The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's Gilded Age cottages and one of the most spectacular private residences ever built in the United States. Cornelius Vanderbilt II commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a 70-room Italian Renaissance palazzo on Ochre Point, overlooking the Atlantic, and the result — completed in 1895 — is an act of pure, unapologetic plutocratic excess. The Great Hall rises 45 feet, the dining room is sheathed in red alabaster and gilded bronze, and the morning room's alabaster columns were quarried in Africa.
Managed by the Preservation Society of Newport County, The Breakers is the most visited historic site in New England outside Boston. The audio tour (included in admission) is excellent, narrated by descendants of the Vanderbilt family and full of specific detail about how the household operated. Budget at least two hours; on summer weekends, arrive early as crowds can be substantial. The ocean views from the terrace behind the house, looking south across the Atlantic, are worth the visit on their own.