Touro Synagogue National Historic Site — Attraction in Newport

Touro Synagogue is the oldest extant synagogue in the United States. It wasn't the first, but it's the oldest one that's still around. It's technically part of the National Park Service as a National Historic Site, but it does not receive any funding from the NPS system. For those interested, you can receive a National Park cancellation stamp from the staff at the Loeb Visitor Center, but you'll have to ask for it.

The synagogue itself is very beautiful, and was built in a colonial style. There is an active congregation that still worships here, so accessing the synagogue in a tourist capacity is limited. In January-April, for example, the synagogue is open from 1100-1330 on Sundays only. The normal cost for a ticket is $12 per adult, but there are discounts for seniors, military, students, National Park passport holders, and National Trust members. Children under 12 and Newport residents have free admission.

You cannot purchase your tickets for the tour ahead of time; they must be purchased in-person at the Loeb Visitor Center (which also functions as a museum), which is right next to the synagogue. The only way to access the synagogue (bar being a Jewish worshipper attending the services) is to go on one of the tours.

There is a lot of American history related to this one small synagogue, and today, it's remains a monument to tolerance, respect, and the freedom...

A few years ago we visited the Touro Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in the United States, located in Newport, Rhode Island. On August 17, 1790, the day President George Washington visited Newport, the warden or person in charge of the synagogue wrote him a letter wishing him well and expressing support for his administration. Washington wrote back on August 21, thanking him and stating words that have become the cornerstone of religious pluralism freedom in the United States: “ ...the Government of the United States gives to bigotry...no sanction ...to persecution no assistance ...may the children of the stock of Abraham. Who dwell in this land, continue to enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants. while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid... Every August, President Washington’s letter is read in a ceremony with guests that have included Supreme Court Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elana Kagan. When we were there for this ceremony, the Senator or Rhode Island attended along with other important elected officials. The members of the synagogue get dressed in the clothing worn in Colonial Times. If you plan on attending, you need a ticket to enter. If you are interested, please contact the...

This rating is for the tour of the synagogue. We drove 2h to make the visit with a 18 month old, paid for the visit and the guide asked us to keep the baby outside while it was raining. We are a very respectful family and would have left if there were major disturbances but here our daughter was not yelling or crying, just babbling sometimes. I did spend some time on the porch, then went back in the back of the synagogue, and the guide interrupted the tour again to ask us to get out of the synagogue where it was raining or in the visitor center. That Guide even interrupted a third time while we were preparing to leave to ask us to hasten which added humiliation to rudeness. Any family willing to tour the synagogue be aware of this discrimination and avoid losing your time to make a visit. Now this is clearly on the guide, who may be a bad apple among other guides or had a bad day, maybe the synagogue is worth visiting, but either way our experience was terrible. The desk was empathetic and gave us a refund of the fee for the visit we were not allowed to do. To the synagogue tour administration: please inform visitors of any restriction in advance and provide appropriate...