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The arts, off-season

Lukas: 4 road trips

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Great beaches and Victorian charm

South County

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On the southern coast of Rhode Island, three hours from New York City and 1 hour from Boston, you'll find an area of beautiful beaches, quaint inns, and pleasantly affordable bed and breakfasts. Formally named Washington County, but popularly known as South County, it has more than a dozen fine public beaches, all less crowded than their counterparts on New York's Long Island. And compared with overexposed East Coast summer retreats like the Hamptons, Cape Cod, and Newport, the charming Victorian towns of Westerly, Charlestown, and Narragansett offer amazing values.
Westerly, the region's centerpiece, features a fine array of stately Victorian homes, a growing arts community and frequent concert and theater performances. Nearby Watch Hill, a Victorian-era resort village, has one of the oldest carousels in the country. The town of Narragansett is a lively summer resort with both modern hotels and elegant inns lining a long, eminently strollable pier.
Among the area's many public beaches, Charlestown's East Beach and Westerly's Misquamicut are among the local favorites. From July to mid-September, you can arrange whale-watching trips (which leave from Galilee) by calling 800-662-2824. Theatre-by-the-Sea, a short drive away in Matunuck, presents musicals and dramas in a playhouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also puts on a festival of children's theater, presented every day from early July through late August -- a great way for the family to salvage a rainy day.
Other highlights include the rocky landscape of Galilee, near the Point Judith Lighthouse, where local fishermen and lobstermen are busy at work. From there, you can take a one-hour ferry ride to see the long sandy beaches and Victorian inns on Block Island, where many people are happy to spend an entire vacation.

Providence

As for lodging in South County, a group of about 20 bed-and-breakfast owners operate a private referral service (800-853-7479), which will direct you to child-friendly options if you ask. Most choices are extremely reasonable. The Four Gables in Narragansett, for example, charges between $95 and $105 a night.

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