If the music thing doesn't work out, Taylor Swift should consider offering her storytelling services to the organizations that put together tours of historical homes.
Take it from someone who has donned more than his share of audio-guide headsets: None of those narrated walk-throughs is a patch on "The Last Great American Dynasty," the song Swift wrote about her Rhode Island mansion for her 2020 album, Folklore.
In under 4 tuneful, insistent minutes, Swift manages not only to cover the juiciest gossip associated with the 1930 building, but also to create a glamorous, Gatsbyesque atmosphere and even deliver some playfully trenchant commentary on how society treats rebellious women.
Most audio tours of historic homes, on the other hand, invite you to gaze up at crown molding while some egghead drones on in your ear and you get a crick in your neck.
Unfortunately, you can't go inside the Rhode Island residence Swift purchased in 2013—unless maybe you score an invite to her next star-studded Fourth of July party (the last one was held here in 2023).
But there are several other Taylor-related sites in this part of the Ocean State that will make you feel, as Swift might put it, happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time.
Okay, well, hopefully not those last two things.
Whether you're a full-on Swiftie, merely Swiftie-adjacent, or only Swiftie-curious, the following places are your best bets for experiencing Taylor's Rhode Island (Frommer's Version).
Taylor Swift's Rhode Island House: Location, Lore, and Lookie-Loos
The 11,000-square-foot mansion Swift bought for $17.75 million in 2013 is situated at 16 Bluff Ave. in the coastal community of Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island.
Set on a rocky bluff overlooking the ocean, the Colonial-style home—known as High Watch or Holiday House—is the largest residence in the affluent neighborhood, and the only one with security staff milling around the front gate and barriers erected to prevent crazed Swifties from trespassing.
The property has a private beach and a pool. Inside, there are eight bedrooms, eight fireplaces, and 10 bathrooms. In 2025 a $1.7-million renovation was reportedly begun to add yet another bedroom and more bathrooms and to make improvements in the kitchen.
The home's initial construction was finished in 1930, but the place's most notable resident before Swift came along was Rebekah Harkness, who married Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness in 1947. After he died 7 years later, Rebekah inherited the fortune, becoming known for being a benefactor of dance companies, a squanderer of cash, and an alienator of neighbors.
As Swift sings in "The Last Great American Dynasty," Harkness "filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names / And blew through the money on the boys and the ballet / And losing on card game bets with Dalí."
That's all more or less true. Ditto for the song's claim that the heiress dyed a neighbor's pet green during a feud, though the unfortunate animal was a cat, not, as Swift relates, a dog. Perhaps, as a proud self-described "cat lady," the pop star couldn't bring herself to identify with someone who would mistreat a feline.
In keeping with the Harkness tradition of throwing big parties on the property, Swift has hosted several July Fourth bashes here, with famous guests including Selena Gomez, the Haim sisters, and Blake Lively. On other occasions, boyfriend Travis Kelce has been spotted on the premises.
Though not visible from the street due to strategically placed fencing and landscaping, you can lay eyes on Holiday House from a discreet distance.
The easiest option is to go to the grounds of the Watch Hill Lighthouse, a three-story granite tower set at the southernmost point of Rhode Island, where a beacon first began guiding ships through the juncture of Block Island Sound and Fishers Island Sound in the 1740s. With the lighthouse behind you and the ocean to your right, Swift's place is that gigantic house at the highest point on the peninsula.
Americana Elegance at Ocean House
You can see Swift's home from the beach below the next-door Ocean House hotel, too. If Rebekah Harkness's spending habits strike you as thrifty, you might consider booking a room at the luxe retreat, where summer nightly rates often crack four figures, and you could wind up having Swift as a neighbor during your stay. Condolences if you're still broke from buying Eras Tour tickets.
Dating to 1868, the clifftop, canary-yellow hotel (1 Bluff Ave.) is at least worth a pop-in for a drink or a seafood lunch on the veranda, even if you're not splurging for one of the 49 guest rooms or 20 opulent, ocean-facing suites.
And though a strong Taylor Swift connection doesn't come to mind, you really should pass through the lobby and continue to the lower level to check out the hotel's Bemelmans Gallery, billed as the "largest permanent, private collection of work by [Ludwig] Bemelmans on public display."
Whether or not you know the artist's name or have seen his murals in the bar of Manhattan's exclusive The Carlyle hotel, you're probably familiar with his illustrations for the Madeline picture books.
That beloved French schoolgirl is amply represented in Ocean House's gallery, along with many other murals, paintings, and drawings in Bemelmans's charming style.
And now, having finished our detour through children's literature, let's return to the tortured poets department.
Wandering Watch Hill: Where Taylor Swift Dines (and Snacks)
Continuing down toward the water on the western side of the Watch Hill peninsula, you'll come to a covefront business district with parking, access to recreational areas, an old-timey carousel, and several shops and restaurants with a Swiftian connection.
