Boston has a historic legacy that is unsurpassed by any other city
of its size in America. History and heritage tours are a big attraction
in this city where walking tours have been masterfully created to
the envy of other metropolitan locations. Boston is a touchstone for
each century of this nations past, where arts, history and science
merge and where many of the heroes and heroines of the last 400 years
are honored. When planning a trip to Boston, take advantage of one
or more of the following tours, without the experience, one cannot
truly say they have seen the city.
walking tours | vehicle
& water tours | special tours
Black Heritage Trail - 14 Beacon
Street / Boston / 617-742-5415 or Museum of African American
History / 617-725-0022
A self-guided 1.6 mile walking tour of Boston which pays homage the
dynamic accomplishments of the 19th century free-black population
of Boston. National Park Rangers offer guided tours several times
daily from April through October and in the off-season by appointment.
The tour is also a feature of the Museum of  African
American History and information about the tour can be obtained
there also. Sites include: • Abiel Smith School • the African
Meeting House • Charles Street Meeting House • Coburn's
Gaming House • Lewis & Harriet Hayden House • George
Middleton House • Phillips School • Robert Gould Shaw Memorial
• Smith Court Residences • John J. Smith House
Boston By Foot - 77 North Washington Street / Boston /
617-367-3766 / $ No reservations necessary
Offering several versions of 90 minute guided walks through Boston
from May through October on a daily basis. One is the “Underground
Boston” tour directed at kids from 6 to 12 years of age. Another
embellished tour is the annual five-hour Labor Day Tour offering designed
for the more serious hiker.
Boston History Collaborative -
650 Beacon Street / Boston / 617-350-0358
The Boston History Collaborative is a non-profit group of government,
community and private sector interests who wish to promote Boston’s
unique and historic character in a new way.
- Boston Family History and Immigrant Trail
- Six ethnic heritages and several neighborhoods are explored
in the Family History and Immigrant Trails. Trace family roots
through time, where each century of Americas history introduced
a new ethnic group into the nations culture.
- Boston By Sea - Maritime Trail - Land Long
Wharf Guided Tour - A tour of Boston’s maritime history
is offered in this Boston By Sea tour.
Freedom Trail
- a few individual sights charge admission
There are several aspects of the Freedom Trail experience which provide
a good overview of American history during the revolutionary period.
Sites include Boston Common • the State House • Park
Street Church • Granary Burying Ground • statue of Benjamin
Franklin • King’s Chapel • Old Corner Bookstore •Old
South Meeting House • site of the Boston Massacre •
Old State House • Faneuil Hall • Paul Revere House •
Old North Church • Copp’s Hill Burying Ground • USS
Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument. There is also
a guided abbreviated “Little Feet” version of the Freedom
Trail for families with children.
- Freedom Trail Walking Tours - Begins
at Boston Common / 617-242-5642 / Free
The National Park Service offers a 90 minute walking tour of Downtown
Boston’s historic landmarks during the spring, summer and
fall. Beginning in April, the tours are offered from one a day
to up to five a day during peak tourist seasons. Tours are limited
to 30 persons on a first come basis.
- Freedom Trail / Tours with Costumed Guide
or Re-enactors - 3 School Street / Boston / 617-227-8800
/ $
The Freedom Trial Players offer tours led by costumed guides who
lead visitors on a tours as a character based on a person who
may have witnessed events. Another tour highlights seasonal variations
by re-enacting events that happened during certain periods of
the year with costumed actors in some locations.
- Freedom Trail / Make your own tour -
Begins at Boston Common / 617-242-5642 / Free
Just follow the red bricks to the 16 historic locations from Boston
Common to Bunker Hill. Dress for the weather and wear good comfortable
shoes for the 2.5 mile walk, plan to spend several hours to get
the full effect of the historic nature of the Freedom Trail and
to allow for side trips into shops and dining.
- Freedom Trail - Holiday Stroll - Starting
in late November to just before Christmas, special holiday editions
of the Freedom Trail tours are offered. / $
- Freedom Trail - Boston by Little Feet -
77 North Washington Street / 617-367-2345 / $
Abbreviated “Little Feet” guided tour version of the
Freedom Trail for families with children.
