Rhode Island is small enough that almost every town seems to sit on water, whether it’s Narragansett Bay, the Atlantic, the Sakonnet River, or one of their inlets. That geography shapes every downtown on this list. In Jamestown, it’s a one-minute walk from the coffee shop to the ferry dock. In New Shoreham, the Empire Theatre has been running on Block Island since 1882. Here are seven of the prettiest downtown strips in the state.

Jamestown

A distinctive feature of Jamestown is that it sits entirely on Conanicut Island. The benefit is that downtown is just steps from the water. A walk along Narragansett Avenue will take you past Out of the Box Studio & Gallery on adjoining Clinton Avenue. This community arts spot showcases the work of both professional and up-and-coming artists, with rotating exhibits that keep the gallery lively.

Locals appreciate the café for its pub fare (crispy fish sandwiches and Philly cheesesteaks) and for almost-nightly events, from trivia to cover rock shows. Then walk up Conanicus Avenue to East Ferry Beach, a small cove where you can cast from the pier or relax on the sand.

Wickford

Wickford, a village within North Kingstown on the west side of Narragansett Bay, has one of the most intact colonial downtowns in New England. The grid of 18th-century houses along Brown Street and Main Street runs straight down to Wickford Harbor, where the village’s small marina fills with sailboats in summer. The Old Narragansett Church, built in 1707, is one of the oldest Episcopal churches still standing on its original site in the United States, and Smith’s Castle, a 1678 plantation house just north of town, is a landmark of early Rhode Island history.

The village’s commercial streets pack a lot of shopping and dining into a small footprint. Wilson’s of Wickford carries New England preppy and nautical goods in an old general-store space. Tavern by the Sea has a waterfront patio overlooking the harbor. The Wickford Art Association runs a gallery on Main Street and puts on the Wickford Art Festival each July, which has drawn juried artists to the village since 1962. Ryan Park, a few minutes inland, covers roughly 270 acres of trails and wetlands.

Bristol

Bristol rewards a day on foot. A trip down Hope Street makes for a solid mix of culture, shopping, and dining. The Bristol Art Museum is a good first stop for rotating exhibits and occasional painting and photographic-process workshops. Nearby is a stretch of restaurants that border Bristol Harbor. The Thames Waterside Bar & Grill lives up to its name with seafood and cocktails close to the shore. Boats sail by during the daytime before the skyline lights up as the sun descends, making the view of the harbor hard to beat.

Moving south down the street, a few minutes will bring you to Rockwell Park, a small but popular public space where you can get a close view of the boats tied up in the harbor. Moving back into town along John Street will bring you to Hope Street, where you can do some shopping. A stop at Jesse James Antiques near the junction of Hope and State Street will reveal fine French and European antiques that could add the perfect touch to your home.

Narragansett

Narragansett puts dining steps from the coast. A few shops sit just off Beach Street, like Shell Boutique, a seashell specialty store and a popular gift stop. Close to Shell Boutique is Queen of Cups, a local favorite for coffee, tea, and sweets. For dinner, head south to Kingstown Road and the seafood restaurant Celeste, known for calamari, charred octopus, and flounder.

Moving east from here to Ocean Road, you will find Memorial Square and nearby The Towers. This intersection is a fantastic photo spot that features a fish-themed town fountain. Finally, you can head north for just a few minutes to Narragansett Town Beach, a sandy seaside spot popular with surfers but open to anyone who wants to hit the water or relax on the shore.

Watch Hill

The best part about living in Watch Hill is how close shopping, dining, and the nearby coastal shores are to each other. Those traveling along Bay Street will find a streak of stores for every need. Island Outfitters is particularly appropriate for those in town, as they sell coastal gear for both men and women, ranging from stylish sweaters to denim pants and summer shorts. As you continue on to Bluff Avenue, you can find oceanside dining at The Bistro, which provides views of the Atlantic while you enjoy classic seafood like crab cake and seared salmon.

