Local Historic Houses: Rhode Island has a high concentration of colonial era houses, and Newport has the highest concentration of colonial houses in the US. Some of these are museum houses, others can just be seen from the street. This concentration includes some commercial buildings in use longer than the United States is old - the White Horse Tavern, for example, has operated since 1673. There are so many historic houses we can't list them, but the Newport Historical Society can and does. This area is also famous for the Newport Mansions, homes of the rich of the late 19th and early 20th Century, some of which can be toured. The Newport Historical District has a collection of old houses and a concentration of antique shops and other historical markers.

The Artillery Company of Newport was originally an artillery unit chartered by King George II, in 1741, and is the oldest military unit in the USA, although today it is strictly ceremonial and non-governmental unit, mostly mustering for public events and to maintain its military history museum, with artifacts going back to pre-Revolutionary Rhode Island. The museum is in Newport.

The Newport Art Museum has a collection of art from through the ages of the Americas, and some older works, and runs art education and promotion programming.

The South County Museum is a living history museum presenting life in 19th Century Rhode Island. Blacksmiths still work their forges and carpenters work wood by hand here. The museum has a large collection of everyday living items and a collection of historically accurate day-to-day ordinary places, including workshops, a one-room schoolhouse, a printing press, a farm, a general store, and other places and things people used in daily life.

The Beavertail Lighthouse Museum is the third oldest lighthouse in the USA, has a good sized collection of lighthouse buildings and objects, and gives children an old building to explore (carefully) and artists an interesting place to paint.

The Green Animals Topiary Garden is the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the USA, on the grounds of one of the Newport Mansions the city is famous for. The garden has quite a zoo of sculpted shrubbery, including elephants, bears, a unicorn, and other creatures. The grounds also have extensive other gardens, including a geometric path, herb gardens, and flower gardens. Open seasonally.

The Rhode Island Computer Museum has a collection of older, rarer, and sometimes weirder, computers, including personals and mainframes, and various peripherals. RICM also hosts educational programs for the younger technologist or coder.

The Quonset Air Museum is on the site of the former NAS Quonset Point, and collects various aircraft, ground vehicles, weapons, and items related to aviation history, especially military aviation.