• Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC on the Cheap

Evelyn Kanter ecoXplorer

smarter traveling, driving and spending

  • Green Hotels
  • Green Cars
    • Best Cars under $20,000
    • Test Drives
    • Diesel Cars
    • Electric Cars
    • Hybrid Cars
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Luxury Drives
  • Travel Deals
    • Free
    • Budget Travel
    • Discount Tickets
  • Xplore More
    • Safety and Health
    • How To
    • Five Best
    • Travel Pioneers
    • Motorcycles
    • Vintage Cars
  • Scam Alert
  • Where to Go Next
    • Historic Travel
    • Epic Adventures
    • National Parks
You are here: Home / Family Travel / Where to Visit Around Rhinebeck Chelsea Clinton Wedding Site

Where to Visit Around Rhinebeck Chelsea Clinton Wedding Site

1 Comment

Chelsea Clinton wedding photoThe former Astor estate in where the  Chelsea Clinton wedding took place, is just one of the fabulous millionaire mansions in the Hudson Valley around Rhinebeck, which was founded in 1686 by Dutch settlers.

Mansions and smaller estates built or owned by familes named Vanderbilt, Roosevelt, the artists who founded the Hudson River School of painting, and signers of the Declaration of Independence are nearby and open for touring.

So you didn’t get an invitation to this wedding of the year, maybe even the wedding of the decade.

There are plenty of wonderful historic and romantic spots to visit around Rhinebeck, also with picture postcard views overlooking the Hudson River.

What to See and Do Around Rhinebeck

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Home, Library and Museum

FDR’s forbears moved to the Hyde Park area in the early 1800s, and he was born here and  grew up in this house.

FDR did his famous World War II ‘Fireside Chats’ from his study here.  The late president and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, are buried in the Rose Garden.  There are lovely walkways and paths to enjoy, along with the 40,000 book library and family artifacts.

Nearby is Val-Kill Cottage, the only National Historic site dedicated to a First Lady.  Eleanor Roosevelt spent her last years here, when she was “First Lady of the World”, and where she hosted celebrities and politicians, including future president John F. Kennedy.

Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, near Rhinebeck, is one of many historic estates to visit in Hudson Valley

Vanderbilt Mansion Naitonal Historic Site

In the days before air conditioning, wealthy New Yorkers escaped to the Hudson Valley in summer for cooler temperatures.  That’s what Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt did, rather than building in Newport, Rhode Island, where his Vanderbilt relatives went.

This 54-room Beaux Arts beauty, dating from 1895, features Mrs. Vanderbilt’s gilt and gold bedroom  that will make you think of Marie Antoinette’s boudoir in Versailles.  Yes, it is that opulent.  Over the top, actually.

The Vanderbilt mansion is immediately next door to the FDR site, and if you plan well, you can visit both in one afternoon.  Both are National Park Service sites.

The FDR and Vanderbilt sites are a few miles south of Rhinebeck.

Clermont

This estate is often overlooked by visitors to the Hudson Valley, and that’s a shame.   Clermont was home to seven generations of the Livingston family, who were important founders of the United States.  Livingstons helped draft, write and sign the Declaration of Independence.

Robert Livingston was Thomas Jefferson’s minister to France, and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.  He also helped a young inventor named Robert Fulton develop his steamship, which became the first working steamship on the Hudson River.  If you remember your sixth grade history, that ship was known as the Clermont.

The house is filled with mementoes and historic documents.  I found one framed letter written to Livingston by Napoleon.

Clermont is in Germantown, and sits on 500 acres overlooking the Hudson River.

Olana, the Hudson Valley estate near Rhinebeck where artist Frederic Church lived, open for tours

Olana

Frederic Church was the most famous artist of his time, which was the mid 1800s.

Construction of this Moorish-Persian home took 20 years, and Church made sure every inch was decorated as beautifully as one of his paintings.  There is a two-story dining room filled with 17-century paintings, and lush fabrics are everywhere.

Tours are limited to 12 people at a time — no children allowed — so get there early in the day before the tickets are sold out.  Once you have a ticket, you can wander the lush grounds, which have beautiful views of the Hudson River all the way south to West Point.  Those are the same views that inspired Church to paint lush, romantic landscapes.

Clermont and Olana are must-see historic sites a few miles north of Rhinebeck.

And right in Rhinebeck itself is the Wilderstein Mansion, where cousins of the Roosevelts lived.

Yes, the Chelsea Clinton wedding to longtime beau Mark Mexvinsky made history.  But, so did many others who have visited and lived in the Hudson Valley.

Photo of Chelsea Clinton wedding courtesy CBS News.

(c) posted by Evelyn Kanter, author of “Great Destinations: The Hudson Valley” and “Eating the Hudson Valley: Food Lover’s Guide to Local Dininig, Wineries & More”, both books published by WWNorton/CountrymanPress

Thanks for visiting ecoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars, smart spending and frugal living by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.
Welcome back to exoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars and smart spending by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Family Travel, Five Best Tagged With: Family Travel, Hudson Valley, New York State, Rhinebeck

What do you think? We value your comments and love hearing from you. Cancel reply

Most Popular Recent Posts

  • Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
    Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
  • 2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
    2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
  • Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
    Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
  • Best Used Car Buys: 2005-2010 models
    Best Used Car Buys: 2005-2010 models
  • About ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter
    About ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter
  • Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
    Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
  • Best 2020 Green Cars & SUVs
    Best 2020 Green Cars & SUVs
  • Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
    Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
  • Electric Cars You Can Buy Now: Wheego LiFe
    Electric Cars You Can Buy Now: Wheego LiFe
  • Vintage Model T Vehicles Travel Coast to Coast
    Vintage Model T Vehicles Travel Coast to Coast

ecoXplorer is your guide to smart spending and eco-friendly living

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Also follow my NYC website, www.nyconthecheap.com.

Search ecoXplorer by category

Translate ecoXplorer

© 2010-2020 EcoXplorer by Evelyn Kanter. All the stories and photos on our site are protected by US Copyright laws. Any unauthorized copying is strictly prohibited. Plus, it’s just not nice.

  • Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC on the Cheap

ecoXplorer.com is an independent information service which is compensated by advertisers and sponsors. This site includes some links to other websites which are compensated for by our sponsors when you click them.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.