http://www.providenceri.com/ and http://www.providencedowntown.com/ are the official websites for the City of Providence and for Downtown Providence respectively. They both have helpful information about transport, arts and entertainment, dining, shopping, accomodations...etc.
Click on the link: http://www.thecityofprovidence.com/ . This has a great number of links to places of interest in Providence in alphabetical order by category. The list of Shopping Centers, Hospitals, Taxi companies etc is fairly exhaustive. Also, if you would like even more information, on your arrival you might want to get a copy of ‘Around and About Providence ' at the Brown University Bookstore for $10.95, it is a great guide to the restaurants, shopping and accommodation in the city.
Shopping in Providence is primarily translated to shopping at the Providence Place Mall, which tends to be a little expensive but is still very convenient. You can further explore this at http://www.providenceplace.com.
However,in addition to Thayer Street, there are a few other places to shop in and around the city. There is a Wal-Mart at 405 Promenade Street , and other similar stores at Seekonk and Cranston where you can get things a lot cheaper than at the mall. Also, Wickendon Street is a very interesting, eclectic mix of small cafes and interesting shops.
For groceries, there is Eastside Market, which delivers to the campus, as well as several outlets of Whole Foods (a little more expensive) and a Stop and Shop.
Maps
www.mapquest.com provides maps and driving directions to any location in the United States.
Roger Williams National Park and Zoo is a lovely place, about a ten-twenty minute drive from the Brown campus. The zoo is a decent one, and the park itself is spacious and beautiful.
http://www.woonsocket.org/river/rogwilpark.htm
http://www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org/
The Russian submarine museum is a fun place to spend the day, clambering in and out and around a Russian nuclear submarine, Juliett 484, that somehow landed in the possession of the United States government. A fair walk from the Brown campus, and a five-minute drive.
http://www.juliett484.org/juliett/index.html
The Providence Place Mall is a great place to meander, or just to purchase essentials. It also contains a few restaurants and cafés.
http://www.providenceplace.com/
Federal Hill , the Italian part of town, is brimming with incredible restaurants and pokey little gourmet food stores. Definitely worth a visit – you can take a trolley from Thayer Street all the way up to Atwell's Avenue, a street that runs through the restaurant-related part of town.
http://providencefederalhill.com/
Wickenden Street , a short walk from the Brown campus (take Brook Street away from central campus and you'll be fine), is a street chock-a-block with restaurants, cafés and little boutiques. Also provided are an art store, a hardware store, two florists, an optician, several hairdressers, and some really incredible yam sushi at Sakura.
Boston can easily be reached by bus, Amtrak, or MBTA commuter rail – at a ride-time of roughly an hour, it is definitely a good destination for a day trip.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/visitors/
Picturesque Newport is an island off the coast of Rhode Island , a bus or ferry ride away. Newport was once the home of the extraordinarily wealthy, and the island is still awash with exorbitant mansions dating back to the twenties. Very beautiful, full of touristy pleasure, a great walk along a cliff, gazing into the clear Atlantic , and, as always, some wonderful restaurants. Check RIPTA for ferry schedules.
http://www.gonewport.com/
Providence 's downtown (know to locals as “downcity”) is a newly revitalised, bustling arts district (http://www.shopdowncity.com). There are many interesting shops and restaurants.
A good place to visit downtown is the Arcade, a mock-Greek shopping arcade (the oldest surviving enclosed shopping center in the US), and quite a nice place to wander in and out of on a stroll downtown.
http://www.brightridge.com/pages/arcade.html