Harborwalk
- Boston Common Visitor Information Booth / 617-522-2872 /
Maps
Tracing the rich history of Boston’s maritime heritage, maps
are offered at the information center for a self guided walking tour
of the harbor.
Salem -
Heritage Trail - 2 Liberty Street
/ 978-740-1650
The National Park Service offers several pamphlets and booklets on
Salem along with guide maps for the Salem Heritage Trail, a 1 3/4
mile walk through the city.
Women's Heritage Trail - Boston
Common Visitor Information Booth / 617-522-2872 / $ - fee for
guidebook
Several self-guided walking tours feature women from different walks
of life who made their mark in local and national history. Over 80
women are featured including writers, activists, artists, educators
and social reformers.
- Women's Heritage Trail / Downtown Walk
- tour centers on the search for equal rights.
- Women's Heritage Trail / North End Walk
- tour features women from different walks of life who made a
difference.
- Women's Heritage Trail / Beacon Hill Walk
- tour focuses on writers and artists involved in social movements.
- Women's Heritage Trail / South Cove / Chinatown
Walk - tour highlights those responsible for economic and
social justice.
- Women's Heritage Trail / Back Bay Walk
- tour explores the lives of artists, educators and enlightened
social reformers.
Bay Colony Historical Tours - contact
by mail or phone - Box 9186 - JFK Post Office / Boston 02114 /
617-523-7303 / $
Offering private or group chauffeured tours of the Boston area and
Cape Cod. History based tours for seniors and student groups.
Beantown Trolley - 14 Charles Street,
South / Boston / 617-236-2148 / $
Offering two-hour tours with 20 stops at historic downtown attractions,
trolleys runs every 20 minutes from 9 am to 4 pm. A best sightseeing
value, buy daily ticket while aboard trolley which provide riders
unlimited on-off boarding for the day.
Boston Duck Tours - Start at Prudential Center
/ 790 Boylston Street side / Plaza Level / 617-723-3825 / $
The top drawing attraction in the state of Massachusetts, Duck Tours
offers 80 minute land / water tours with a 30 minute ride down the
Charles River, the tour also travels by land to the major historic
landmarks of Boston. Tours run every half hour from April through
November, 9 am to dark.
Boston Harbor Cruises - 1 Long
Wharf / Boston / 617-227-4321 / $
Tours of the Boston Harbor run from mid-April through October, including
lunch, sunset and entertainment cruise options as well as Boston Harbor
Island cruises during the summer months. Whale watching cruises are
offered from April to October.
Charles Riverboat Co. - Galleria General /
Cambridge / 617-621-3001 / $
Offering a 55 minute narrated tour of the Charles River Basin from
mid April through October. The company also has sunset, evening, lunch
and entertainment cruises and summer trips to the Harbor Islands.
Literary Trail of Greater Boston
/ Boston History Collaborative - 650 Beacon Street / Boston / 617-350-0358
for information / $
The Literary Trail is a 20 mile exploration of the environs of some
of America’s most noted authors and migrates from Boston into
Cambridge and on to Concord. From Thoreau’s Walden Pond to Louisa
May Alcott’s Orchard House, other tour stops are connected with
Hawthorne, Emerson and Longfellow along with the tour starting point
at the Omni Parker House where Charles Dickens stayed during his famed
visit to Boston.
Fall Foliage Hotlines - Massachusetts - 800-227-MASS • Connecticut
- 800-282-6863 • New Hampshire - 800-258-3608 • Rhode Island
- 800-556-2484 • Vermont - 800-Vermont
New England is well known for its fall foliage, for information on
the peak of autumn color locations call for information and create
your own driving tour of the surrounding area.
Massachusetts Bay Lines - 60 Rowes
Wharf / Boston / 617-542-8000 / $
Daily and sunset harbor tours are offered as well as musical themed
entertainment cruises in the evenings. Whale watching cruises are
offered from April to October.
New England Aquarium - Whale Watching
Cruises - Central Wharf / Boston / 617-973-5200 / $
Whale watching cruises are offered from April to October.
