Bristol, Rhode Island | Could You Live Here?

A salty breeze chops the air, blowing into Bristol, Rhode Island. It’s April in the old seaport, and already, in the distance, sailboats are flying over the waves, outpacing the last of winter. Narragansett Bay snaps and ruffles like a sheet in the wind; former rum distilleries soak up sun along the waterfront. A few blocks from the harbor, mansions on Hope Street bear witness to maritime fortunes won and lost.

Founded in 1680, Bristol is a town made for walking through history, with dramas that include the tumultuous story of the DeWolf family and their role in the infamous “triangle trade”: Bristol rum traded for African slaves, who then worked on massive plantations in Cuba, which supplied the Bristol distilleries with sugar and molasses.

Wind and water fuel Bristol’s narrative. There’s a reason so many winning America’s Cup yachts were built here. “Narragansett Bay is the ‘it’ place for wind,” says Joanne Murrman, a docent at Linden Place, the graceful Federal mansion in the heart of downtown. And even when you’re not on it, the bay seems omnipresent. Cyclists follow its curves on the East Bay Bike Path; families stroll and picnic along its edge at Colt State Park. It’s also a distractingly beautiful component of Blithewold, a historic summer estate where carpets of daffodils unroll, a bamboo grove rustles with mystery, and a 100-year-old giant sequoia commands attention. But that view from the Great Lawn overlooking the ripples—it’s simply grand. 

For all this, Bristol has a cheery, unaffected vibe. And although it’s just 14 miles north of Newport’s hustle and bustle, it feels decidedly under the radar. Along with prime sailing and biking and breathtaking scenery, it offers a compact downtown, where 23,000 residents take pride in hosting the oldest continuously held Fourth of July celebration in the country (since 1785). Underscoring this point: The center line through town marks the parade route in bold stripes of red, white, and blue.

The Setting

Sited on a peninsula that looks remarkably like a crab claw, Bristol lies less than an hour south of the state capital, Providence. A weathered boardwalk runs along the waterfront, past the DeWolf Warehouse, with its honey-colored stone, and the 1818 DeWolf Tavern. Three hundred years of architecture are packed into the downtown: Handsome Federal and Greek Revival homes line the long, parallel streets laid out in a grid, with busy restaurants and pubs interspersed.

Eating Out

“You’re in for a treat,” a fan in line at the Beehive Café tells me. Clearly, as the mango-glazed doughnut, in its own sweetly assertive way, sets the tone for a weekend that unfolds in flavors. Lunch is at Pomodoro Pizzeria, a tiny bistro that feels straight out of Boston’s North End (homemade gnocchi, broccoli rabe sandwiches topped with provolone). At night, an apple-chai whiskey cocktail and asparagus salad complements the fisherman’s stew at Statesman Tavern.

A Sunday breakfast at Sunset Café gets progressively merrier as diners fill up on Portuguese chorizo hash and sweet-bread French toast. And for the final fling: Bristol Oyster Bar, where the sea is plunked onto the plate in the form of Dutch Island, Moonstone, and Chessawanock oysters. (Who could say no to the briny goodness of the “Legendary Buck a Shuck?”)

Shopping

Amid an artful mix of storefronts, I’m pulled into Epilogues, where contemporary nautical handcrafts and gifts mingle with French antiques and midcentury scatterings. Another standout is Grasmere, a home décor shop accented with oversize ferns that give the feel of an elegant English greenhouse. And at C&R Mercantile, owner Denise Nehez fills her teensy space—just 200 square feet—with an array of flowers, farm goods, and pretty gifts.

Family Fun

To burn off a little extra energy, join the wagon train of families pedaling along the 14.5-mile East Bay Bike Path from Bristol to Providence. The path crosses through Colt State Park, a 464-acre estate on Poppasquash Neck that was left to the public by the wealthy industrialist Samuel Colt.

At the annual Fiber Festival weekend at Coggeshall Farm Museum, the rain does nothing to dampen the spirits of kids clustered around the sheepshearing pen. We’re all agog as the fleece comes off in one continuous piece in the hands of a master sheepshearer, who informs us, “It’s like peeling a banana!” On non-shearing weekends, rare-breed livestock and reenactments evoke daily life on a tenant farm in 1799.

Don’t-Miss Attractions

Four U.S. presidents (Monroe, Jackson, Grant, and Arthur) visited Linden Place, the stunning 1810 mansion that dominates Hope Street. Guides dig deep into the story of the families who lived here—DeWolfs and Colts—who made their fortunes as slave traders. More than a house tour, it’s the history of our country, dark corners and all.

There are too many magical nooks to count at Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, where a 45-room mansion sits in the midst of rose gardens, wildflowers, and a woodland glade that bursts with daffodils in the spring. Marvel at the floral abundance, stroll the 10-acre Great Lawn rolling down to the bay, and take tea at the mansion, if you like.

Uniquely Bristol

Bristol shipbuilders were long renowned for their America’s Cup yachts, so it stands to reason that this town is home to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. It was founded in 1992 as part of the Herreshoff Marine Museum, which celebrates Bristol’s maritime legacy with gleaming vintage boats, classic yacht regattas, and a sailing school for kids and adults using boats from the 1930s.

Where to Stay

It’s easy to get distracted at Mount Hope Farm, what with the baby goats, sheep, and donkeys, plus cutting and perennial gardens, but this place also presents the chance to sleep like a colonial bigwig in the 1745 Governor Bradford House. On the waterfront, the Bristol Harbor Inn offers nautical-themed rooms with views of Narragansett Bay.

If You Could Live Here

At the time of our visit, a three-bedroom 1850 colonial with gingerbread trim on Hope Street in walking distance of the harbor lists at $374,900. An airy two-bedroom cottage downtown is selling for $299,900. And nearly an acre of land adjacent to Audubon land on Poppasquash Road is $199,000.

SEE MORE: Scenes from Spring in Bristol, Rhode Island