BOSTON ATTRACTIONS AND THINGS TO DO
There is a wealth of historically significant attractions
in Boston. Consider purchasing a 'Boston
CityPass' and thereby pay half price for
most of the finest attractions.
Freedom
Trail: The Freedom Trail is one of the most
popular walking tours in America. It covers approximately
three miles and is very easy to follow. Park rangers
give 90-minute guided walking tours of the Freedom Trail,
which includes more than a dozen historic sites such
as Paul Revere's house, the site of the Boston Massacre
and the USS Constitution. The path is marked by painted
red lines or bricks set into the pavement. Each site
is identified by a marker or sign. The trail follows
the original path set by the colonists in the early
days of Boston. Most of the Trail is accessible only
on foot for this reason. The Trail is best started either
at Boston Common or at the USS Constitution (where there
is free parking). The easiest way is to leave the car
behind and take the subway (T) red or green line to
Park Street.
Stops
Along the Freedom Trail
1.
Boston Common
2. Site of the Liberty Tree (Washington & Essex
Streets)
3. State House (Beacon & Park Streets)
4.
John Hancock’s House
5. The Beacon (The Monument behind the State House)
6. Park Street Church (Tremont & Park Streets)
7.
Old Granary (Tremont St., near Park Street Church)
8. King’s Chapel
9. King’s Chapel Burying Ground
10. Benjamin Franklin’s Statue
11.
The Old Corner Bookstore (3 School Street, Corner of
Washington St.)
12.
Site of Franklin’s Print Shop
13. Old South Meeting House
14. Site of Benjamin Franklin’s Birthplace
15. Old State House
16. Site of the Boston Massacre
17.
Faneuil Hall
18. Quincy Market
19. The Tea Party Ship
20. Paul Revere’s House
21. Saint Stephen’s Church (Hanover Street)
22. Paul Revere Mall
23.
Old North Church (193 Salem Street)
24. Copp’s Hill (Hull and Snowhill Streets)
25. USS Constitution (Charlestown Navy Yard)
26.
Bunker Hill (Charlestown)
Boston
Common
This 40-acre area is the nation's oldest public park.
The land was set aside for public use in 1634 (originally
as a cow pasture and training ground. The Commons also
has a longstanding tradition as a place where demonstrators
can exercise their right to freedom of speech without
having to obtain a permit. Admission Free.
Park
Street Church
Free,
seasonal tours. Call (617) 523-3383 to learn more.
This
church is best known for its location at "Brimstone
Corner" (named for its use as a gunpowder storage
area during the War of 1812) and as the setting of William
Lloyd Garrison's first anti-slavery speech.
Granary
Burying Ground
The first of the three burying grounds on the trail,
Granary is notable as the final resting place of John
Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
King's
Chapel and Burying Ground
Famous for its architectural beauty, King's Chapel became
the first Unitarian Church in the U.S. after the American
Revolution. Donations accepted. For more information,
call (617) 227-2155.
Site
of First Public School/Ben Franklin Statue
This
Freedom Trail stop features a statue of Ben Franklin
and the site of Franklin's alma mater: the Boston Latin
School (built in 1635).
Old
Corner Bookstore
This
brick building, where legends like Longfellow, Emerson,
Hawthorne and Thoreau gathered, was once the literary
center of Boston.
Old
South Meeting House
Much of the discussion and debate that led to the Boston
Tea Party and other events connected to the American
Revolution took place in the old South Meeting House.
Call (617) 482-6439 to learn about the lectures and
programs on American history and culture offered by
the Old South staff.
Boston
Massacre Site
A simple circle of cobblestones marks the site where
five colonists were killed by British soldiers in 1770.
The brutality of this incident helped spark the anti-British
rage that ultimately led to the American Revolution.
Free.
Old
North Church
"Old
North," Boston's oldest church building, is located
in the city's Italian North End. The church played an
important part in the American Revolution by acting
as a signal (via two lanterns hung in its steeple) of
British troop movement. Donations accepted. (617) 523-6676.
Copp's
Hill Burying Ground
The last Freedom trail site on the south side of the
Charles River, Copp's Burying Ground is the resting
place of thousands of merchants, artisans and free blacks.
Free. Not wheelchair accessible.
Bunker
Hill Monument
(617) 242-5641
A
tall granite obelisk commemorating the 1775 Battle of
Bunker Hill (which actually took place on Breed's Hill).
You can climb this monument's 294 steps for a panoramic
view of Boston. (No elevator). During the summer, visitors
also can observe free musket firing demonstrations and
"battle talks." Free.
