Things to do · Boston · United States
20 best things to do in Boston
20 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Gaby Azeem, CC0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Boston are Freedom Trail, Boston Common and Public Garden and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. Of the 20 picks below, 8 are free, 8 work on a rainy day and 8 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Freedom Trail
- Free sights
- 8
- Good on a rainy day
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom Trail | Downtown | 3–4 hours | Free |
| Boston Common and Public Garden | Beacon Hill | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market | Downtown | 1 hour | Free |
| Museum of Fine Arts | Fenway–Kenmore | 3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Fenway Park | Fenway–Kenmore | 3 hours for a game; 1 hour for a tour | Mid-priced |
| Old North Church and Paul Revere House | North End | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum | Fenway–Kenmore | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| New England Aquarium | Downtown and the Waterfront | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| USS Constitution | Charlestown | 1.5 hours | Free |
| Harvard Yard | Cambridge | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Boston Public Library, Central Library | Back Bay | 1 hour | Free |
| Trinity Church | Back Bay | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Museum of Science | Charles River | 3–4 hours | Mid-priced |
| Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum | Fort Point | 1 hour | Mid-priced |
| Beacon Hill and Acorn Street | Beacon Hill | 1.5 hours | Free |
| Institute of Contemporary Art | Seaport District | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Arnold Arboretum | Jamaica Plain | 2 hours | Free |
| Boston Harbor Islands | Boston Harbor | Half a day | Low cost |
| John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum | Dorchester | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Mapparium | Back Bay | 45 minutes | Low cost |
The 20 best things to do
Historic site · Downtown
1.Freedom Trail
A red-brick line in the pavement links sixteen historic sites over about 4 km: Boston Common, the State House, the Granary Burying Ground where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock are buried, the Old State House near the Boston Massacre site, Faneuil Hall, the Paul Revere House, Old North Church and, across the river in Charlestown, USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument.
Walk it north from Boston Common in the morning and break for lunch in the North End; most sites can be seen from outside for free, and a few charge entry.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Outdoors
Garden · Beacon Hill
2.Boston Common and Public Garden
Boston Common, set aside in 1634, is the oldest public park in the US. Next to it, the Public Garden of 1837 is a Victorian botanical garden with a lagoon, weeping willows and the Swan Boats, pedal-powered boats that have carried passengers since 1877. Children climb on the bronze ducklings from Robert McCloskey's book Make Way for Ducklings near the Beacon and Charles streets corner.
The Swan Boats run from spring to late summer; in winter, the Frog Pond on the Common becomes an ice rink.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Couples
- Outdoors
- Iconic
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Market · Downtown
3.Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market
Built in 1742 and known as the Cradle of Liberty for the protest meetings held there before the Revolution, Faneuil Hall still has a public meeting hall above its ground-floor shops. Behind it, the 1820s granite colonnade of Quincy Market is a long food hall, and the cobbled plazas between the market buildings fill with street performers.
Quincy Market is fine for a quick cup of chowder, but the North End and the Boston Public Market nearby are better for a proper meal.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Food
- Shopping
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Museum · Fenway–Kenmore
4.Museum of Fine Arts
One of the largest art museums in the US, the MFA's Art of the Americas wing holds John Singleton Copley's portraits, Paul Revere's silver Sons of Liberty Bowl and John Singer Sargent's The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. It also has a major Impressionist collection with dozens of works by Monet, and celebrated Japanese and ancient Egyptian galleries.
Look up in the rotunda and main staircase at the murals Sargent painted for the museum in the 1920s.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Landmark · Fenway–Kenmore
5.Fenway Park
Opened in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball and home of the Red Sox, with the 11-metre left-field wall known as the Green Monster, a hand-operated scoreboard and narrow wooden-era seats. Guided tours run year-round, including on many game days.
Arrive early to walk Jersey Street and Lansdowne Street, which fill with food stands and bars before the first pitch.
