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films and midnight cult movies, check the Avon Cinema, 260 Thayer St., at Meeting Street (www.avoncinema.com; 401/421-AVON [2866]).

      The Club & Music Scene

      Live concert venues include Alchemy on the second floor at 71 Richmond St. (www.alchemyri.com, 401/383-6336) and Fête Music Hall, 103 Dike St. (www.fetemusic.com; 401/383-1112). The Columbus Theatre is an old-fashioned theater, where you can see live bands, plays, and films in opulent surroundings of murals and stained glass, at 270 Broadway (www.columbustheatre.com; 401/621-9660). AS220, at 115 Empire St. (www.as220.org; 401/831-9327), is a community arts space for mostly local visual, musical, and performance artists, with events every day.

      quick bites Out and About in Providence

      Providence claims the invention of the diner, starting with a horse-drawn wagon transporting food down Westminster Street in 1872. The tradition is carried forward by the likes of the Seaplane Diner, 307 Allens Ave. (www.facebook.com/seaplanediner; 401/941-9547), a silver-sided classic with tableside jukeboxes.

      While shopping in the Arcade, stop into Livi’s Pockets (www.livispockets.com) for locally sourced Middle Eastern street foods; Rogue Island Local Kitchen and Bar (www.rogueislandgroup.com), a burger joint/bar that sources local ingredients (ask for a rum drink, for example, and you’ll have a choice of New England brands); or New Harvest (www.newharvestcoffee.com), which serves locally roasted coffee, along with beer and whiskey.

      Speaking of locally roasted coffee, if you’re shopping the boutiques along Wickenden Street, Coffee Exchange (207 Wickenden; www.thecoffeeexchange.com) is a local favorite. Wickenden also has an adorable crepe/cupcake cafe, The Duck and Bunny (312 Wickenden; www.theduckandbunny.com), which bills itself as a “snuggery.”

      Another local culinary institution arrives in Kennedy Plaza on wheels every afternoon around 4:30pm. The grungy aluminum-sided Haven Bros. ( 401/861-7777) is a food tractor-trailer with a counter and six stools inside; it’s a good deal for decent burgers and even better fries, sold from its parking space next to City Hall. No new frontiers here, except that it hangs around until way past midnight to dampen the hunger pangs of clubgoers, lawyers, night people, and workaholic pols.

      At the Trinity Brewhouse, 186 Fountain St. (www.trinitybrewhouse.com; 401/453-2337), home-brewed, award-winning beers are the main event. As the website puts it, “We sell heaven by the pint.” There’s often live music in the evenings.

      Providence has plenty of bar choices, from after-work stops and quiet neighborhood retreats to raucous bar scenes. Downcity, there’s The Eddy, a small cocktail bar at 95 Eddy St. (www.eddybar.com; 401/831-3339), and Boombox, a karaoke lounge at the Dean Hotel (122 Fountain St.; www.thedeanhotel.com; 401/455-3316).

      On the east side, The Wild Colonial Tavern, near Brown and RISDI at 250 South Water St. (www.wildcolonial.com; 401/621-5644) is an old brick bar with darts, pool tables, and occasional trivia nights. In good weather, The Hot Club at 25 Bridge St. in Fox Point (www.hotclubprov.com; 401/861-9007) has nice riverside tables.

      On the west side of town, Lili Marlene’s (422 Atwells Ave.; 401/751-4996) is a darkened lounge on Federal Hill. If you’ve a taste for retro and kitsch, Ogie’s Trailer Park at 1155 Westminster St. (www.ogiestrailerpark.com; 401/383-8200) is a fun tiki bar on the West Side. The Avery, on Luongo Square (www.averyprovidence.com; 401/751-5920) is a classy little Art Deco bar hidden away in a residential neighborhood on the West Side. Justine’s ( 401/454-4440) is a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge hidden behind a store on Olneyville Square.

Bristol

      16 miles SE of Providence; 15 miles N of Newport

      About halfway between Providence and Newport, Bristol is perhaps the best-kept secret in Rhode Island. First settled in 1680, this beautiful waterfront town sits on a peninsula straddling the Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays. It makes for a soothing excursion from the urbanity of Providence and the concentration of sights and activity that is Newport.

      Bristol is best known as home to the nation’s oldest 4th of July parade, which has run annually here since 1785. The parade, which now draws up to 200,000 spectators, is the highlight of the year for what some residents call “America’s Most Patriotic Town.” The main boulevard, Hope Street, replaces the double yellow line in favor of a red, white, and blue band marking the 1.8-mile parade route.

      Bristol’s past also includes the notoriety of being the former home to the DeWolfs, the largest slave trading family in U.S. history. During much of the 1700s and the first decade of the 1800s, Rhode Island was the business epicenter of the “Triangle Trade,” the trade of rum from New England, molasses from the West Indies, and enslaved peoples from Africa.

      Today, though, Bristol is known for its historic homes and quaint downtown. In the past 15 years, it has undergone a gentrification from industrial town to tourist haven, with shops, a few fine dining spots, and cafes comprising a landscape of what used to be abandoned mills and fading industry.

      Note that in the off season, November through April, most museums and small inns close.

      Essentials

      Arriving

      From Providence, it’s fastest to take I-195 to Route 136, but the more scenic route is to take I-195 to exit 7 and follow Route 114S toward Barrington. Follow Route 114 all the way into Bristol; on the way, you’ll pass marinas and historic buildings and traverse scenic bridges.

      Visitor Information

      Tourism information (www.explorebristolri.com; 401/253-7000) is available in the Town Hall at 10 Court St. (Mon–Fri 8:30am–4pm), and in the Burnside Building at 400 Hope St. (Sat–Sun 10am–5pm).

      Exploring Bristol

      The city’s quiet charm is in its well-preserved historic district, which runs along Hope Street and down side roads to Thames Street (pronounced “TH-aymz”), which borders the Bristol Harbor. Start here and stroll past homes dating back to the 1700s and 1800s. Former industrial sites at the harbor have been

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