The three-storey mansion on Power Street, designed by Joseph Brown for his brother John, in 1786, was once described by John Quincy Adams as 'the most magnificent and elegant private mansion that I have ever seen on this continent'. Indeed the formal Georgian style mansion is breathtaking, with its elaborate woodwork, French wallpaper and 18th-century locally made furnishings. The house also features silver and decorative oriental objects d'art, gathered by John Brown who made his fortune trading with China, as well as the slave trade.

Address: 52 Power Street, Providence

Website: www.rihs.org/museums_jbh.html

Telephone: (401) 273 7507

Opening times: Tours run from Tuesday to Friday, at 1.30pm and 3pm, and on Saturday at 10.30am, 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm (1 April to 30 November); and on Friday and Saturday only, at 10.30am, 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm (1 December to 31 March)

Admission: $8 (adults), $4 (children 7-17). Other concessions are available