New
England Aquarium
Phone:
(617) 973-5200
Located
on the city's waterfront at Central Wharf off Atlantic
Ave. (T: Aquarium).
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 9-6, Fri.-Sun. and holidays 9-7,
July 1-Labor Day; Mon.-Fri. 9-5, Sat.-Sun. and holidays
9-6, rest of year. Closed Jan. 1 until noon, all day
Thanksgiving and Dec. 25
Admission charged.
The
aquarium displays more than 15,000 specimens representing
more than 600 species of fish and aquatic animals. An
outdoor seal exhibit features a raised tank for visitors
to view the animals above and below the water's surface.
In the west wing, a 6,000-square-foot gallery highlights
changing exhibits. Rising from the center of the building
is a four-story, circular glass tank containing a coral
reef, more than 200,000 gallons of water and hundreds
of tropical fish and marine life, including sharks,
turtles and moray eels. A colony of penguins is on the
ground level. “Edge of the Sea” lets visitors
handle tide pool animals. Whale-watch cruises and “Science
at Sea” harbor tours are offered April 1 to November
1 for a fee. An IMAX theater is on site. Food is available.
Allow 2 hours minimum.
The
USS Constitution
Charlestown Navy Yard
55 Constitution Rd, Charlestown, Boston, 02129
617- 426 –1812
Open: daily
The last stop on the Freedom Trail is Charlestown Navy
Yard, home of the USS Constitution. The ship is the
oldest officially commissioned warship in existence.
It never lost a battle, and its victories during the
War of 1812 are legendary. The ship is open daily 10
am-4 pm, with self-guided tours of the top deck available
(sailors are on hand to answer questions). The adjoining
museum is open daily 9 am-6 pm May-October, 10 am-5
pm November-April. Anchored at an adjacent pier is the
World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young. Admission Free.
Boston
Public Library
700 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston
617-536-5400
(Copley
T stop on the Green Line),
Monday-Thursday 9 am-9 pm, Friday-Saturday 9 am-5 pm;
October-May, also open Sunday 1-5 pm. One-hour art and
architecture tours daily, except Wednesday. Call for
times.
America's first free municipal library offers visual
arts, as well as books. This magnificent Italian Renaissance
Revival building houses a John Singer Sargent Gallery
on the third floor. The Bates Reading Room is a work
of art with its impressive vaulted ceiling. Monday-Thursday
9 am-9 pm, Friday-Saturday 9 am-5 pm; October-May, also
open Sunday 1-5 pm. One-hour art and architecture tours
daily, except Wednesday. Call for times. Free Admission.
Franklin
Park Zoo
1
Franklin Park Road, Boston, 02121
(617)
541 5466
This 72-acre site nestled in historic Franklin Park
was founded in 1911 and recently underwent a period
of expansion. Highlights include one of the world's
largest indoor exhibits of western lowland gorillas,
the Bongo Congo (zebra, ibex and ostrich), the Giraffe
Savannah, Australian Outback (kangaroo, wallaby and
emu), Franklin Farm (including a "contact corral"
where visitors can pet goats, sheep and other farm animals)
and, late May-September, a butterfly enclosure.
Old
State House
206
Washington St.
(State
T stop on the Blue and Orange lines, Downtown Crossing
T stop on the Red and Orange lines, or Park Street T
stop on the Green and Red lines)
Boston, MA 02109 USA - (617)
720-1713
Admission charged.
Hours: Daily 9-5.
The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence
in Boston took place from the balcony of the Old State
House in 1776. Two centuries later, Queen Elizabeth
II delivered an address from the same spot during the
U.S. bicentennial celebrations. The building overlooks
the cobblestone circle that marks the site of the Boston
Massacre. Built in 1713, this is the oldest public building
in Boston and now functions as the city's history museum.
Paul
Revere House
19
North Sq.
Boston, MA 02113 USA
Phone: (617) 523-2338
Admission charged.
Hours: Daily 9:30-5:15, Apr. 15-Oct. 31; daily 9:30-4:15,
Apr. 1-14 and Nov.-Dec.; Tues.-Sun. 9:30-4:15, rest
of year. Closed Jan. 1, Thanksgiving and Dec. 25
Paul Revere House, 19 North Sq. (T: Haymarket), was
built about 1680 and is the oldest house in downtown
Boston. The restored home, which Paul Revere owned 1770-1800,
contains 17th- and 18th-century furnishings and Revere
memorabilia including silver. A Colonial herb garden
and Revere-made bell are on the grounds.
Faneuil
Hall
4 S. Market St.
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: (617) 242-5675
Admission Free
Hours: National Park Service Rangers give historical
talks every half-hour daily 9-5. Museum open Mon.-Fri.
