Providence
Recommended Tours

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The Renaissance City

Tour Providence, its historic landmarks, museums and recreation spots. Providence is known for its mix of progress and Old World charm from the convenience of The Providence Link and its stops at local landmarks, to Benefit Street colonial mansions and ivy-league Brown University.

Catch the Link at downtown’s Kennedy Plaza, solve your parking problems and see diverse Providence landmarks such as Providence City Hall, and the East Side’s Wayland Square. View the window display at Gabrielle Apparel, where old time good taste is still in style, and travel on the trackless trolley back to Providence, stopping at the State House.

The Rhode Island State House, built of white Georgian marble sits atop a hill affording a grand view of the city of Providence. The dome, supported by white columns, is said to be the fourth largest self-supported dome in the world. This massive structure is host to the state flag. Its motto “HOPE” is embroidered in golden letters under the anchor. An historic portrait of George Washington, brushed with the strokes of Rhode Island native Gilbert Stuart, can be found inside the building. The Rhode Island Red, state bird, resides on the grounds crowing next to sculpted beds of violets, the state flower. Inside the State House find tour guides, or take a self-guided tour, the gift shop and make the John Fogarty cafeteria your final destination. Congressman Fogarty is remembered with great affection for helping the oppressed and afflicted population of Providence and its surrounding areas.

After lunch in the cafeteria, hop on the Link and travel to Providence City Hall, another local landmark on Dorrance Street. The City Hall’s ornamentation and vast inlaid marble interior is designed after the Louvre in Paris. Providence City Hall is listed on the National Register For Historic Places.

In downtown Providence, at the Culinary Archives & Museum at Johnson and Wales University, you can view a gallery of chefs and 1000 year-old Egyptian and Oriental spoons. Find over 500,000 culinary arts documents and items including presidential culinary autographs, a chef’s gallery, artwork, and hotel restaurant silver.

If you have the kids along, you do not want to miss Providence Children's Museum. Located in the jewelry district off Eddy Street, the museum is a hands-on experience for children and adults. You can explore the plants, trees and shrubs of Rhode Island, dinosaur and tiger teeth, and experiment with a time travel capsule.

The wavy, fun mirrors at the Children’s Museum may have thrown you off course. Circle the city and head towards Benefit Street colonial mansions and The Rhode Island School of Design Museum. The RISD is host to over 85,000 works of art from diverse cultures and genre. This museum traces world art from old times to new. View an exhibit showcasing the making of silver and gold jewelry, manufactured in Rhode Island.

Providence is proud of its history. The brownstone-and-brick John Brown House Museum is the place to visually trace the heritage of the city and state. John Brown is remembered for the Gaspee affair, which led to the beginnings of the American Revolution. Statesman John Quincy Adams noted John Brown’s House, built on a hill overlooking the waterfront, as the most magnificent three-story Georgian mansion on the continent. The fine craftsmanship of furniture and decorative arts is preserved here, along with Providence’s commitment to excellence in the city’s future progress and design. After a series of residents, you wonder if ghosts lurk behind the Victorian chairs and the draped burgundy velvet curtains. You will have to ask The Rhode Island Historical Society, as it now belongs to them.

While you are on the East Side visit the colorful flair of Thayer Street, its cafes and shops, and the ivy-covered brick of Brown University. Located on Angell Street, Brown is an international university known for its research and teaching facilities. The Brown campus is a home for four years or more to undergraduate, graduate and medical students.

Tired out from your Providence tour?

Relax in the heart of downtown by the Providence Waterplace Park & Riverwalk on Memorial Boulevard. The four-acre park includes an amphitheater and surrounds a tidal basin. On the grounds find river walks, landscaped for beauty, and Venetian-style footbridges. The design of Providence comes full circle as the footbridges now connect downtown to the historic East Side.

Maybe you are leaving Providence by train, a skip and jump from the Waterfront. Or perhaps you are hopping aboard the Providence-Newport Water Ferry. The Ferry stops at Providence’s Point Street Park, and Newport’s Perrotti Park. Area residents and tourists make use of the ferry for relaxation and to avoid traffic. The ferry connects Newport and Providence, becoming known as the Renaissance City, a most popular tourist spot.