Welcome to Providence, RI

Travel, Sightseeing, and Entertainment

Welcome to Providence, RI

[ Directions and Maps | Dining | Transportation ]

Directions, Maps, and Visitor Information

On the Brown campus are the Van Wickle Gates (Prospect St.), opened twice each year - inward on the first day of classes and outward at commencement. Visible from the Van Wickle Gates is the brick University Hall, built in 1770 and the only university building until 1822.

Just south of the campus is the John Brown House (52 Power Street, at the corner of Power and Brown), built in 1786. Near the John Brown House is Benefit Street, described as the "most impressive concentration of original Colonial homes in America". Of particular note is the Nightingale House (357 Benefit St.). Benefit Street is also home to the RISD Museum of Art (225 Benefit Street).

The First Baptist Church (75 North Main St.; follow Angell St. to the bottom of College Hill and turn left) is the oldest Baptist Church in America. The Church was founded in 1638; the current building was built in 1775.

Waterplace Park, along the river downtown, is a nice place to walk. Also downtown is Providence Place Mall, a large shopping center.

Within driving distance is Newport, RI, with the famous Newport Mansions.

For directions:

Directions to Brown University
Campus Maps: small, large

For other attractions in and around Providence, consult one of the following guides:

Providence News, History, Trivia:

About.com Providence

Local Newspapers:

Dining

A block from the conference site, Thayer Street and its cross streets offer a collection of sandwich shops, ice cream shops, and sit-down restaurants with a variety of types of food including Indian, Chinese, and Greek. Wickenden within ten minute walk from Thayer offers a delightful variety of restaurants and coffee shops. Federal Hill (follow Atwells Avenue west out of downtown - it starts near the Providence Civic Center) has a large collection of restaurants, many of which are Italian.

Some places directly very close to Thayer St.:

Adesso, 161 Cushing, 521-0770. (***, $$, ^^, Californian/Italian, best restaurant on campus)
Cafe Paragon, 234 Thayer, 331-6200. (**, $, ^, great value, open late, bar)
Asian Paradise, 165 Angell, 454-0222. (*, $, ^, good value)
Sura Restaurant, 182 Angell St, 277-9088 (*, $, ^, Korean-Japanese)
Kabob-n-Curry, 261 Thayer St, 273-8844 (**, $, ^^, Indian)
Meeting Street Cafe, 220 Meeting St, 273-1066 (*, $, ^^, Great sandwiches and deserts)

Key: Food Quality: * fair, ** good, *** very good, **** excellent
Price range of entrees: $ 8-15, $$ 12-25, $$$ 18-30
Room Decor: ^ simple, ^^ nice, ^^^ elegant

Transportation

Getting to Providence

Air: The most convenient airport is TF Green Airport, in Warwick, RI, 11 miles (about 20 minutes drive time) from Providence. It is served by all the major US airlines and by Air Canada. Thanks to the competition by Southwest Airlines, low fares that do not require a Saturday night stay are available from Providence to many US airports. For example, as of May 2001, there is a one-way, fully-refundable, no-advance-purchase fare of $76 between Providence and Baltimore (with either Southwest or USAir), and of $176 between Providence and Chicago (Midway airport, with Southwest).
Alternatively, Logan airport in Boston may be convenient for nonstop cost-to-coast and international flights. Logan is 51 miles from Providence. The drive time between Providence and Logan is typically 1.5 hours and could be as high as 2.5 hours at peak traffic times.
Rail: Amtrak stops near downtown Providence.
Bus: Bonanza Bus goes from Logan to downtown Providence. Fairly convenient.

Getting to Providence from the Airport

Taxi: Taxis from TF Green run around $26.
Airport Van Shuttle: 401-736-1900. (between TF Green and Providence) Stops at hotels and on the Brown campus (at Faunce Arch, two blocks from the conference site). $9/person, departs from the airport every hour on the hour.
Bus: Bonanza Bus (1-888-751-8800) runs hourly from TF Green and Logan. In Providence the bus stops at the bus station as well as Kennedy Plaza (in downtown Providence). Rates are approximately $9/$14 (one-way/round trip) from TF Green and $17/$30 (one-way/round trip) from Logan.
Rail: MBTA Commuter Rail runs between South Station (Boston) and Providence (look for the Attleboro/Stoughton or Attleboro/Providence line). From Logan take the free bus to the T (Boston's metro), then the T to South Station. The T fare is 85 cents and the commuter rail fare is about $4.75.
Amtrak also runs a few trains between South Station and Providence.

Local Transportation

Foot: The CIT is a 20-30 minute walk from downtown and the train station...uphill.
Taxi: Taxis from downtown and the bus and train stations to the Brown campus generally run from $3-$7.
Bus: RIPTA (1-800-244-0444, 401-781-9400) runs buses all over Providence and Rhode Island; schedules and route information can be found on RIPTA's web page or in Kennedy Plaza. (Routes 38 (Rumford-Tunnel), 40 (Butler-Elmgrove-Tunnel), and 42 (Hope-Tunnel) run between Kennedy Plaza and Thayer St., stopping a block from the CIT.