Newport Walking Tour: A Guide to the Opulent Homes of the Gilded Age

(3 reviews)

Newport, Rhode Island audio tour: Newport Walking Tour: A Guide to the Opulent Homes of the Gilded Age

This is a 1.4mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Newport, Rhode Island

The United States

$9.99

Access all 16 locations offline with the VoiceMap app

Buy for a Group

Reviews

About the Tour

Hear the true stories that inspired the HBO show The Gilded Age on a walking tour down Bellevue Avenue, from Rough Point Mansion to The Breakers on Ochre Point Avenue.

Along the way, I’ll share the juicy details behind Newport’s palatial ”summer cottages” as you gaze at their impressive designs. You’ll find out about the owners of these homes, many of them New York’s most elite families including the Vanderbilts and Astors. I’ll also introduce you to the architects who designed them and the staff that kept these homes running despite harsh working conditions and low pay. You’ll hear about the impact that the sinking of Titanic had on the owners of the Miramar Mansion, and how it took 36 staff members to look after Mable House, a holiday home used for only eight weeks of the year.

On this Newport tour, you can also look forward to:

Seeing Clarendon Court, home to the scandal that inspired the 1990 movie The Reversal of Fortune movie
Learning about Caroline Astor’s Beechwood home, which played its part in Newport’s transformation into an infamous resort town
Taking in Rosecliff where a number of films have been shot, including the 2013 Great Gatsby
Finding out about Newport’s Cliff Walk and 40 Steps, a gathering place for staff
Discovering why the entire first floor of Belcourt belonged to the horses

This hour-long stroll takes you behind the scenes to discover the personalities that built today’s Newport.

Tour Producer

Rhody Rambles

3 tours

Hi, I'm Erin, a professional tour guide with over 10 years experience in the United States, UK and Ireland. I own Rhody Rambles, a small company that offers private walking tours and step-on guiding services in Rhode Island.

Like many people, I arrived at my career via a winding path. After graduating from my master's program, where I studied art history, I questioned where to go next. After years of working in shops I knew I genuinely liked working with people, and a study abroad program I completed infected me with a very serious travel bug. I had thought about teaching, but realized that I enjoy being outdoors too much to be inside all day long and after doing some research, I think I've found my perfect career that allows me to do the things I enjoy most on a daily basis.
I look forward to guiding you on an audio tour!

Preview Location

Location 5

Clarendon Court

Clarendon Court begins behind this large wall on the corner on the right. You'll continue heading straight on Bellevue Avenue. Please stop when you reach the main gates of the home on your right just ahead.

Occupants of Clarendon Court tell a more modern-day story of love, ... Clarendon Court begins behind this large wall on the corner on the right. You'll continue heading straight on Bellevue Avenue. Please stop when you reach the main gates of the home on your right just ahead.

Occupants of Clarendon Court tell a more modern-day story of love, lust and excess. The home was originally built for railroad heir Edward Knight and his wife Clara, but most famously it was owned by Claus and Sunny Von Bulow. You may or may not be familiar with this couple, but they were the cause of a huge scandal, which made international news in the 1980s.

Claus was Sunny's second husband, and she had grown children from an earlier marriage. She grew up in the lap of luxury but always suffered from bouts of depression. When she and Claus got together, they apparently agreed on an open marriage - with the stipulation that if they had any relationships outside the marriage, it should not be with anyone in their "social circle." Claus neglected this rule when he got together, publicly, with Alexandra Isles, star of Dark Shadows, which was filming in the area.

Sunny spiraled into a depressive state and on December 1, 1980, she was acting strange. Her son noticed her slurring her words and that she seemed somewhat incoherent. Her son was concerned she had taken an overdose of sleeping pills, but she repeatedly denied this and her condition was written off as being overtired. Claus ended up helping her to bed that night. The following morning, Claus discovered a dreadful sight. Sunny was unconscious on the bathroom floor. She was taken to the Newport Hospital, where they were unsuccessful in getting her to regain consciousness. She was transferred later to Boston for more serious medical help - it was determined that she was in an irreversible coma.

Sunny's children hired a private investigator to look into the situation - they were never keen on Claus and were convinced he was trying to get away with something, possibly attempting to murder their mother for her money. His insisting that she be taken off of life support early on was not looking good for his innocence. Claus was finally tried in 1982, his defense attorney played up her suicidal tendencies and depression, and the prosecution tried to convince the jury that he was after her money - and also brought up a little black bag of insulin syringes found at the scene by the private investigator.

