Providence Rhode Island (in or near)

[lingle]

Hi mumsnet,
it looks like my son will be doing an internship at the university in Providence all summer. So we want to go out to visit.

any ideas? Is Providence interesting? Are there any beach towns reachable by train from Providence? And is it going to be hideously expensive?

Its a big university town as there are several in the city proper. Also, Rhode Island is tiny state, so are likely to see parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut or other surrounding states. Boston isnt too far for a day or overnight trip, but you will likely need a car. There are quite a few public beaches that are nice to visit - around Newport has the big old fancy homes from the Gilded Age and is pretty posh. And then there is Block Island where you need to take a ferry to get to, out on its own in the sound:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-beaches-rhode-island

Gives a good run down.

We lived in Providence in the early 90s so I dont remember too much, but its very New England and the city itself can be very liberal and artsy. Lots of bookshops, art galleries, unique food places, older architecture and pre-Revolutionary War history. Big Italian and Portuguese influences. Make sure you go more towards the middle of summer to get warmer water, but also make sure where you are staying has air conditioning as it can get very hot and humid.

Not sure what you define as hideously expensive but itll be pricey for sure with inflation and the bad exchange rate.

Don’t know about Beach towns but the railway goes to Boston. Easy enough to visit. The other direction is New York. I’d definitely do these two!

What an opportunity, Rhodes island has some lovely areas to explore but it's a tiny state and much of neighbouring Connecticut is pretty but very suburban.

My tip would be to head out to Province Town across the border in Massachusetts. From memory it's less than two hours. Province Town is a fab seaside town that's a centre for LGBT visitors as well as artists and celebrities. Loads of great eating places. Galleries. Gorgeous shops.

It’s not wildly interesting from a touristic point of view apart from the ‘summer cottages’ of Newport (which was the late 19th/early 20th c Hamptons), but close to lots of interesting places — you can easily get to Boston and NY, and I’d rent a car and drive out onto Cape Cod, which has quaint towns and lovely beaches. Agree with a pp that it can be very humid in midsummer.

Thankyou!

Hmmm, not so sure about a humid city - won’t there be a sea breeze?

should we base ourselves in Provincetown instead?

Provincetown is a fair way from anywhere else, right at the tip of Cape Cod, so it’s going to make things more difficult if you want to travel around and see other places, as you’ll need to travel the full length of the Cape before getting anywhere else. I lived on the Cape in the mid-90s, so my information is out of date, but I remember PTown in summer as a bit of a tourist trap — crowded and crazy. It reminded me slightly of somewhere like St Ives in high season, but with tap dancing drag queens. It closed down abruptly after Labour Day.

It depends what you want to do, really — to what extent do you want a touring base?

We are steering clear of the cape when we visit in the summer. Will spend a few days in the coast at Newport and are actually arriving in the area via Prov RI. The cape in the summer is pretty hellish to navigate. Very busy and the accommodation and roads all struggle .

Right - consider Provincetown ruled out!
we’re going to base ourselves in Providence itself. Ds1 will be working there and we don’t know how much time he will want to spend with us so travel-base is important!

Also ds2 will get an Amtrak pass for his big birthday so he will be pretty independent and will need to be near the train station

Rhode Island is lovely - lovely beach areas around Narragansett bay - and I don't think they have the shark problem that the Cape has. Newport is lovely and some lovely small towns like Jamestown, Bristol etc. you are only about an hour and a half by car or a train ride from Boston - loads to do and see there.

Provincetown is worth a visit but I'd do a day trip by ferry which is a lovely trip.

https://www.visitrhodeisland.com/

We loved Newport and also spent time in Cape Cod and Boston- all great.

if you go, google restaurants that have featured on Diners Drive Ins and Dives - generally really good (and popular). RI is famous for its clams.

and its really good Portuguese food

It's been about 20 years since we were there visiting family with our toddlers. We were in Middletown and took the bus to Boston for a couple of nights and otherwise travelled with the family by car. Battleship cove was a big hit.

Thankyou