Newport Cliff Walk: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

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Highlights

  • Find out how the city's turbulent past has shaped its present

  • Hear from producer Richard Seaward, a Londoner living in in Aix en Provence

  • Do it all in 75 minutes or linger at stops along the way

  • Get unlimited use before your booking date and after it

  • Use the virtual tour option at home

Summary

Savor the secrets and scandals that linger along Newport’s captivating coastline on this self-guided walking tour. Experience the magic of GPS-playback while immersing yourself in the history of Newport's former Gilded Age residents. 

Tour info

Duration
1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours
Group Size
Pricing (From)
Adult: (6-99 years)
$7.99
Commentary
English
Meeting Point

40 Steps, 220 Narragansett Ave, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840

Dropoff location

Newport, Rhode Island, 02840

Why take this tour?

At the turn of the 20th century, Newport was the summer home of America’s fashionable society. Millionaires from New York and beyond competed for status by building palatial estates and throwing lavish galas within the ballrooms of their “summer cottages.” On this walking tour, you’ll see one of New England’s most breathtaking coastlines from a new perspective, as you step back into the Gilded Age.

On this 90-minute stroll along the Cliff Walk, you’ll hear about all the mansions you pass by, and the families who lived within them. I’ll tell you about Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt who built the most immense fortune in America at the time, and I’ll reveal how his descendants squandered it all within a few short generations. I’ll explain how the social structure of Newport’s elite was determined by Caroline Astor, the empress of ‘The 400’ – New York society’s and, by default, Newport’s unofficial ‘who’s who’ list.

Starting at 40 Steps, you’ll wind your way along the Cliff Walk, taking in mansions like the Breakers, Rosecliff, Belmont Estate and Rough Point. Along the way, I’ll point out the Chinese Tea House at Marble House and Ochre Point lookout. Home by home, you’ll discover how these estates were built, and why so many of them were merely abandoned at the end of the Gilded Age, when they weren’t donated or sold off as museums for a small fraction of the cost to build them.

Some questions I’ll answer along the way include:

• What was the Gilded Age and why was it given that name?
• Were the millionaires of the Gilded Age as wealthy as the billionaires of today?
• How many servants did it take to staff a mansion in Newport?
• Why were the Vanderbilts not easily accepted into Newport’s polite society and ‘the 400’?
• How did Salve Regina University, located along the Cliff Walk, get its beautiful campus here?

On this tour, you’ll not only get to appreciate these magnificent homes, but also to walk along Rhode Island’s most impressive stretch of shoreline to see its most visited travel destination.

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What’s included?

  • Lifetime access to this tour in English

  • VoiceMap app for Android and iOS

  • Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

  • Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route

  • Smartphone and headphones

  • Transportation

  • Food and drink

Things to know

Before you book

  • The audio guide uses a mobile app.

  • You'll need to download the app and then use the voucher code provided to download the tour.

  • You'll need to use your own mobile phone and headphones.

  • The tour is only available in English.

Before you go

  • You'll need to download the app and then use the voucher code provided to download the tour

  • The download should only take a few minutes to complete. If it takes longer, please cancel the download, go to Account, select Purchased and download the tour from there

  • Please remember to bring your own headphones and use your own mobile device

  • Please follow the download instructions included to download the tour.

Redemption information

    To use your tour, please read the important instructions below and disregard all other codes except for this one: NPCW2564
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    ⤓
    DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS:
    1. Install the VoiceMap mobile app. (Just search the Apple App Store or Google Play for VoiceMap Audio Tours.)
    2. Create an account
    3. Select Tour Codes from the menu, then select Enter Codes
    4. Enter the code below then select Download Now
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    #
    YOUR CODE:
    NPCW2564

    This code can be used by every member of your party. If you have booked for three people, for example, three people can download this tour using the same code. Codes are not case sensitive.
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    ⌁
    PLEASE ALSO NOTE:
    • You can download the tour at any time, before or after your booking date. It’s best to download the tour before you set off for the starting point.
    • When the download completes, you’ll see a screen with a photo of the starting point and directions to it. The red start button will become active when you are at the starting point.
    • This tour follows a set route and includes turn-by-turn directions. It works best if you start it in the right place and follow the directions from one location to the next.
    • Remember to bring your own headphones, unless you have booked a driving tour.
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    ✉
    SUPPORT:
    For technical support and other queries, please email [email protected]


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About operator:

VoiceMap makes audio tours easy and accessible. It has a beautifully simple tour app, a straightforward publishing tool, and a team of helpful editors. 

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