36 Hours in Providence, Rhode Island: Things to Do and See

Arriving early should help you snag one of the five tables at Irregardless, where locals line up for fluffy biscuit sandwiches that might be served simply with strawberry butter ($5) or with thick maple bacon, egg and cheese ($12) and a side of hash browns ($5). Two years on, the co-owner James Dean is still amazed he was able to turn his impromptu pandemic pop-up into a permanent, glorified greasy spoon. He said he finds continued inspiration in his grandmother’s biscuit recipe and tight-knit community (a recent bake sale with several other restaurants raised more than $10,000 for local nonprofits Amos House and Dorcas International).

A block over on Broadway, feel pulled to a wall of portraits at the Alcove, a feminist cultural center that opened in January. Among 32 newly commissioned paintings by local artists, part of the center’s inaugural exhibition, “Founders and Inventors who Shaped Our World” (through mid-2027), are Rhode Islanders like Mary T. Wales and Gertrude I. Johnson, the founders of Johnson and Wales University, and inventors like Alice Parker who created the gas furnace in 1919. The center’s Biographical Library documents the lives of more than 2,000 under-recognized scientists, innovators and thinkers. The Alcove is rooted in “the belief that if you can see it, you can be it,” said Khamry Varfley, the curator and public programs manager. Admission is free, with additional access for paid members.

Tucked away in Little Italy, the spirit of Murano is alive and well in the hands of master glassblower and alum of the world-renowned Simon Pearce glassware company, Benjamin Giguere. Opened in 2017, Gather Glass gives one-hour classes (from $75) on the ancient craft of glassblowing. After you choose your object, such as a large drinking glass, a vase or mushroom, and one of 20 mottled colors, there’s a brief walkthrough and suddenly you’re holding a long blowpipe like a true artisan, shaping and stretching glass and time. Everything begins with the gather, a glowing molten blob collected from the 2,000-degree furnace, and ends by using a New York Times paper mitt to mold your piece before cracking it off from the blowpipe. Cool down next door with a glass bowl of ice cream at the recently opened Gather Cafe and Ice Cream Bar. (Yes, there are ice-cream-making classes, too.)

Stroll about 10 minutes south to the Olneyville neighborhood to the globally inspired restaurant and hot brunch spot, Troop. There is much to visually devour — the giant mural of female hip-hop artists, barstools built from skateboard decks and, painted on the walls, hands signing “fully alive”— before you even sit down to eat. There might be Premier League soccer games streaming and, at night, open mic events, burlesque shows or D.J. sets. Order a passionfruit mocktail mule ($9) and the vegan banh mi ($18) with fried tofu, spicy mayo and a sublime gochujang cashew sauce. When you’re finished brunching and swaying to Bruno Mars, go through the courtyard to Riffraff, a bookstore-bar-cafe-gallery. You’ll likely leave with a clutch of stellar recommendations from the co-owner Ottavia De Luca.

One weekend isn’t enough time to taste all the restaurants that locals cite as reasons they’ll never leave Providence (chapeau, Nicks on Broadway). But with the 2025 opening of Track 15, an 18,000-square-foot food hall in the restored 1898 Central Terminal building, you can sample seven diverse local vendors in one providential sitting. Start with Little Chaska’s chicken tikka masala ($19) and a tangy-sweet side of crunchy cauliflower ($10). At Dolores, order a shrimp taco made with Mexican heirloom corn ($6). There, There may be known for its burgers, but the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich ($12.50) is the right move. After dinner, walk to the waterfront to watch 80 braziers burning on the river at WaterFire, celebrating its 30th anniversary by passing the torch to the public with 500 open positions to participate in the lighting ceremonies.

After a five-minute drive to Federal Hill, get in the fast-moving line at Pastiche Fine Desserts for a fork battle over a slice of tiramisu ($8.95) then walk one block to LOMA, like a portal to 1970s Latin America and a 2026 James Beard finalist for best new bar. If you must wait a beat for a banquette or seat at the bar — where the co-owner and beverage director, Leishla Maldonado, delivers an entertaining mixology experience — the Latin Jazz music makes it fun to stand and groove to boogaloo bops and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Order the #17, a white Americano-style cocktail ($15) featuring gin infused with nance, an indigenous Central American fruit. The #15 takes on the old-fashioned ($15) with a Mesoamerican twist, blending café de tortilla quemada or “burnt tortilla coffee” with tequila.