Goat Island, and many other locations.
#10 – Fort Adams
- Address: 80 Fort Adams Dr, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
Fort Adams is a former US Army post in Newport, Rhode Island. It was built as a First System coastal fortress on July 4, 1799, and was named after President John Adams, who was in office at the time. Captain John Henry, who was later essential in beginning the War of 1812, was its initial commander. The current Fort Adams was erected between 1824 and 1857 as part of the Third System of coastal fortifications.
The Army handed over control of Fort Adams to the Navy in 1953. The fort was granted to the state of Rhode Island in 1965, along with most of the surrounding property, for use as Fort Adams State Park. Fort Adams was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976 for its unique military construction, which incorporates elements not found in other forts of the time. Free parking is available right near the fort and guided tours are offered for a small fee.
#11 – Newport Tower
- Address: 5 Touro Park St W, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
The Newport Tower is a spherical stone tower in Touro Park in Newport, Rhode Island, commonly known as the Old Stone Mill. The tower is the ruins of a mid-eighteenth-century windmill. It has gotten a lot of interest since some people think it’s several centuries old and hence could be evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic interaction. This belief has been disproved by carbon dating. Don’t miss out on seeing this obscure Newport, Rhode Island location!
#12 – White Horse Tavern
- Address: 26 Marlborough St, Newport, RI
- Directions: HERE
The White Horse Tavern is thought to be the oldest tavern in the United States, having been built before 1673. It stands on the corner of Farewell Street and Marlborough Street.
The tavern is steeped in tradition. It served as a meeting location for the Rhode Island General Assembly, a courthouse, and a municipal hall in the 1600s. In 1687, William Mayes got a tavern license, which he and his son William Mayes, Jr. ran until the early eighteenth century. During the British control of Newport during the American Revolution, around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island, Tories and British troops were quartered there.
After years of disrepair as a hostel, the Van Bueren family of Newport donated funds to the independent Preservation Society of Newport in 1952 to rehabilitate the building. The building was sold and reopened as a private tavern and restaurant after the repair, and it is still a popular drinking and dining spot today.
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