Holiday road trip: Newport's Gilded Age mansions are decked out for Christmas

If there are two things that Americans just can't seem to get enough of during the holiday season, it's festive decorations and jaw-dropping mansions dressed to the nines with Christmas trees, tinsel, ornaments and more.

Long Islanders looking for a holiday-inspired road trip can take the four-hour drive to Newport, Rhode Island, to experience the glitz and glamour of the Gilded Age mansions.

Initiated in 1971 as a two-week series of holiday-themed events, "Christmas in Newport" was designed to induce shoppers and merrymakers to spend time — and money — in what had, by the late 1800s, become America’s most glamorous summer resort.

Day-trippers responded positively to the lights and decorations that adorned the city’s commercial waterfront, but getting out-of-towners to come for the night required bigger bait.

The Preservation Society was impelled to not only open, but decorate to the hilt, several of its most popular properties.

"Holidays at the Newport Mansions," the Preservation Society of Newport County's annual Yuletide extravaganza at the Gilded Age "cottages," gives visitors an inside look at turn-of-the-20th-century America's richest and most famous mega-homes.

Combine that with "Christmas in Newport" festivities and the Colonial-era city's own seasonally enhanced charm, and you have a combination guaranteed to warm the cockles of your early winter heart.

MANSION TOURS TO EXPLORE

Get an insider's look at four mega-mansions: Cornelius Vanderbilt II's 70-room, 1895 Italian Renaissance The Breakers; his younger brother William's 1892 imitation French palace, Marble House; coal baron Edward Julius Berwind's 1901 French chateau-style The Elms; and shipping heir George Wetmore's 1870s Second Empire Chateau-sur-Mer. This is Curator of Historic Landscapes and Horticulture Jim Donahue's creative but contemporary imagining.

Some 30 elegant trees (all synthetic due to fire codes) grace their main rooms, each decorated with  garland, wreaths, toys, nativity scenes and seasonal floral arrangements.

Two additional opportunities await visitors at The Breakers (44 Ochre Point Ave., 401-847-1000, newportmansions.org) whose 15-foot-tall poinsettia "tree," comprised of 150 individual plants in the Great Hall, is at the top of everyone's Christmas list. The first is "Sparkling Lights at The Breakers," where evening guests follow a half-mile, lighted path as it winds through a series of creative and colorful outdoor displays, including a Tunnel of Lights ($14-$45; through Dec. 28).

The second is "Behind the Scenes: The Breakers Holiday Decorations," an hourlong "how we do it" tour led by Donahue. ($20; 11 a.m. Dec. 4, 11, and 18)

WHAT TO SEE 

While several of Newport’s other marquee attractions will already be closed for the winter, there are still plenty of things to see and do.

Located inside the 1894 Municipal Armory Building is the Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame (365 Thames St., 401.324.5761, thesailingmuseum.org; $18, $12 ages 11-18); while inside the 1880 Newport Casino on Bellevue Avenue, home of America’s first national tennis championship, is the International Tennis Hall of Fame (194 Bellevue Ave., 401-849-3990, tennisfame.com; $22 ages 12 and up).

Also on Bellevue Avenue is the Audrain Automobile Museum (222 Bellevue Ave., 401-856-4420, audrainautomuseum.org) whose December exhibit is of children’s cars, pedal cars, and go-karts ($18, $8 ages 6-17), and, in Richard Morris Hunt’s 1864 John N.A. Griswold House, the Newport Art Museum (76 Bellevue Ave., 401-848-8200, newportartmuseum.org; $15 ages 18 and up) with its surprisingly large collection of American and contemporary art. Back down on the waterfront, and now in its second year, is the Save The Bay’s Hamilton Family Aquarium (23 America’s Cup Ave., first floor, 401-324-6020, savebay.org; $15).

FESTIVE FUN 

Now in its 55th year, "Christmas in Newport" offers festive events worth the road trip to New England  including open houses, holiday lightings and small-scale holiday performances.

Events that span the entire month include Hot Chocolate Bar at the (luxurious) Chanler Hotel (117 Memorial Blvd, 401-847-1300, thechanler.com) a perfect break for those up to taking the famous Cliff Walk at this time of year, and the Newport Historical Society’s various walking tours, most notably its 4 p.m. weekend Holiday Lantern Tour ($20, $10 ages 5-12, newporthistorytours.org).

There is no charge to take your own self-guided walking tour of Newport's charming 18th-century residential neighborhoods, all decked out in their festive finery. And there is no need to even walk to be dazzled by the progression of winter seascapes along the scenic Ocean Drive.

GRAB A BITE 

Stroll along Thames Street and on Bowen’s and Bannister’s Wharves (think seafood), where it will be a matter of letting your senses (and your wallet) be your guide. Away from the water are the White Horse Tavern (26 Marlborough St., 401-849-3600, whitehorsenewport.com) fine dining inside America’s oldest (1673) tavern; shellfish and seafood at Scales & Shells (527 Thames St., 401-846-3474, scalesandshells.com); and traditional Italian fare at either Sardella's Italian Restaurant (30 Memorial Blvd., W., 401-849-6312, viestesimplyitalian.com) or Vieste (580 Thames St., 401-324-5905, viestesimplyitalian.com)

WHERE TO STAY 

While some hotels do close for the winter, there are still plenty of options, with December typically bringing reduced "offseason" rates. Among the choices include the Mill Street Inn (75 Mill St., 401-849-9500, millstreetinn.com; starting at $179) a boutique hotel in a restored mill near Trinity Church; the Ivy Lodge Bed and Breakfast (12 Clay St., 401-849-6865, ivylodge.com; starting at $270) offering authentic Gilded Age elegance two blocks from The Elms ; and the commodious waterfront Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina (49 America's Cup Ave., 401-847-9000, newporthotel.com; starting at $159).