Plus appréciés Attractions à Providence

The Providence Athenaeum is one of America's oldest member-supported libraries, and it has functioned as such since 1753 (although the present structure was built in 1838). According to a 19th-century legend, the poet Edgar Allen Poe courted Sarah Whitman in the stacks of this granite Greek Revival building. Some of the collections include documents and books from the original Providence Library, rare editions from the likes of Louisa May Alcott, Herman Melville and other American authors, along with the Robert Burns collection, which has more than 400 items. Today, the Athenaeum hosts events round the year focusing on education for both adults as well as children.

Riverwalk & Waterplace Park is pegged against the confluence of the Woonasquatucket and Providence rivers in a little corner of downtown Providence. It's best known for its WaterFire events, which are mini-bonfires that bob atop the water to the beat of world and classical music. The city revitalized the entire area in 1994 and the walk makes an otherwise droll stroll into a pleasant one when walking to College Hill over the Washington Street bridge. The park's bridges are fashioned after those classical ones in Venice, and it's not uncommon to see gondoliers gliding under them.

In 1764, three men from Newport established 'The College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,' which, for the sake of brevity, was shortened to Brown University in 1804. One of the original eight Ivy League Colleges, standing strong ever since its inception, Brown University boasts an excellent educational offering which spans diverse disciplines including engineering, design, ancient studies, archaeology, academics and sciences, among others. However, the university bears as much brilliance in its architecture as it does in its academics. Its campus is laden with exceptional examples of late 18th-century architecture residing around the Wriston and Simmons quadrangles, as well as those on the Pembroke College campus, and along Benefit Street. The John Hay Library, the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Annmary Brown Memorial, and Haffenreffer Museum are also notable highlights of Brown University.

The Rhode Island School of Design is one of the country's leading art schools and it has a museum to match this lauded reputation. Located on colonial Benefit Street, RISD museum traces the history of art from antiquity to the present day through more than 85,000 works of art from all over the world. There are also collections showing Providence's history as a manufacturing center for silver, but the main galleries are categorized as follows: The Grand Gallery, Early Renaissance & Medieval, Ancient Greek & Roman, Contemporary & Modern and Decorative Arts & Design.

The Providence Children's Museum is a hands-on place of fun and learning for children as well as adults. Here, children can explore the awesome power of air, light and sound in the exhibit entitled Play Power or splash around in Water Ways, a wet and wild playscape of pumps and fountains. There is also Littlewoods, a whimsical woodland environment made especially for younger toddlers. Some educational exhibits include activities that investigate Rhode Island plants, trees and shrubs in the Children's Garden or little guys can go on a time-traveling adventure, solve bridge-building challenges and do much, much more!

WaterFire is a magnificent array of more than 80 mini bonfires or braziers that illuminate the three rivers of Providence. It began in 1994 when artist Barnaby Evans used the confluence of the rivers to create this ephemeral water exhibition. However, it was not that fleeting because the city of Providence along with generous volunteers and donors continues to present the exhibition every weekend. The route runs from Waterplace Park to South Main Street and it winds nearly two-thirds of a mile through parks and public spaces in downtown Providence. Here, people can stroll along the riverbanks while listening to the sounds of classical music hum over loudspeakers. The fires are lit approximately 20 minutes after sunset each Saturday and usually burn for two to three hours.