9-3. Marketplace open Mon.-Sat. 10-8, Sun. 10-6, third
Mon. in Apr.-Dec. 24; daily 10-6, rest of year
(T:
State Street or Government Center).
The 1742 building was given to the city by Peter Faneuil.
It burned in 1761, was rebuilt in 1763 and was enlarged
in 1805. The upper story served as a meeting hall, the
scene of many gatherings during the Revolutionary movement.
British officers used the building as a theater during
their occupation of the city. Known for its grasshopper
weather vane, the hall contains a military museum and
paintings of notable battles.
The Faneuil Hall Marketplace includes North and South
Markets, Faneuil Hall and the adjacent Quincy Market,
a renovated 19th-century complex containing more than
125 restaurants, boutiques, produce stands and retail
pushcarts. Street performers entertain continuously.
Museum
of Afro-American History
46 Joy St. Boston, MA 02114
Phone: (617) 725-0022
Admission
charged.
Hours:
Daily 10-4, Memorial Day-Labor Day; Mon.-Sat. 10-4,
rest of year. Closed Jan. 1, Thanksgiving and Dec. 25
Museum of Afro American History is at 46 Joy St. The
museum includes the African Meeting House, dedicated
in 1806 and said to be the oldest standing African-American
church building in the United States, and the Abiel
Smith School. Changing exhibits are displayed in the
gallery. Guided gallery tours are available. The museum's
Black Heritage Trail walking tour links 14 historic
sites; maps and guided tours are available
New
State House
Beacon St. & Park St.
Boston, MA 02133 USA
Phone: (617) 727-3676
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9-5; closed holidays.
Admission: Free. Guided tours by appointment.
The New State House is on Beacon St. at the head of
Park St. (T: Park Street). The golden dome, which is
one of the city's best known landmarks, marks the political
center of Boston. Completed in 1795, the "new"
State House was designed by architect Charles Bulfinch,
who later planned the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The
original brick front section, completed in 1798, remains
almost unchanged. Statues, historical paintings, transparencies
of battle flags and war relics are displayed inside.
Across the street, Shaw Memorial, a bronze bas-relief
of Col. Robert Gould Shaw by Augustus Saint-Gaudens,
recalls the first black regiment to serve in the Civil
War.
Museum
of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston
617-267-9300
The MFA is located in the Fenway area, one mile west
of Copley Square. It is easily accessible via public
transportation by taking the Orange Line to the Ruggles
stop or the Green Line E trolley to the Museum of Fine
Arts stop.
Hours: Mondays and Tuesdays, 10 AM to 4:45 PM; Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays, 10 AM to 9:45 PM (West Wing only
Thurs. and Fri. after 5); Saturdays and Sundays, 10
AM to 5:45 PM
The Japanese Garden is open Tuesdays through Sundays,
10 AM to 4 PM
Admission: charged. Admission reduced by $2 on Thursdays
and Fridays after 5 PM.
Boston's finest and most comprehensive art museum is
a world unto itself: art galleries from all periods
and cultures; three restaurants; two gift shops; lecture
and film series; gallery talks; concerts all season
; and exceptional special exhibits. The museum is especially
well known for its collections of European paintings,
European and American decorative arts and furnishings,
Egyptian sculpture, and Asian fine and decorative arts.
The Museum of Fine Arts is so vast and the collections
so extensive that several visits are required to really
enjoy and appreciate its wonders. The galleries are
laid out in the shape of a two-story figure eight, with
two courtyards in the middle.
The "period" rooms include an early 19th century
mansion from Peabody thought to have been designed by
Samuel McIntyre, and the wood carving in the rooms from
Hamilton Palace, a Scottish castle.
First
Church of Christ Scientist
175 Huntington Avenue
617-450-2000
Open Daily
No admission charge.
The world headquarters of the Church occupies 14 acres
of Boston’s Back Bay and is a remarkable structure.
Most notable is the Mary Baker Eddy Library and the
Mapparium. The Mapparium, on the first floor of the
extension, is a huge,brightly colored stained glass
globe. By walking inside it, you can stand at the center
of the world. It shows the political boundaries of the
1930s (the time at which it was constructed) . Each
of the 608 panels making up this impressive structure,
covers 10 degrees of latitude and longitude.
The church itself is a huge open space which seats over
3,000. It is dominated by one of the world’s largest
organs, which is played at every service. The basilica-
type, impressively domed structure is actually an extension
of the original small granite building which was outgrown
within a few years of the church’s founding in
1892.
