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55 Best Things to Do in Boston + Travel Tips!
After 4+ years of full-time travel, she enjoyed chapters calling Lisbon, New York City, and Texas home before deciding to base boston sober living herself in North Carolina (between trips). Most Wednesday nights (weather permitting), the Coit Observatory at Boston University opens to the public to let people learn about astronomy and observe the night sky using telescopes and binoculars available on location. The memorial is across the street from the famous Bell in Hand Tavern, and if you’re hitting major tourism hot spots along the Freedom Trail, you’ll undoubtedly be very close by.
- Though I love walking tours, I also suggest bus tours, like the Boston Hop-on Hop-off Trolley.
- Spend the second half of the day touring Fenway Park or watching a baseball game here.
- I would recommend taking a break halfway through the walk, just to recharge your batteries.
- These four universities participate in the Beanpot, an annual men’s and women’s ice hockey tournament.
- In a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 57% of the population of the city identified themselves as Christians, with 25% attending a variety of Protestant churches and 29% professing Roman Catholic beliefs.
Asian Culture & Experiences
College and university radio stations include WERS (Emerson), WHRB (Harvard), WUMB (UMass Boston), WMBR (MIT), WZBC (Boston College), WMFO (Tufts University), WBRS (Brandeis University), WRBB (Northeastern University) and WMLN-FM (Curry College). WBZ is a 50,000 watt “clear channel” station whose nighttime broadcasts are heard hundreds of miles from Boston. Several major AM stations include talk radio WRKO, sports/talk station WEEI, and news radio WBZ (AM). LGBT publications serve Boston’s large LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) population such as The Rainbow Times, the only minority and lesbian-owned LGBT news magazine.
One of the best-known sporting events in the city is the Boston Marathon, the 26.2 mi (42.2 km) race which is the world’s oldest annual marathon, run on Patriots’ Day in April. Harvard participates in the second-highest level, the Football Championship Subdivision. Of the four, only Boston College participates in college football at the highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision. During the inaugural 2024 PWHL playoffs, the Fleet (then simply known as PWHL Boston) made it to the Walter Cup finals, where they lost to the Minnesota Frost (PWHL Minnesota at the time). Boston’s first professional baseball team was the Red Stockings, one of the charter members of the National Association in 1871, and of the National League in 1876.
Take a day trip to Salem.
- From June 13 to July 9, 2026, Boston will host SEVEN MATCHES for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ — the biggest tournament in soccer history.
- Also, it’s located within walking distance of top attractions, such as Boston Common and Boston Public Garden.
- Boston’s status as a state capital as well as the regional home of federal agencies has rendered law and government to be another major component of the city’s economy.
Washington then immediately departed Philadelphia for Boston, where he arrived on July 2, 1775, and led the newly-formed Continental Army in the siege. On June 17, the British captured Charlestown in present-day Boston during the Battle of Bunker Hill during which the British Army outnumbered Patriot militia. The British monarchy responded furiously, implementing the Intolerable Acts and demanding compensation for the tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party. This led to the Boston Tea Party, a defining event of the American Revolution in which angered Bostonians threw an entire shipment of tea sent from the East India Company into Boston Harbor, escalating the American Revolution.
Patriots’ Jahlani Tavai thanked teammates for support in postgame locker room moment
National Park Itineraries Need help planning the perfect national park itinerary? This national park is packed with scenic drives, short but thrilling … We put together this 5 day New York City itinerary to help … Embark on an exciting New England road trip, exploring Cape Cod’s beaches, Maine’s coastal beauty, and the vast White Mountains of New Hampshire. Here is how we spent two days on Cape Cod with tips to help you have the best experience. There are an overwhelming number of activities, towns, and beaches to visit on Cape Cod.
It’s also an unmissable experience if you’re visiting Boston with kids! The New England Aquarium is now arguably our favorite aquarium in the world, and visiting it is one of our favorite things to do in Boston. For obvious reasons, make sure you bring your ID with you to this tour. Add the Samuel Adam’s brewery tour to your list of fun things to do in Boston!
Stroll along the Harborwalk.
