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You could spend days exploring the coastal town of Newport and its remarkable collection of elite mansions and other historic sites, but if time is short, it's possible to get a satisfying dose of Newport heritage in one well-planned day trip from Providence. The key is to get an early start and focus your attention on a few main attractions so you won't be overwhelmed by too much sightseeing. The town is about 30 miles south of Providence, easily accessible by road or by high-speed ferry service from Providence's Point Street Landing operating from May through October.

The nonprofit Providence Preservation Society (www.newportmansions.org) protects 11 major historic landmarks here, including the extravagant seaside mansions built by wealthy 19^th-century industrialists and ironically known to their owners as "summer cottages." The most illustrious of these is the Breakers, a 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palazzo commissioned in 1893 by Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Instead of trying to see as many sites as possible in a day, day-trippers should consider purchasing the "Breakers Plus" ticket, which includes entry to the Breakers and one other Newport mansion of your choice at a cost of $22 for adults, $6 for children.

Begin your visit with an early tour of the Breakers, which opens at 9 a.m. (10 a.m. from January through early April). Next spend some time strolling through the waterfront district before stopping for an early lunch at the White Horse Tavern (25 Marlborough St., 401-849-3600), in business since the late 1600s. After lunch, head out for your second mansion tour of the day, perhaps the Marble House, built in the late 1800s for William and Alva Vanderbilt.

In the afternoon you'll still have time to visit a few other local landmarks — such as the oldest synagogue in the United States (www.tourosynagogue.org), the Museum of Newport History (www.newporthistorical.com/museumof) or the International Tennis Hall of Fame (www.tennisfame.com) — before heading back to Providence.