The Ultimate Weekend in Providence, Rhode Island For a Sports Fan

Before you go

Two sporty days in Providence, Rhode Island

Day 1

Morning

• Go local: Grab breakfast at Dante’s in East Greenwich. The pulled pork hash is great and so is the cred you’ll build by telling locals you went there.
• See some art (and some hockey): The Rhode Island School of Design Museum, AKA RISD (but pronounced “riz-dee”) has masters like Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Johan Barthold Jongkind on view year round. If you happen to be in town during the hockey season though, you should try to go to a RISD “Nads” ice hockey game. How’d they get the name? “Go… Nads!”—for real.

Mid day

• Get your steps in: Bar crawling is great in Providence in part because everything’s relatively close—and walking is a sport, especially when you combine it with watching sports on TV once you make your pit stop. You’ll need multiple TVs to watch a bunch of games, so Snookers is a good place to start. Warning: a lot of pool players at this billiards bar take it way too seriously but it’s not a huge deterrent. If it’s not your scene and you still want to be overwhelmed by TVs, Providence GPub is a great alternative. I like Lucky Enough a lot—they have huge projectors for sports and play great music. If you like it here, you’ll probably also like Kimi’s. Finally, you can pad your stomach with NY System wieners—a uniquely Rhode Island twist on what you and the rest of the world may know as a hot dog. There’s no Chicago-style “I will kill you if you put ketchup on this” tomfoolery here; just use the correct nomenclature, please—it is a wiener, not a hot dog.

Afternoon

• Opt for an early dinner/late lunch: Capriccio serves some of the best food you will have in Providence—and it opens at 4:30 p.m. Stuff your stomach, get in a good mood, and you won’t have to fight for a table later during the dinner rush. They have Beef Wellington (you can’t find that just anywhere these days)! As a backup, Al Forno is a fantastic Italian spot as well. I love the sausage and clams or the mortadella pizza.

Evening

• Play bar games: Crawl your way to Trinity Brewhouse and/or Union Station. Not as many TVs as Snookers, but great beer and fantastic steak tips on the menu. Then saunter over to Free Play, an adult arcade with every pinball variation imaginable and tons of '80s and '90s arcade games. If it’s not your speed, you can walk over to the Malted Barley (try the parmesan pretzel with the spinach dip). For more quirk, try Ogie’s Trailer Park. They have weekly trivia, bingo, and fried food you order at the kitchen window. Deadbeats has an old Ronald McDonald statue—fair warning, you may be enticed to take a zillion pictures.
• Try some bowling variations: Massachusetts has a rich tradition of candlepin bowling, which is basically a mini bowling experience with thinner pins and bocce-style balls. It never really made it down to RI, but you can shuffle off to Warwick for duckpin bowling, which lands between bowling and candlepin bowling, at the Meadowbrook Lanes, or Warren (about 20 minutes away) at the Dudek Lanes.
• Get on the ice: If you’re visiting in the winter and feeling romantic (or just want a solo spin on the ice), the City Center Rink is worth checking out. Keep in mind this is the land of pond hockey so you may be sharing the ice with a higher level of casual skaters than you’re used to.

Day 2

Morning

• Sweat out the jet lag and the food hangover: Providence has a fantastic cycling and running route you can check out—the East Bay Bike Path. There will obviously be a few aggressive bikers to dodge so beware but this route along the water is gorgeous. If you’re feeling particularly restless, the path goes 15 miles south and includes two state border crossings into and out of Massachusetts.
• Try a legendary breakfast: I would be remiss if I wrote a Providence city guide and left out the Friday special “Legs & Eggs” at The Foxy Lady. To be clear, this is breakfast at a strip club. You might be surprised to know the food is actually very good.

Mid day

• Get your fill of stick sports: If you’re here during the right season, nothing says “I’m on vacation” like hitting up the local par-3 golf course. Try Buttonhole — $14 gets you 9 holes and an excuse to eat and drink without (hopefully) breaking a sweat. And all you really need to pack is your 7 iron! Their story is amazing, too–they are deeply connected to youth sports in the area and have a proven track record of providing affordable golf in an urban setting. If an entire round isn’t for you, they have a driving range. And if neither are for you? There are a couple local mini golf courses. I like Mulligan’s Island in adjacent Cranston which comes with batting cages as well.
• Rev your engines: Carheads should check out the Audrain Auto Museum. It’s a collection of 400-plus vintage cars that you get a taste of in rotating exhibits. And if you’re getting dragged here and couldn’t tell a Ford from a Cadillac? The collection is housed in the Gilded Age-constructed Audrain Building. So just stare at the ceilings while your companion drools over old cars.

