Newport

The Gilded Age at full volume — a cliff walk lined with "cottages" the size of museums.

The Breakers — I got a spot on the secret third-floor guided tour (only opened to the public in 2024), which is the only reason I know most of this. Built 1893–95, the family only moved out in 2018 — over safety concerns, since the pipes and wiring were never modernized. A hidden mezzanine above the painted Great Hall ceiling concealed the era's brand-new, still-untrusted electrical wiring. The Vanderbilt family drama is real: salt-water plumbing, marble bathtubs that cooled fast, a boiler kept outside for fire safety, and a "boys' sitting room" as the only place the sons could just be kids.

The Elms — A totally different tone — self-made coal money from Edward Berwind, French château styling, famously obsessive about hiding its own servants and coal deliveries from view.

Touro Synagogue — A quieter but important stop: the oldest surviving synagogue building in North America, and a lesson in the difference between "allowed" and "actively supported."

Downtown Newport — Smaller than expected; Thames St / America's Cup Ave was the only place with younger crowds.