Find 10 great and fun things to do in Providence/Warwick

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Relaxed Shopping
With Fresh Air on the Side

Garden City Shopping Center, at 100 Midway Road in Cranston is a great resource for a full day of shopping, dining, and seasonal entertainment. It is a well-maintained and attractive outdoor shopping center, with interesting stores that loop around a central gazebo used for special events. A page on the shopping center’s website gives a summary of sales and special events. The selection of stores ranges from Eastern Mountain Sports to Victoria’s Secret. The lovely Italian restaurant, Papa Razzi, and several other eateries offer rest and good food. From visits with Santa to wedding photos at the gazebo, five generations of Rhode Islands have fond memories of their trips here. Phone: 4021-942-2800.

3 Centuries of Architectural Masterpieces

Just 16 years after the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth, Massachusetts, Roger Williams founded a new settlement called Providence in what would become Rhode Island. This downtown walking tour of churches and libraries from three centuries was created by the Blackstone Valley National Heritage Corridor and it takes visitors along streets that date to the founding of Providence. Highlights are the Cathedral of St. John and the First Baptist Church, Memorial Hall at the Rhode Island School of Design, several halls of Brown University, the Congdon Street Baptist Church. These buildings include beautiful and mixed elements of English Gothic Revival style, traditional New England meeting house, Romanesque designs, Baroque and Greek Revival style, high Victorian Gothic design, a Renaissance-style dome, and Italianate style. Enjoy the history and the beauty. Phone: 401-762-0250.
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A Night at the Movies, Only Better

The Cable Car Cinema at 204 South Main Street in Providence is a step ahead of the rest--or a step behind, depending on how you look at it. The theater’s cozy, art-house atmosphere harkens back to a time before giant multiplexes and IMAX theaters were all the rage. But unlike those multiplexes, the Cable Car is also home to an adorable, locally-owned cafe--serving espresso, soup, sandwiches, wine, and beer--so you can snuggle up on one of the theater’s leather sofas and enjoy a snack while you watch the movie. Phone: 401-272-3970.

A Wicked Fun City Stroll

Wickenden Street, on the east side of Providence, finds itself on the eastern border of two major universities: Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Predictably, the street is a great place to walk, dine, and shop, offering a nice dose of interesting clothing, art supply and collectible shops; cheap eats; international flavor; bold murals; and occasional comic counterculture imagery. Rhode Island Roads Magazine has called Wickenden Street “a romantic jaunt in the artsy side of Providence.” Scrape together a few hours and a nose from browsing and come walk Wickenden.

Above and Overlooking Downtown,
Providence Place Is a Mall of Wonders

Providence Place mall, at 1 Providence Place, overlooking the beautifully restored heart of the downtown, is a fun place for a shopping expedition, especially around the Christmas holidays, when sparkling decorations hang from the three-story-tall atrium and pop-up retail booths fill the hallways with color and diversity in gift choices. The mall opened in the early 2000s with a lot of ballyhoo for its elegant design and location literally overlooking the lovely paths of WaterPlace Park below. This shopping, dining and entertainment destination is the centerpiece of a downtown Providence renaissance. Retailers include Nordstrom, Tiffany & Co., Coach, The Apple Store, The Cheesecake Factory, Sephora, J. Jill, Ross-Simons, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and an IMAX theater. Phone: 401-270-1000.

Arts Center is Just of the Attractions
of Gracious Goddard Park

Goddard Memorial State Park, at 1095 Ives Road in Warwick is a wonderful, large green stretch along Greenwich Cove for everything from an impromptu walk to a large, festive party. The park offers a beautiful natural environment with spacious lawns, fields, and forested areas with a variety of trees from all over the world, including 62 deciduous and 19 evergreen species. Visitors can make use of a nine-hole golf course, an equestrian show area, 18 miles of bridle trails, 355 picnic tables, 11 game fields, and a new performing arts center – located in a former carousel building -- for weddings, concerts, picnics and special events. Picnic shelters and grills alongside wide green playing fields attract everyone from intimate couples to family parties. Phone: 401-884-2010.

Arts, Without Inhibitions

AS220 is a non-profit community arts space at 115 Empire Street in downtown Providence with a mission of providing an unjuried and uncensored forum for the arts. AS220 is part incubator and part bazaar for the visual and performing arts. Among its tasks is to build new audiences and infrastructure for artists to stimulate the cultural mulch in Rhode Island. The Empire Street Complex consists of a performance space, galleries, studios, and the Perishable Theatre. This is not an off-the-shelf art experience. Come check it out. Phone: 401-831-9327.

Breathtaking Art of Many Ages and Cultures

To see a wide variety of spectacular artwork from many cultures and ages, visit the Rhode Island School of Design Museum on Benefit Street in Providence. The RISD Museum houses over 80,000 works of art, ranging from ancient Greek and Roman sculpture to French Impressionist paintings, from Chinese stone and terracotta sculpture to contemporary art in every medium, including textiles, ceramics, glass and furniture. It also serves the general public with a full schedule of special exhibitions, lectures, tours, concerts and other programs. Phone: 401-454-6500.

