Boston, Massachusetts, one of America’s oldest cities, brims with history and culture and has always been a tourist magnet that brings in visitors to its numerous historical and cultural institutions.
It is also a very walkable city, making it easy to explore. And after a delightful time experiencing this city of countless charms, you can easily head to its highly accessible college town suburbs for a very different experience.
Getting Your Bearings: Arriving in the Hub
Certainly, the best time to visit Boston is in spring or summer. The weather is beautiful, and the temperatures are mild.
We reached Boston from New York by Amtrak, getting down at South Station, which is a railway station as well as an intercity bus terminal. The station opened in 1899 and has a grand neo-Classical architectural style.
One could also disembark at Back Bay station, the stop that comes immediately before South Station, the other getting off point for Boston. This station was inaugurated in 1928 and is situated close to many of Boston’s landmarks.
Boston has an unbelievable cultural depth, from its Italian roots to its New England charm, from its beauteous waterfront to its sights steeped in the nation’s founding history – there is something to please everyone’s interest.
So these are the top 12 not-to-be-missed attractions of Boston.
1. Begin Where America Began: Boston Common
Boston Common, America’s first public park with a history reaching back 350 years, is the city’s most famous park and a tourist draw.
It is part of the Emerald Necklace, which is an interconnected group of green spaces spread over more than 1,100 acres, all manicured and designed masterpieces of the famed 19th-century landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, well known as the designer of New York’s Central Park.
We saw rolling hills, ballparks, expansive green areas, statues, monuments, and memorials, and stopped in front of a sylvan hillock.
This was the gargantuan Soldiers and Sailors Monument, built in 1877 and dedicated to the memories of Massachusetts soldiers and sailors who lost their lives in the U.S. Civil War.
2. Visit the Boston Public Garden
From the Common, head to the beautiful Boston Public Garden, part of the Emerald Necklace and located just across the street.
This formal garden opened in 1837 and is dotted with bridges, winding walkways, lovely flowering gardens, and a pond in which you can take a ride in Boston’s famous swan boats.
In this garden lies the main attraction, a series of eight bronze ducklings being led to the pond by their mother duck, Mrs. Mallard.
The sculpture from 1987, done by Nancy Schon, celebrates the well-loved children’s book, “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey. Do join the other visitors to click photos in this joyful place.
3. Walk in the Footsteps of Revolutionaries: The Freedom Trail
The Boston Common is the beginning point of the Freedom Trail of Boston, a 2 ½ mile walking trail through sixteen imperative sites of American history, some of them connected to the American Revolution.
Look down to notice the brick path that runs from here to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.
If you decide to complete the trail, you will see that the stops include government buildings, houses, museums, burying grounds, an erstwhile bookstore, chapels, and churches.
The Massachusetts State House with its gorgeous gold dome, Faneuil Hall, which is now a thriving indoor market, the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Paul Revere’s House from where the legendary revolutionary began his famous midnight ride on April 18, 1775, are some of the most interesting stops.
4. Step Inside Revolutionary History: Paul Revere House
Head to the waterfront in Charlestown to visit U.S.S. Constitution, lovingly known locally as Old Ironsides, the oldest floating ship in the world that was launched here in 1797.
And while in Charlestown complete your Freedom Trail sojourn seeing the massive granite obelisk, the Bunker Hill Monument, erected in 1842. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the American Revolution and it took place here on June 17, 1775.
Explore the Freedom Trail here.
Immerse Yourself in World-Class Culture: The Museums of Boston
For museum aficionados, Boston has some of the finest exhibits in the country. And so a trip to this city must include some time to pay a visit to at least a few of these places.
5. Museum of Fine Arts
You can start with the mainstay, the Museum of Fine Arts, which is world-renowned for its impressive collection. Located in the Fenway neighborhood, it is a magnificent Neo-Classical building that has also been expanded and modernized many times.
The museum boasts a formidable collection of art and artifacts from around the world. It has the largest collection of Japanese and Korean art outside of these countries.
Equally spectacular is its Egyptian collection and the exceptional collection of the works of Claude Monet, gathered during his lifetime.
6. Enter a Venetian Palace: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
A favorite of mine is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, at only about a 10-minute walking distance from the MFA, making it possible to visit both museums on the same day.
It opened in 1903, built in the style of a Venetian palace by Isabella Stewart Gardner who was an art patron and collector.
The museum showcases Gardner’s personal collection of paintings, textiles, ceramics, books, and a variety of other artifacts from Europe, Asia, and America, all displayed in the grand palazzo with a plant and light-filled opulent courtyard, making it at once intimate and impressive.
Read More: Boston, Massachusetts: Why This East Coast City Should Be Your Family’s Next Trip
7. Relive Revolutionary Defiance: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
With Boston’s close connection to the events of the American Revolution, it becomes necessary to visit the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum.
The Museum consists of wharf-side exhibits and two recreated 18th-century merchant ships floating off the wharf at the Congress Street Bridge along the Fort Point Channel near the actual location of a major historic event of the Revolution.
You will become part of an immersive experience as you see the reenactment of the Boston Tea Party of 1773 when demonstrators against the British dumped 342 boxes of tea brought in the East India Company mercantile ships into the water.
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum Admission
8. Delight Young Explorers: Boston Children’s Museum
Also along the Fort Point Channel and opposite the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum is the Boston Children’s Museum, the second oldest in the country and the perfect place to visit if you are accompanied by children.
My attention was captured by a giant Hood milk bottle on the waterfront near the entrance. Once inside, you will find three floors of interactive exhibits that will enthrall both parents and kids.
Enjoying the Waterfronts
9. Discover Boston’s Blue Highway: The Waterfront Experience
Had your fill of history and culture? Then it’s time to explore the captivating appeal of Boston’s waterfront. While you might have already visited the majestic historic ships mentioned earlier, the city’s breathtaking harbor and neighboring areas have lots more to offer.
10. Dive Deep: New England Aquarium
Start with the Boston Harborwalk, which is a long, near-continuous 43-mile trail from East Boston to Dorchester. But in a few-mile walk along the water with stunning city views, you will go past many of the attractions mentioned above.
If you’ve already seen those, a superb stop for a few hours would be the New England Aquarium, certainly the waterfront centerpiece, located in Central Wharf. People flock to see the gargantuan four-floor-tall giant ocean tank teeming with underwater fish, turtles, sharks, eels, and more.
Take in a seals and sea lions show or enjoy the beauty of penguins in the massive penguin colony. If you visit between March and November, you could also partake in their whale-watching cruises.
11. Escape to Academic Elegance: Charles River & Cambridge
For a much more tranquil waterfront experience, there is Charles River, which flows for over 80 miles and into Boston Harbor, separating the cities of Boston and Cambridge, the town with the storied institutions of Harvard and MIT. And if you have time on your hands, you must certainly visit these colleges to see their campuses and museums.
Use the 24-mile Charles River Bike Path, which wends its way from Cambridge to Bedford, providing stunningly scenic views all along.
In the end, you will come away enriched by the New England charm of one of America’s oldest cities.
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Author Bio: Susmita Sengupta, an architect by background, from New York City, loves to travel with her family. She writes frequently for Go World Travel and other online travel magazines such as GoNomad, Matador Network, Travel thru History, In the Know Traveler and others.
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