Old Town Trolley Tours - Historic Tours of
America - / 617-269-7150 / $
- Old Town Tour of Boston - The Old Town
Trolley runs every 20 minutes and may be boarded at any of 16
locations throughout the city, including the Trolley Store Shop
at South Charles & Boylston Streets. The full narrated tour
takes 100 minutes and the trolley ticket is good for two days
of sightseeing transportation, which makes it easy to get on and
off at places of particular interest. A Free Harbor Cruise pass
is included with ticket purchase.
- Old Town Trolley - JFK's Boston - Departing
from Marriott Hotel Copley Place, this unique tour stops at The
John F. Kennedy Library and Museum and from there proceeds to
his birthplace, alma mater and to other places he and his family
knew well.
Salem - National
Park Service Visitor Center / 2 Liberty Street / 978-740-1650
- Early Settlement Trail - Guide maps from
the visitor center highlight the sites on this Essex County driving
tour of early coastal settlements.
- Maritime Trail - Guide maps can also
be found in Salem to the sites of a driving tour to explore Essex
County’s rich maritime history.
Salem Trolley
- 8 Central Street / Salem / 978-744-5469 / $
Leaves from the National park Visitors Center, the trolley follows
the Heritage Trail. Fee allows visitors to get on and off at the various
sites during the tour. Runs daily from April through November.
Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)
- 955 Boylston Street / Boston / 617-266-5152 / FREE Thursday
evenings Free Thursday Walkthrough - From 5 to 9 pm, The Institute
of Contemporary Art offers free admission to the public along with
special programs, tours or lectures.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- 280 The Fenway / Boston / 617-566-1401 / $
Once a week at 2:30 pm on Fridays, the Gardner offers a guided tour
on a first-come basis which is free with Museum admission, however
the tour is limited to no more than 20 individuals.
Skywalk Observatory - Prudential
Tower - 800 Boylston Street / Boston / 617-859-0648 / $
Open every day from 10 to 10, take the elevator up to the 50th floor
in the Prudential Tower and see a spectacular vista of the Boston
skyline and harbor, along with interactive exhibits about the historic
city.
Holiday Related Tours - Christmas
Holiday Strolls
- Beacon Hill - Families are invited to
this mid December festive evening of refreshments, shopping, Santa,
carriage rides, caroling and fun!
- Faneuil Hall Marketplace - In early December
Faneuil Hall Marketplace dons holiday finery as part of a holiday
stroll.
- Nantucket - A month long celebration
beginning the day after Thanksgiving and is highlighted by the
world-famous Christmas stroll held on a weekend in early December.
- Newbury Street - All a sparkle for the
holidays, shops, homes and eateries offer a hardy seasonal welcome.
The Mayor's Enchanted
Trolley Tour
Taking place on an early weekend in December, the enchanted trolley
tour focuses on holiday decorations throughout the city center and
in local neighborhoods.
Newport Mansions - Special Christmas Edition
Tours - 424 Bellevue Avenue / Newport / Rhode Island /
401-847-1000 / $
The Gilded Age mansions traditional tours are superceded by the joy
and finery of the holidays. From the day after Thanksgiving to New
Years, the opulent Newport villas are decked out to celebrate the
season with abundant greenery, silver and china.
Holiday Related Tours - Halloween Associated
Events
Halloween - Haunted Happenings in Salem / Destination Salem
- 63 Wharf Street / Salem / 978-744-3663 / $
Halloween naturally casts its spell in Salem with witch trails, haunted
houses, treasure hunts and candlelight tours as well as many other
related events.
Tour de Graves - for registration entry forms / 617-635-4505
ext. 6516 / $ fee includes lunch
A fall tradition, this 25-mile bicycling event is an all day tour
of historic graveyards in the Boston area, the fee includes picnic
lunch. Some sites are only open to the public during this particular
event where local historians are on-site at specific locations to
discuss tombstone art and symbolism. A popular fund-raising project
for the Historic Burying Grounds Initiative, advanced reservations
are required. Bike rentals may be obtained by contacting Back Bay
Bicycles - 617-247-2336 / or Community Bicycle Supply - 617-542-6177.
Reserve
Early...while your preferred accommodations are still available.
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