Clouds Hill is a Marvelous Tour for Victoriana Fans

The Victorian mansion at Clouds Hill at 4157 Post Road in Warwick was built as a wedding gift for Elizabeth Ives Slater on her marriage to Alfred Augustus Reed, Jr. Visitors from around the world have found this house to be one of the best examples of Victoriana in terms of authenticity of its contents. Original collections include textiles, with family articles dating back to the 1870s; porcelain, including the dinner set used by Elizabeth and her family; carriages, including a gypsy wagon from the mid-1800s; and much more. The public is invited to seasonal events at Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and at the height of summer flower blooms. Hours: Available for tours every day; call ahead to confirm. Phone: 401-884-9490.

Colonial Village Still Charms Visitors

Pawtuxet Village is a small, historic neighborhood at Post Road and Narragansett Parkway on the border of Warwick and Cranston, famous for the annual Gaspee Day parade in June, when dozens of fife and drum corps commemorate the burning of the British revenue schooner HMS Gaspee in 1772. Other times of the year, it is a cozy section of historic buildings on a tiny cove of the Upper Narragansett Bay filled with interesting shops and eateries. Among them are Twice Told Tales Books & Gifts, Libations Wine & Spirits, Village Art & Antiques, Waters Edge Furniture Gallery & Café, and many interesting restaurants, from O'Rourke's Bar & Grill to Rim Nahm Thai Restaurant. Small Pawtuxet Park, facing the cove, is a lovely place to rest with a book or enjoy your purchases.

Cooking History & Cookery Gadgets

Whether you relate to food by cooking, eating, or watching its preparation, you will enjoy the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University at 315 Harborside Boulevard in Providence. This is the nation’s premier museum devoted to the preservation of the history of the culinary and hospitality industries. Exhibits include a diner museum, a stove museum; a pantheon of chefs; a restored New England tavern, collections of kitchen gadgets and appliances, and other culinary showpieces. An international array of chefs and restaurateurs have contributed to the museum's holdings. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Phone: 401-598-2805.
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Enjoy the Heart of the City – on Ice Skates

From mid-December to late February, everyone is welcome to come ice skate outdoors in the very heart of Providence’s restored downtown. The rink is at City Hall Park in Kennedy Plaza, bounded by Exchange, Francis and Washington streets. The 14,000-square-foot skating rink is twice the size of Rockefeller Plaza’s ice rink in New York City and the beautiful urban cityscape on all sides is just as inspiring. Skate rentals are available. May close pending weather conditions – call first. Phone: 401-331-5544 ext. 5.

Fete Offers a New Place to Celebrate Live Music

Fete, at 103 Dike Street in Providence, is a new boutique live music venue dedicated to providing innovative music programming. Fete’s ballroom, lounge, and bistro (to come in 2013) are making a splash in the Creative Capital’s vibrant art, culture and tourism industry. Fête’s mission is to create a haven where artists and audiences actively enjoy a diverse selection of live music. Fête’s programming will celebrate all types of music. For instance, every Monday night Eric Bloom and The 5 Point Brass Gang lead Nola, a weekly party inspired by the second line and brass band tradition in New Orleans. Phone: 401-838-1112.

Galloping Dinner

A very cool and unusual experience for visitors to the capital city of Providence is a chauffeured tasting tour of a half-dozen Providence restaurants over the course of an evening. The Providence Chauffeured Dine Around is a service of All Occasion Transportation. You and your guests may choose six restaurants from a list of more than 15 premier eateries and enjoy featured menu tastings all evening long. One friend reported “...the restaurants rocked; and we felt really special.” Phone: 401-312-0945 ext. 131.
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Hope on Foot

On a sunny day, a stroll along Hope Street on the East Side of Providence alongside Brown University offers a pleasant parade of interesting shops, restaurants, and small parks. Eateries include Blaze, Chez Pascal, India Restaurant, and the family-owned Seven Stars Bakery. Shopping venues offers textile art, yarns, vintage jewelry and furniture, and kitchenware. If you travel south to north, from Wickenden Street to Blackstone Boulevard (the entire length would be nine miles), you would end up at a farmers market that gathers on Saturday mornings from June to October at Lippitt Memorial Park at the intersection of Hope Street and Blackstone Boulevard. This park, with a playground for young children, is the starting point for a leafy walking path along all of Blackstone Boulevard.
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Providence's Shopping & Dining "Downcity" Neighborhood Is a Fun Exploration

If the urge to splurge hits you, check out the shops in Providence’s Downcity district, along Westminster Street and the surrounding neighborhood. This recently revitalized part of downtown is home to some of the city’s coolest locally owned shops, restaurants, and bars. Some not-to-be-missed highlights include Craftland on Westminster Street; Gourmet Heaven on Weybosset Street; Heir Antiques on Eddy Street; and more good, unique restaurants than you could shake a chopstick at.
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