In particular, the singer has been known to get ice cream at St. Clair Annex (141 Bay St.) and to peruse sweets amid the pink-gingham confines of the Candy Box (14 Fort Rd.).
According to an ancient video Q&A with fans, Swift's favorite ice cream flavors are cookie dough, vanilla sprinkled with M&Ms, and anything with "that shell stuff you pour on top and it hardens." She probably means a dip cone, don't you think? If so, that and her other faves, along with several more options, are dispensed from St. Clair's walk-up counter.
During a visit to the Candy Box, however, your Frommer's correspondent discovered that the store does not stock Swift's preferred candy, raspberry-and-cream Squashies. Which is an outrage.
For a more substantial meal, any Taylor pilgrimage must include a stop at Olympia Tea Room (74 Bay St.), a more than 100-year-old institution serving comfort food (clam chowder, baked haddock, bolognese pappardelle) and stiff cocktails.
Swift has dined here with a bunch of famous people, such as Loki actor Tom Hiddleston, back when the pair briefly dated. Hiddleston and Swift reportedly shared Olympia Tea Room's Avondale swan dessert, a delectable confection resembling the graceful bird but made with puff pastry, vanilla gelato, espresso fudge, and whipped cream feathers.
Another frequently cited Swift haunt in the area is a breakfast restaurant called the Cooked Goose (92 Watch Hill Rd.).
Closer to downtown Westerly, the well-regarded French-Asian restaurant Ella's Food and Drink (2 Tower St.) has a link to the pop star as well. Swift and fellow chanteuse Lorde once took a private cooking lesson from the kitchen's award-winning chef, Jeanie Roland. They made tuna tartare tacos.
Beaches Where Taylor Swift Has Been Spotted
Sightings of Swift have been logged at several beaches in the area—with reports of her paddleboarding with Ed Sheeran here, canoodling with Hiddleston there—but one of the nicest is East Beach, the stretch of sand below the singer's mansion.
With the Watch Hill Lighthouse standing sentry, the largely undeveloped shoreline reaches past the Ocean House hotel, showing off expansive views of the waves from soft sands. There's free public access from Bluff Avenue, but parking is very limited in this neighborhood. That's one reason why the spot often feels uncrowded.
On the western side of Watch Hill, starting from the business district where the St. Clair Annex et al. are situated, the Napatree Point Conservation Area extends into the bay for more than a mile. The sandy spit is a popular site for boating, beachgoing, strolling amid grassy dunes, watching for rare bird species, and watching for even rarer global superstars paddleboarding by.
Beyond Watch Hill but still in the town of Westerly, the half-mile-long Misquamicut State Beach to the east supplies a livelier atmosphere and more facilities, including a playground, concessions, and a big bathhouse with changing rooms and outdoor showers.
Tabloid photographers have supposedly captured images of Swift here, but the pics don't much look like Misquamicut and, given that it's Rhode Island's most-visited beach, wouldn't any celeb stay away for fear of getting mobbed by fans?
Another demerit: Misquamicut charges a $30 weekend parking fee for nonresidents ($20 on weekdays). "It's a cruel summer" indeed.
Don't Forget About Downtown Westerly
Though Watch Hill is the epicenter of Swift action in Rhode Island, it's worth heading a few miles inland to experience downtown Westerly, and not only to see where Swift stocks up on groceries (for the record, that would be McQuade's Marketplace at 106 Main St.).
Music fans will want to focus their attention on the United Theatre (5 Canal St.), a onetime vaudeville house turned vibrant arts center that launched a "Nashville North" concert series in November. As part of a partnership with the Tennessee capital's legendary Bluebird Cafe music venue, Nashville singer-songwriters will regularly appear in Westerly to perform intimate, Bluebird-style sets onstage at the United.
The idea for the initiative came from an "instrumental" supporter of the theater, entrepreneur Scott Swift, who also happens to be the father of you-know-who.
Even if there's no Nashville North concert scheduled for when you're in Westerly, you should check out what's on at the United, a venue that hosts an impressive array of live music, comedy, dance, visual art, and film.
Other downtown sights in the theater's vicinity are similarly appealing. Take a stroll through the beautifully landscaped Wilcox Park (44 Broad St.), designed by an acolyte of Frederick Law Olmsted of Central Park fame.
Browse the merchandise at Martin House Books (10 Canal St.), which occupies the former building of a 19th-century hotel. And try a "sourdoughnut" dusted with cinnamon sugar at Nana's (82 High St.).
You may not be invited to Holiday House, but you don't have to fill up a pool with champagne to have a marvelous time.
You can reach Westerly, Rhode Island, from Boston or Providence by car via I-95 or by train via Amtrak's Northeast Regional service, which makes regular stops in downtown Westerly.