World Explorers Club kids travel around the globe, but don’t forget the amazing landmarks we have right here, on the East Coast. This month we visited the grandest of the Newport summer homes, the Breakers mansion built by the Vanderbilt family. An upscale destination can be tricky to visit with the children, so we wrote a review to help you with future planning.
World Explorers voted: THUMBS UP!
A magnificent place to visit, the Breakers mansion, is surprisingly children-friendly. There are two audio tours, Adult and Family. We sampled Family audio guide to see if it will hold up to our high standards of enrichment and entertainment for kids and loved it.
The Family tour was given from the first-person account, we felt drawn into the history and personal lives of the people who lived here. The guide was narrated by a set of characters that included the owners, their kids and servants. Each one told a different story and made it very personal. Our kids were not bored for a second and loved having the control of their own headsets, as well as the order of the overall tour.
The tour took about 45 minutes. We visited the main and personal rooms, servants quarters and the Stable. Kids really got a taste for what it would be like to live in a jaw-dropping place like this. But in addition to the pretend play, they also learned about the fine arts of the era, the culture of the Gilded Age and the growth of industrialism in America. Learning across subjects and disciplines? Sounds familiar? We try to do the same as we virtually travel to different countries in our classes 🙂
Couple of tips you may find useful:
- If you only visit one mansion, see The Breakers.
- If you are seeing more than one, save the Breakers for last
- Some mansions you can only see on a guided tour. The Breakers, The Elms, Rosecliff and Marble House have audio guides to follow on your own. The Breakers is the only one with the Family Audio tour option.
- No strollers in the mansions, limited photos inside (cell phone only).
- Children’s playhouse at the Breakers is a great play space to finish your tour and give the children free time.
Happy traveling!
World Explorers Team
Thanks for the great info! Planning to follow your exact footsteps tomorrow.
Looking forward to trying the kids audiotour!!!