- Time needed
- 3 hours for a game; 1 hour for a tour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Popular games sell out; buy through the Red Sox's official ticketing rather than street resellers.
- Iconic
- History
- Kids
- After dark
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Religious site · North End
6.Old North Church and Paul Revere House
Boston's oldest standing church building, from 1723, is where two lanterns were hung in the steeple on 18 April 1775 to signal that British troops were crossing by water, sending Paul Revere on his midnight ride. A few blocks away, the Paul Revere House of around 1680 is the oldest building in downtown Boston.
Visit the two back to back, then walk to Hanover Street for a cannoli.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Iconic
- Architecture
Museum · Fenway–Kenmore
7.Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner built a Venetian-style palazzo to display her Titian, Rembrandt, Botticelli and Sargent paintings around a glass-roofed courtyard that is in flower all year. In 1990 thieves stole 13 works, including Vermeer's The Concert, and empty frames still hang where they were, because her will required the galleries to stay as she arranged them.
Anyone named Isabella gets in free, as does everyone on their birthday.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Entry is by timed ticket; book online for weekends.
- Art
- Couples
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
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Aquarium · Downtown and the Waterfront
8.New England Aquarium
On Central Wharf, the aquarium's four-storey Giant Ocean Tank holds sea turtles, sharks and a Caribbean coral reef, with a ramp spiralling around it and a penguin colony at its base. Harbour seals and sea lions live in an outdoor marine mammal centre, and whale-watching trips leave from the wharf in the warmer months.
Whale-watching trips to Stellwagen Bank take about three to four hours; take seasickness precautions if you need them.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Historic site · Charlestown
1.USS Constitution
Launched in 1797 and nicknamed 'Old Ironsides' after cannonballs seemed to bounce off her oak hull in the War of 1812, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. US Navy sailors lead free tours of her decks, and the USS Constitution Museum stands next to her in the Charlestown Navy Yard.
Adults need photo ID for the security check at the ship; the MBTA ferry from Long Wharf to the Navy Yard doubles as a short, cheap harbour cruise.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Kids
Historic site · Cambridge
2.Harvard Yard
The historic core of Harvard, the oldest university in the US (founded 1636), is open to walk through, with the John Harvard statue, the columned Widener Library and Memorial Church under the elms. Nearby are the Harvard Art Museums, under a Renzo Piano glass roof, and the Harvard Museum of Natural History with its collection of botanically precise glass flowers.
Take the Red Line to Harvard, walk the Yard, then browse the bookshops of Harvard Square.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
Architecture · Back Bay
3.Boston Public Library, Central Library
Opened in 1895, Charles McKim's Renaissance-palace library on Copley Square belongs to the first large free municipal library system in the US. Inside are the barrel-vaulted Bates Hall reading room with its green lamps, John Singer Sargent's mural cycle on the third floor and an arcaded courtyard with a fountain, all free to visit.
Sit in the courtyard on a sunny day; it is one of the calmest spots in Back Bay.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
- History
Religious site · Back Bay
4.Trinity Church
H. H. Richardson's 1877 church of rugged Romanesque Revival stone faces Copley Square, its interior covered in murals by John La Farge. Its reflection in the mirrored glass of 200 Clarendon, the tower formerly known as the John Hancock Tower, is one of Boston's classic photographs.
For the reflection shot, stand on the south side of Copley Square and look back at the church against the tower.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- History
- Photo spot
- Art
Museum · Charles River
5.Museum of Science
Built on a dam across the Charles River, the Museum of Science has hands-on galleries ranging from dinosaurs to engineering, the Theater of Electricity, where a giant Van de Graaff generator makes indoor lightning, the Charles Hayden Planetarium and the domed Mugar Omni Theater.
Book planetarium and Omni shows when you buy entry; the lightning show is included with admission.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Fort Point
6.Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum
A floating museum at the Congress Street Bridge, with replica 18th-century ships and costumed actors who re-create the night of 16 December 1773, when colonists dumped British tea into the harbour. Visitors join a town meeting, throw tea crates overboard and see one of the original surviving tea chests.