Just steps away, you will find sandy shores looking out onto Block Island Sound. The beach runs to Watch Hill Lighthouse, a local landmark that today operates as a museum showcasing the lighthouse’s history in the area. This combination of oceanside relaxation with convenient shopping and dining destinations makes for a beautiful afternoon in town.

Tiverton

Tiverton is an oceanside destination where shopping and dining happen alongside the water, creating a relaxing downtown vibe. On the west side of Tiverton, you can enjoy upscale dining over lamb stroganoff and hard-shell lobster at Boathouse Waterfront Dining. The restaurant offers waterside dining with views of Mt. Hope Bay. As you move onto Main Road, you can find other places to spend your day. Coastal Roasters serves matcha lattes and cocoa for casual days along the water.

Those hoping to get closer to the water can head to Ginnell’s Beach just a few minutes south of Coastal Roasters. The beach was renovated in 2019 with a new bathhouse and a promenade that runs to the Sakonnet River. You can also head east on Lawton Avenue until you reach Ft Barton Woods on Highland Rd to see the Revolutionary War-era remnants of Fort Barton. This park includes an observation tower with panoramic views of Narragansett Bay and around 3.5 miles of trails, all just across from Town Hall.

New Shoreham

New Shoreham, Rhode Island’s only incorporated Block Island town, packs its whole downtown into a few blocks of Water Street above the ferry landing. Ballard’s Beach Resort is the closest sand to the harbor and a popular spot for sunbathing or swimming. The beach sits next to the Old Harbor Historic District, where Water Street reveals buildings dating to the mid-1800s. Visitors enjoy downtown’s walking tours, featuring churches, hotels, and theaters with histories dating back over a century.

One example of these storied buildings is the Empire Theatre, built in 1882 and, over the years, serving as a roller skating rink, playhouse, and movie theater. If you are hungry, Rebecca’s Seafood is a long-running local spot on Water Street. The menu runs from tuna steak sandwiches to classic omelets, French toast breakfasts, and chicken wraps.

Downtowns Worth The Walk

Wherever you land in Rhode Island, the water is usually nearby. Bristol, Jamestown, New Shoreham, and the rest each pair a walkable downtown with a harbor or shoreline view. If you are looking for the prettiest downtowns in the state, start with these seven.

During the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, the Vermont attorney general’s office joined in on 54 lawsuits against the federal government, according to data provided by the office. 

Fifteen months into Trump’s second term, the state has joined 49 lawsuits against his administration, making Vermont well on track to beat its previous total. In fact, another lawsuit was announced on Friday afternoon just as this story was being edited: Vermont joined a coalition of 14 states and local governments suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its failure to implement standards governing soot. 

Jared Carter, a Vermont Law School professor and constitutional law expert, said the rate was “unprecedented” — but he was clear that it isn’t really Vermont that’s acting in an unprecedented manner. 

“My view is that these are a response to unprecedented actions by the federal government,” he said. “The scope of what the Trump administration has attempted to do through executive action, for example, is pretty astounding.”

Vermont has joined suits challenging everything from Trump’s tariffs to federal workforce layoffs to the rollback of gender-affirming healthcare, cases that, if successful, could preserve tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for state programs and protect services that Vermonters rely on. But in the winding legal system, whether those early courtroom wins translate into lasting results remains to be seen. 

Attorney General Charity Clark and her office have joined in on a wide range of lawsuits generated by multistate coalitions dedicated to pushing back on Trump’s allegedly illegal actions.

“Over the past fifteen months, I truly believe that state attorneys general have served as a bulwark, protecting the Constitution and the rule of law, by blocking dozens of unconstitutional and illegal acts by the Trump Administration,” said Clark, who has served in the role since 2023, in a statement. Clark declined to be interviewed in the story, citing scheduling conflicts. 