This score is available on a public online dashboard and allows city managers in police, fire, schools, emergency management services, and to take action and make adjustments in areas of concern. Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College are the city’s two public community colleges. Boston’s only public university is the University of Massachusetts Boston on Columbia Point in Dorchester. Tufts University’s main campus is north of the city in Somerville and Medford, though its medical and dental schools are located in Boston’s Chinatown at Tufts Medical Center. Harvard is the nation’s oldest institute of higher education and is centered across the Charles River in Cambridge, though the majority of its land holdings and a substantial amount of its educational activities are in Boston.
The Boston Public Library (including its awe-inspiring reading room, intricate architecture, and delightful courtyard) is indisputably gorgeous and worth a visit. Located less than an hour away by train, Salem is an incredibly simple day trip and well worth adding to your list of things to do in Boston! Though, since the Harborwalk is a whopping 47 miles long, you certainly don’t need to visit more than a small section of it to appreciate its beauty. Enjoy both views of the city and views of the harbor itself while walking along the coastline. No visit to Boston could be complete without seeing a piece of its gorgeous Harborwalk.
Book Your Trip
In the heart of downtown Boston lies the oldest continuously operating hotel in the United States, which is dripping with opulence and worth stepping inside just to see it. Make reservations for Tuesday-Sunday for an unusual library experience. If your trip to Boston coincides with Haymarket, be sure to add this to your list of what to see in Boston! On Fridays and Saturdays, the outdoor Haymarket opens for business next to the Boston Public Market. Whatever island and activity you choose to add to your list of things to do in Boston, the Boston Harbor Islands are sure to make a great, quick escape from the bustle of the city. Enjoy a trail, hang out on a beach, or climb to the top of the lighthouse.
Day Trip to Martha’s Vineyard
Be sure to stop into one of the Italian grocery stores, grab some sweets (we can attest to how tasty Modern Pastry is), and visit Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church while here! We loved visiting, and enjoyed the fact that in spite of its fame, its location a bit further from most other Freedom Trail stops gives it more of an off the beaten path feeling (at least for tourists) while exploring Boston. Truthfully, we weren’t sure whether or not this visit would be worth the time, but it far exceeded expectations.
This was accomplished using earth from the leveling or lowering of Boston’s three original hills, the “Trimountain”, after which Tremont Street is named, and with gravel brought by train from Needham to fill the Back Bay. More than two-thirds of inner Boston’s modern land area did not exist when the city was founded. The Neponset River forms the boundary between Boston’s southern neighborhoods and Quincy and Milton. The city is adjacent to Boston Harbor, an arm of Massachusetts Bay, and by extension, the Atlantic Ocean.
Groundwater levels have been dropping in many areas of the city, due in part to an increase in the amount of rainwater discharged directly into sewers rather than absorbed by the ground. As a coastal city built largely on fill, sea-level rise is of major concern to the city government. Boston is sometimes called a “city of neighborhoods” because of the profusion of diverse subsections.
Michelle Wu became mayor in November 2021, succeeding Kim Janey who became the Acting Mayor in March 2021 following Marty Walsh’s confirmation to the position of Secretary of Labor in the Biden/Harris Administration. Many trade schools also exist in the city such as the Boston Career Institute, the North Bennet Street School, and Greater Boston Joint Apprentice Training Center. Altogether, Boston’s colleges and universities employ more than 42,600 people, accounting for nearly seven percent of the city’s workforce. Its business school and athletics facilities are in Boston’s Allston neighborhood, and its medical, dental, and public health schools are located in the Longwood area. Approximately 3,300 minority students attend participating suburban schools through the Metropolitan Educational Opportunity Council.
The massacre forced the British to withdraw their troops and helped fuel revolutionary sentiment in the colonies. In 1635, America’s first public school, Boston Latin School, was founded in Boston. Puritan ethics and their focus on education also influenced the city’s early history.
great concerts coming to Eastern Mass. suburbs in winter 2025-26
Boston also operates the United States’ second-oldest public high school and its oldest public elementary school. The Boston Latin School was established in 1635 and is the oldest public high school in the US. Boston Public Schools enroll 57,000 students attending 145 schools, including Boston Latin Academy, John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science, and the Boston Latin School.
Chelsea’s House Offers
Stroll through the Back Bay neighborhoods on Newbury and Marlborough Streets, visit Beacon Hill, and have a drink at the Cheers bar. Along the way, you could make quick detours to the Holocaust Memorial or restaurants in the North End. I really liked it here and I will be back the next time I get to Boston. Our favorite exhibits were the penguins and we were here right during feeding time.