Providence, Rhode Island 72-Hour Vacation

Providence is one of the best small cities in America, a historic center of New England commerce and industry that has reinvented itself as a capital for education and the arts—both graphic and culinary. This city has literally moved rivers and rail lines to reshape its image and zeitgeist, and the reinvigorated Downcity district has drawn residents and retailers alike back to Providence's once-desolate downtown core.

Providence founded by exiled preacher and pioneer of religious freedom Roger Williams, and was known from its earliest days as a haven for scoundrels and free thinkers alike. The city prospered from its maritime trade, commanding the head of Narragansett Bay, including the infamous slaves-for-rum Triangle Trade. Later riches accrued from jewelry manufacturing, banking and insurance. Today, the city is better known as home to the Ivy League's Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Johnson & Wales University. The latter's College of Culinary Arts—along with the homegrown talents of the city's large Italian, Portuguese and Latino communities—has made Providence a mecca for gourmets.

In terms of accommodations, the Hotel Providence in Providence's Arts and Entertainment District is conveniently located for walking excursions. Filled with art and antiques, the 80-room, fin-de-siècle-style property also boasts Aspire, which attracts a youthful after-work crowd with courtyard dining and an ambitious menu. Guests will feel equally cozy (and oh-so-19th-century) at the Old Court Bed and Breakfast, located just three minutes' walking distance from downtown on Benefit Street, which is charmingly lined with Colonial and Victorian homes. Period-style furnishings decorate the pretty rooms at this exquisite Italianate former rectory, which is very popular with visiting Brown families and faculty.

For a bed closer to the heart of Providence's culinary action, the Hotel Dolce Villa is located on Federal Hill's historic DePasquale Square, with fourteen fourteen suites literally steps away from the popular Caffe Dolce Vita, which defines full-service by serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks, desserts and drinks.

The city's best corporate hotel, The Westin Providence, is linked by sky-bridge to the Rhode Island Convention Center and the Providence Place Mall. Next door, the classic Providence Biltmore is an elegant alternative, while the Renaissance Providence—located between the Providence Place Mall and the state Capitol—is a hip newcomer built within the shell of a historic, 1929 Masonic Temple.

For Atlantic Ocean views and a sense of privacy in Newport, The Chanler at Cliff Walk offers offers twenty luxe rooms with Frette linens, fireplaces, king-size canopy beds and butler-drawn baths. It sits on an historic mansion-lined cliff walk overlooking Second Beach on Bellevue Avenue. The stylish new NYLO hotel in Warwick is convenient to T.F. Green Airport and is one of the coolest places to stay, dine and party in Rhode Island, notwithstanding its location across the street from the state's largest shopping mall. Housed in an old mill building, NYLO is an intriguing island of redbrick charm, minimalist design and urban aesthetic in the heart of suburbia.

DAY 1

Spend t today exploring the Downcity district. Start your day with a cup of fresh brew from Tazza Caffe on Westminster Street. Alternatively, Agora (in the aforementioned Westin Providence) is part of a new breed of hotel restaurants truly worth a visit. At breakfast, Agora offers a generous buffet, as well as an à la carte menu; if your itinerary permits, splurge on the leisurely Sunday brunch.

DePasquala Plaza in Federal Hill

For a more informal repast, take the few blocks' stroll from the hotel to Providence's Federal Hill neighborhood, a historic Italian enclave that's home to some of the city's best restaurants. Opening at 7:30 a.m., the Scialo Bros. Bakery will help you greet the morning with a selection of biscotti and other Italian pastries along with a free cup of coffee, just as it has for bleary-eyed locals every day since 1916.

Steps away from the Westin is the centerpiece of Providence's downtown revival: Waterplace Park. A decade ago, city planners began transforming a barren landscape of parking lots, railroad tracks and debris-strewn rivers into an elegant urban park, complete with arched bridges, waterside walkways and a central basin with a performance amphitheater. Stretching from the upscale Providence Place Mall to the mouth of Narragansett Bay, Waterplace Park is a stroller's paradise almost any time of year; a pair of authentic Venetian gondolas offer those less inclined to hoof it a unique tour of downtown. On select evenings, the rivers of Waterplace Park literally light up for WaterFire, an inspired bit of outdoor art in which floating braziers full of hardwood are lit to the accompaniment of haunting music amid a festival atmosphere.

After a morning riverside stroll, the restaurants at the Providence Place Mall are a convenient stop for lunch. Streetside eateries include FiRE + iCE, with its showy kitchen and Mongolian barbecue, and the elegant Napa Valley Grille. Joe's American Bar and Grill serves steaks and sandwiches on an outdoor patio. For al fresco dining directly riverside, you can't beat Waterplace Restaurant, where the large menu runs the gamut from sandwiches and rustic pizzas to grilled ahi.

Tazza

Inside the mall, you'll find the usual array of upscale franchises, anchored by Nordstrom and Macy's. Perched atop the mall are an IMAX Theater, Showcase Cinemas, and the ever-popular Dave & Busters with its vast arcade, pool tables, restaurant and bar.

Downcity is also a must-see for the urban architecture aficionado. The city's former retail district is full of Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival and Victorian structures; Providence is said to have a larger percentage of buildings on the National Historic Register than any city in the United States. Some worthwhile stops include the 1913 Turk's Head Building, adorned with a granite relief of a ship's figurehead on its rounded prow, and the Shepard Company Building on Westminster Street, formerly the heart of Providence's retail center.

Long neglected, Downcity has recently become the epicenter of a major residential revival. Historic office buildings are being converted into condominiums and apartments, sparking the return of street-level shops and eateries. The funky Tazza on Westminster Street is a great place to grab a cup of coffee and a panini, fire up your laptop to check your e-mail or the sports scores and enjoy live music in the evenings. Local 121, situated in a onetime hotel for traveling salesmen, is an acclaimed purveyor of super-fresh, locally sourced cuisine.

Long-vacant Downcity storefronts have started to fill with shops catering to the city's new urban residents: the Eno wine shop, Farmstead for exotic cheeses, and the eclectic ephemera and décor store Oop—all on Westminster Street—are especially worth a visit. Call ahead for dinner reservations at Mill's Tavern, where chef chef Jaime D'Oliveira fires up everything from halibut to suckling pig over a wood-fired grill. As night falls, Providence's art scene comes to life: to immerse yourself in the local vibe, drop into the oddball Red Fez for comfort food or catch a local band or poetry slam at AS220.

Shopping on Westminster Street

The theater at the Trinity Repertory Company is one of the nation's most acclaimed regional playhouses, offering a variety of productions on two stages, including works by local playwrights and classics such as Our Town and Cyrano de Bergerac. National tours of Broadway plays like Movin' Out and The Lion King always schedule a stint at the historic Providence Performing Arts Center, a gilded jewel in the crown of Downcity.

Cap your evening with dessert at Pastiche on Federal Hill or the cozy L'Elizabeth on South Main Street before heading back to your hotel.