Afternoon

• Go to a game, get a foul ball: If you want baseball but not the full-on Red Sox experience, your best bet is heading to see the AAA (minor league) affiliate of the Sox, the Worcester Red Sox. It’s a much more relaxed atmosphere with fewer fans, which means more shots at foul balls! They’re also known for having the ‘largest menu in the minor leagues’ so don’t miss out on eating here; a traditional New England lobster roll is a very satisfying choice.

Evening

• Experience live hockey: Providence has the “Baby Bruins” Boston’s minor league team. With the Bruins being good again, you’ll get an elevated experience here with the trickle-down of talent. And very little beats live hockey. Providence and Brown boast DI hockey and hoops teams–both men’s and women’s. They’ve been average lately, but it’s still a full-on college sports experience!
• Feast one last time: Massimo on Federal Hill is another fantastic Italian spot worth finding time for. They also do brunch and traditional extended middle-of-the-day “what meal is it” multiple course blowouts so you can show up any time of day and get an authentic experience. Order the short rib gnocchi! And if you want to stay in Providence for your cigars, check out the Ale House Cigar Bar (right by Capriccio).

If you have three days

All the above, but add..

• On a day trip to Boston, head over to Faneuil Hall and follow the Freedom Trail (a red line going through Boston) and stop off for a little beer and clam chowder at the Bell in Hand (open at 11!) DO NOT pretend to do a Boston accent (definitely don’t do the “I pahk my cah in Hahvad yahd” thing)—it’s not funny and you will not be looked upon favorably.
• Hit up the original Cheers. You know you loved the show, you should pop in and have a drink while you’re here. It is of course the actual inspiration for the show and still feels like a true neighborhood bar. I know a lot of people conjure up Sam Adams when they think about Boston beer, but Harpoon has a great brewery and you can lose a few hours in here trying everything, eating, and relaxing. Harpoon’s beer is very good. And I’m not the only one that thinks so - it regularly scores very high in Craft Beer & Brewing.
• You have to go to the Cask N’ Flagon right across from Fenway Park, where home run balls sometimes land. No game? No problem, you can still soak it all in. Baseball fans can get a tour of Fenway Park from 10-5. Boston is a city steeped in history—and VERY steeped in sports history. Fenway Park has been around since 1912. Just for perspective, Tchaikovsky composed the 1812 Overture in 1880, 42 years before the park opened. In today’s terms, that song for a new park would be “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”After the tour, stick around and hit up Bleacher Bar, which is literally under the bleachers.
• It’s time that you try your hand at “Scorpion Bowling” at The Hong Kong in Faneuil Hall. This is probably an activity for four, not two (the scorpion bowl–a giant fish bowl full of alcohol–will knock you out if wrongly proportioned). And don’t miss out on some traditional $1 beef on a stick - try the chicken teriyaki. It seriously costs $1 and it’s delicious. Now on to Tip Tap Room for more steak tips. Do not leave Boston without getting steak tips!

If you have four days

All the above, but add..

• Head to Newport and time it so you get two meals. Meal 1: Lunch at the Matunuck Oyster Bar. Meal 2: Castle Hill Inn for dinner. In between, walk around, see the mansions, get some seashells on the beach, breathe in the fresh air, play some shuffleboard, buy something nautical (stuff with an anchor on it, a stylized decoupage clam shell) at a store… find your happy place.
• The Tennis Hall of Fame is also in Newport. It is fun and modern and you may find yourself knowing more about tennis than you thought. HOWEVER, the Museum is closed until May 2025.
• Check out Hill and Harbor, built in a beautiful old Spanish cedar building. The Regency Cigar Emporium has a gigantic selection at every price point and does excellent gifts for friends and family.
• You’re about 15 minutes from the closest Del’s, for a frozen Rhode Island twist on your typical “lemonade.”