In an email, Gov. Phil Scott’s press secretary, Amanda Wheeler, said there have been instances where Scott has agreed with Clark’s decision to sign onto lawsuits from other states. There have been times when the two conflicted. In 2025, Clark implied Scott had stalled electric vehicle funds stemming from a lawsuit. 

“In some cases, we’ve seen the positive outcomes of those lawsuits which is good news for Vermont,” Wheeler said.

She added, “The Governor has been clear that when it comes to the Trump Administration, he’ll continue to call balls and strikes and stand up for what’s in the best interest of Vermont and Vermonters.”

Data from the attorney general shows that the state has joined lawsuits throughout the past 15 months, with activity peaking in mid-2025. Clark has also filed 53 amicus briefs, or “friend-of-the-court” reports arguing in favor of the plaintiffs. 

That gender-affirming care lawsuit has become one of the state’s most clear-cut successes: A federal judge ruled in favor of the coalition on April 18, blocking a rule that would have restricted gender-affirming care for minors. 

“This decision is a victory in our ongoing fight for bodily autonomy and the rights of transgender youth,” said Clark in a statement Monday. “We will continue to fight to ensure that gender-affirming care remains safe, effective, and protected.”

But according to a document provided by Amelia Vath, Clark’s senior advisor, few lawsuits have had such a definitive victory. In 19 of the 49 cases, federal judges have ruled in Vermont’s favor, but most of those still have the possibility of an appeal. 

“In law, we learn never to pop the champagne bottle,” Carter said. “It’s always going to be an ongoing legal battle.”

Yet looking at the lawsuits so far, he said he believes Vermont has a good “batting average” on the suits it’s part of. 

“When you see things like courts granting preliminary injunctions, what that means is a court is telling the Trump administration, ‘You cannot do this,’ or they’re telling the Trump administration, ‘You must do this,’” he said. “So a preliminary injunction is a win for a plaintiff like the state of Vermont and all the other states.”

Even after a win, enforcing court orders has been a challenge with Trump, Carter said. The U.S. Department of Justice “does his bidding” to find loopholes in judicial decisions. 

“I think the Trump administration has taken that” to another level “when it comes to trying to figure out ways to work around decisions of the Supreme Court,” he said. 

He gave the example of Trump’s tariffs on imported international goods. Vermont was a part of the case in which the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs in March. Trump then immediately attempted to impose new tariffs, leading to yet another lawsuit Vermont joined. 

Only two cases have been total failures, according to the attorney general’s records. One was a suit challenging the Trump administration’s defunding of Planned Parenthood, which the plaintiffs withdrew in March. The other was a suit attempting to block mass layoffs of federal employees, a decision one circuit court blocked but another overturned on appeal. 

Vermont has yet to take the lead on any of the cases it’s joined, according to the attorney general’s records. It has also joined just a small part of the more than 700 lawsuits against the Trump administration, including 84 led by state plaintiffs, according to Just Security, a law and policy journal. 

According to the attorney general’s records, 16 of the lawsuits explicitly mention funding for state programs or federal programs that provide services to Vermonters, such as federal food assistance, natural disaster aid and energy programs. 

“Because of these lawsuits, my office has brought back tens of millions of dollars that were illegally withheld from Vermont,” Clark said in her statement. “I am very proud of the hardworking and patriotic lawyers in my office and our united mission to protect Vermont and our country.”

Carter said the direct financial consequences of Trump’s actions mean that these lawsuits seem like a good return on investment. Even non-financial lawsuits are important, though, because they rest on principles of equity and the rule of law, he said. 

“Even if you just got a preliminary injunction, and it doesn’t result in money coming into the state, you still stood up on the right side of history and said, ‘What’s going on here is not legal,’” he said. 

Carter himself has taken part in legal actions against the federal government before. He said that filing a suit against powerful figures like the president could be “intimidating,” but he also found it empowering. 

“Plaintiffs with strong legal arguments and conviction in their constitutional rights can be more powerful than the president,” he said.

Disclosure: Jared Carter has provided pro bono legal assistance to VTDigger.