This capital city is the third largest city in New England and is thriving with restaurants, museums and a zoo that is the third oldest in the country. With over 430 acres, the Roger Williams Park Zoo is home to nearly 1,000 animals including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish and insects with over 100 species of rare animals from around the world, this is a zoo well known for its conservation efforts. Once you’ve “talked with the animals,” be sure to check out other offerings at the parks including the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, the Botanical Center, the Carousel Village, and the Casino.
2. Bristol – 21 miles, 26 minutes
Bristol is the classic New England port town with venerable churches, mills, mansions, sailors’ shacks and a waterfront district that lends charm and authenticity to its past. Historic Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum, situated on Bristol Harbor, entices visitors to stroll back in time and explore this turn-of-the-century summer retreat. The 45-room English-style manor is filled with the family heirlooms of coal baron Augustus Van Wickle. Outside are 32 acres of gardens, with noteworthy trees from around the globe, including the largest giant sequoia on the East Coast, and the Bamboo Grove. Rated one of the five best public gardens in New England by Yankee Magazine, spring’s Daffodil Days is a blaze of color when 50,000 flowers bloom.
3. Portsmouth – 65.6 miles, 1 hour 2 minutes
Portsmouth is a town of many firsts: first town in the New World to be established by a woman; the first true democracy in the United States; and home to the oldest topiary garden in America, the Green Animals Topiary Garden. The first two grounds superintendents sculpted over 80 animals, birds, ornamental designs and geometric figures from yews, California privet and English boxwoods found on the estate to create these appealing topiaries. Fruit trees, floral gardens, a rose arbor, grape arbor, along with vegetable and herb gardens, help make this seven-acre estate a blooming wonder to behold.