Boston Things to Do Tips by cruisingbug

The Freedom Trail should be the #1 Thing to Do on every American visitor's list - here is where you will walk in the footsteps of America's founders. The 2.5 mile trail makes sixteen stops along a red brick or painted line, so you can't lose your way. If you start at Boston Common, you can visit the information building there near Tremont and buy a map for $2 (I'd printed out a map and all the info online but hubby didn't realize I had all the descriptions before buying the map). If you start at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, go to the 2nd floor of Faneuil and ask for a Park Service map (free).

Besides Boston Common, the other sites are:
the State House, Park St. Church, Granary Burying Ground, King's Chapel, First Public School, Old Corner Bookstore, Old South Meeting House, Old State House Museum, site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, Copp's Hill Burying Ground, USS Constitution, and Bunker Hill. Some sites charge admission but most are free. Altogether an easy walk which can take a couple hours or all day depending on your level of interest.

Up until Paul Revere's house, the sites are located close together so be sure not to accidentally pass by one (we missed the Bookstore at first - you walk right next to it and can see it better from the Meeting House).

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Website: www.freedomtrail.org

There are three cemeteries on the Freedom Trail: Granary Burying Ground, King's Chapel and Copp's Hill Burying Ground. The first is site #4, right in the heart of downtown. Here you will find the graves of John Hancock, Paul Revere and Sam Adams (the man, not the beer...), as well as victims of the Boston Massacre and Peter Faneuil. A site map is to your right as you enter which helps you to find the graves.

The cemetery behind King's Chapel (site #5) contains the graves of John Winthrop, Massachusetts' first governor, William Dawes, co-rider with Paul Revere on that fateful night, and Mary Chilton, first woman to step off the Mayflower in Plymouth.

Copp's Hill (#14) is more out of the way, and is a walk uphill from the Old North Church. Robert Newman, the man who hung the two lanterns in the church's steeple to warn of the British troops' movements by sea, is buried here.

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Faneuil Hall (site #11 on the Freedom Trail) is one of those Boston places where today's everyday life goes on in the midst of an historic site. Rather than preserving the entire hall, the first floor is still being used for its original purpose, as a shopping center. Take the stairs or elevator up, though, and you'll step back in time as you enter the Great Hall, where the political fires of the American Revolution were lit. A National Park guide is there to explain the history of the hall (15 minute talks on the half hour). If you're starting your walk on the Freedom Trail here, ask for a Park Service map - it's free (unlike the trail map at Boston Common) and has good info.

The Great Hall is still used by Bostonians for debates and meetings.

For even more of a history lesson, go up to the fourth floor to see the Armory museum. On the table as you enter are guides to what you're seeing, explaining the paintings on the walls and the various weaponry.

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Address: Congress St.
Directions: ramped entrance is on your left as you walk along the red trail line, main entrance is around the corner facing the Marketplace.

Stop #12 of 16 on the Freedom Trail is Paul Revere's House in North End. It's about a 10-15 minute walk from the last stop, Faneuil Hall. Entrance fee is $3 for adults.

The house was not built by Revere, but by a wealthy merchant almost 100 years before Revere and his family occupied it. The house itself is rather small - you enter through a courtyard and then the back door into the kitchen area, then a sitting room/parlor, then upstairs to a combination bedroom/parlor and finally a back bedroom before exiting and going down a set of wooden stairs outside. Paul Revere had two wives (the first died shortly after giving birth to their eighth child), and 16 children. How he found time for his famous midnight ride is a mystery!

Not all the contents were Revere's - the exterior of the house itself was restored back to its original (ca. 1680) appearance, but artifacts reflect the time period in which the Reveres lived. A few exceptions are noted in each room (a sampler on the wall of the bedroom, a small rocker, etc) which did belong to the Revere family.

Upstairs is an excellent display on the back wall of the parlor/bedroom of Revere's patriotic biography as well as samples of his silver work. Outside in the courtyard is a bell cast by Revere (as well as the text of the 12 month warranty that went with the bell).

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Address: 19 North Square
Directions: North End
Website: www.paulreverehouse.org

Away from the hustle and bustle of downtown sits the Old North Church, stop #13 on the Freedom Trail. Actually, we thought we were heading right for the church and hubby walked across the street to get a picture but it turned out that was a different church that you first walk toward and use the crosswalk in front of in order to head toward Old North. There is a statue of Paul Revere riding away from Old North - just keep following the red line.

It is here that Robert Newman hung the two lanterns to warn of the British approach by sea. Inside are family pews - you can wander around and read the names on each - and a staff person is available to answer any questions. We spent a bit of time here as our baby daughter was hungry and the pews were nice and private.

As most of the other buildings along the Freedom Trail, the Old North Church is still an active part of life, as an Episcopal church.

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Address: 193 Salem St.
Directions: North End
Website: www.oldnorth.com

We went to the Boston Public Garden to see the swan boats, but were disappointed as the lake there is drained in the winter and the boats are in storage, I guess.

However, we did find the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture in the northeastern corner of the park. The sculpture was created in honor of the children's book, which is apparently set in the Boston Public Garden (we'll have to get a copy now!). Our baby enjoyed "riding" the ducklings and especially watching all the other children playing - this seemed to be the area where locals bring their kids for play dates and Mommy time. Even with a busy road behind us, it was a peaceful place to relax (and feed the baby) and people-watch.

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Phone: 617-635-4505
Directions: On Boylston between Arlington and Charles Street
Website: http://www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org/