Tours leave at set times and fill up in summer; book a slot and arrive about 15 minutes early.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- History
Neighbourhood · Beacon Hill
7.Beacon Hill and Acorn Street
Walk the brick pavements of Beacon Hill past gas lamps, window boxes and Federal-era doorways, from the gold-domed State House down to Charles Street. Cobbled Acorn Street and Louisburg Square are the classic photo stops, and the Black Heritage Trail traces the 19th-century free Black community on the north slope, including the African Meeting House of 1806.
Acorn Street is a private residential lane; come early, take photos quietly and move on.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Couples
- Photo spot
Gallery · Seaport District
8.Institute of Contemporary Art
The ICA's glass building by Diller Scofidio + Renfro cantilevers out over Boston Harbor, and its top-floor galleries end in a full-width window onto the water. Exhibitions focus on contemporary art, and the wooden steps along the harbourwalk outside are free to sit on.
Find the Mediatheque, a stepped room whose single window frames nothing but the water below.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Views
- Rainy day
- Architecture
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Garden · Jamaica Plain
9.Arnold Arboretum
Harvard's 281-acre arboretum, designed with Frederick Law Olmsted as part of Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, has free paths through collections of lilacs, magnolias, conifers and bonsai. The top of Peters Hill gives a view across the trees to the downtown skyline.
Visit in May, when the lilacs bloom; take the Orange Line to Forest Hills and walk about 10 minutes to the gate.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
- Photo spot
Island · Boston Harbor
10.Boston Harbor Islands
From late spring to early autumn, ferries from Long Wharf run to the Boston Harbor Islands, a national and state park. Georges Island has Fort Warren, a granite Civil War-era fort with dark passages to explore, and Spectacle Island has hiking trails, a lifeguarded beach in summer and views back to the skyline.
Pack a picnic and note the return ferry times; services are infrequent and missing the last boat back is not an option.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Views
- Nature
Museum · Dorchester
11.John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
I. M. Pei's white concrete-and-glass building on Columbia Point overlooks the harbour and tells the story of John F. Kennedy's life and presidency through film, documents and period rooms, ending in a soaring glass pavilion facing the sea.
Take the Red Line to JFK/UMass and use the free shuttle bus to the museum.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Views
- Rainy day
Experience · Back Bay
12.Mapparium
Inside the Mary Baker Eddy Library, the Mapparium is a three-storey stained-glass globe from 1935 that you walk through on a glass bridge, showing the world's political borders as they were then. Its curved walls bounce sound so that a whisper at one end is heard clearly at the other.
Combine it with a walk around the long reflecting pool of Christian Science Plaza outside.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Architecture
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Trinity Church and Museum of Science |
| History | Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, Fenway Park and USS Constitution |
| Views | Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Harbor Islands and John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum |
| Outdoors and nature | Freedom Trail, Boston Common and Public Garden, New England Aquarium and Arnold Arboretum |
| Food and markets | Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market |
| After dark | Fenway Park |
| With children | Boston Common and Public Garden, Fenway Park, New England Aquarium and USS Constitution |
| On a rainy day | Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, New England Aquarium and Boston Public Library, Central Library |
What to book ahead
- Fenway Park: Popular games sell out; buy through the Red Sox's official ticketing rather than street resellers.
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Entry is by timed ticket; book online for weekends.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Boston?
Freedom Trail. A red-brick line in the pavement links sixteen historic sites over about 4 km: Boston Common, the State House, the Granary Burying Ground where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock are buried, the Old State House near the Boston Massacre site, Faneuil Hall, the Paul Revere House, Old North Church and, across the river in Charlestown, USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument.
+What can you do for free in Boston?
Freedom Trail, Boston Common and Public Garden, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, USS Constitution and Harvard Yard. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Boston when it rains?
Head indoors to Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, New England Aquarium and Boston Public Library, Central Library.
+What is there to do in Boston at night?
Fenway Park are best after dark.