Let's get going again while we wrap up the story. Continue on your walk in the direction we've been going.

While out on bail, Claus consulted Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz to handle an appeal. The appeal was granted, based on how evidence was obtained for the first trial - the black bag was found by the private detective, not by the police, so it wasn't considered official evidence. When the new trial began, the jury wasn't allowed to hear about the black bag and with no direct link to evidence, Claus was found not guilty.

Sunny's children weren't happy with the verdict - but there was no blood, DNA, or hard evidence linking the insulin to the incident. Claus eventually signed his rights away to the money that he could've inherited, as long as their daughter Cosima was named beneficiary. He ended up moving to London and becoming a theater critic. He died at age 92 in 2019.

Sunny lived 28 years in a persistent vegetative state, she died in 2008. A movie was made about this in 1990 called The Reversal of Fortune. Read More

View locations and route

How VoiceMap Works

Focus on your surroundings, not the screen

The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play audio automatically, at the right time and place, so you can focus on your surroundings, not the screen.

Follow a route with turn-by-turn-directions

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a fixed starting point. That lets us give turn-by-turn directions and use context to tell a better story.

Resume playback to go at your own pace

If you'd like to stop for a drink or go into a museum, end your tour then use the Resume feature to pick up exactly where you left off.

Listen as many times as you like

You can listen to your tours as often as you like using both the VoiceMap app and website.

Take virtual tours anywhere, like a podcast

Select Virtual mode in the VoiceMap app to listen to tours like a podcast - at home or in transit.

Buy for less on voicemap.me and sync

Once you've purchased a tour, it's added to your VoiceMap library. To access it in the app, just sign in using the same account.

Do tours without paying for data

Tours work offline, so you don't have to pay roaming fees. Just download them over WiFi before you get started.

Major Landmarks

Bellevue Avenue
Rough Point
Belcourt of Newport
Miramar
Clarendon Court
Rovensky Park
Marble House
Beechwood
Rosecliff
Pell Center
Salve Regina University
Ruggles at Carey Mansion
Founders Hall
Cliff Walk
The Breakers

View all

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
680 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI 02840, USA
Total distance

2km
Final location
44 Ochre Point Ave, Newport, RI 02840, USA
Distance back to start location

2km

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts at the beginning of Bellevue Avenue, across from Rough Point (680 Bellevue Ave). As Bellevue Avenue is a residential district, there is no public parking in this area. Calling an Uber of Lyft is an easy way to get out to the area, but you can also take the #67 trolley bus, which is free during the summer. The drivers are friendly and are usually happy to let you know when you've arrived at your destination. Alternatively, some hotels operate complimentary shuttles around town.

Show Directions

Gift vouchers

Buy tours for friends and family who delight in discovery

Buy Now

Buy for a group

Get 15% to 50% off when you buy for a group

Buy Now

License this tour

Adapt this tour to use your brand and suit your guests

Find out more

Tips

Places to stop along the way

I highly recommend checking the operating schedules for the historic homes before your tour if you're intending on visiting, as there are different hours seasonally. A visit to any of the homes is highly recommended, but more than two in one day usually leads to historic-home-overload, so plan accordingly!
If you have the time, plan to enjoy a stroll along the Cliff Walk after the tour finishes, the tour will describe how to access the Cliff Walk.

Best time of day

Anytime during the day works great, but as there are limited food options along the route, it's recommended to do the tour after a meal.

Precautions

Unless you're visiting any of the historic properties, there are no public bathrooms along the route. Bring water along with you as there are no shops along the way (other than mansion gift shops, which do sell water).

Get The App

Download tours to use them offline

Listen hands-free with GPS playback

Get turn-by-turn directions

Scan the QR Code

“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

Google Play Store

Questions and Reviews

5 / 5

3 Ratings

Display:

Sort by:

Relevant

Recent

Loading…

Loading...

Newport Walking Tour: A Guide to the Opulent Homes of the Gilded Age

About the Tour

Tour Producer

Rhody Rambles

Preview Location

Location 5

Clarendon Court

How VoiceMap Works

Major Landmarks

Bellevue Avenue

Rough Point

Belcourt of Newport

Miramar

Clarendon Court

Rovensky Park

Marble House

Beechwood

Rosecliff

Pell Center

Salve Regina University

Ruggles at Carey Mansion

Founders Hall

Cliff Walk

The Breakers

Getting There

Route Overview

Directions to Starting Point

Tips

Places to stop along the way

Best time of day

Precautions

Get The App

Questions and Reviews