Boston Things to Do Tips by Jefie

Boston's Freedom Trail is the best and easiest way to see much of what Boston has to offer. This 2.5 mile (4 km) walking trail starts at Boston Common and takes you to the 16 most important historic sights of downtown Boston. You don't need a tour guide and you don't need to do any research as you only have to follow the red line painted on the sidewalks. Created in 1958, it's probably the most tourist-friendly feature I've ever encoutered!

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Phone: 617-357-8300
Directions: Starts in Boston Common, ends at Bunker Hill in Charlestown
Website: www.thefreedomtrail.org
Other Contact: info@thefreedomtrail.org

As this was our first time in Boston, we thought going on a trolley tour would help us discover what there is to see and do in the city and get our bearings at the same time. Our first trolley driver was both hilarious and very informative and totally made it worth our while (and money, tickets are pretty expensive). However, as you can hop on and off, we ended up with a different driver/guide and quite frankly, I couldn't wait to get off. So I guess these tours can be really great or really awful, depending on who picks you up - best of luck!

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Phone: 617-269-7150
Directions: You can buy your tickets in the Quincy Market area
Website: http://www.historictours.com/boston/

For most of the 19th century, Beacon Hill was Boston's most wealthy and popular neighborhood. A lot of attention was paid to architectural details throughout the construction of the streets and houses of Beacon Hill, with an effort to make it as eye-pleasing as possible. As a result, Mt. Vernon Street has once been described by novelist Henry James as "the only respectable street in America", and to this day, Acorn Street is still one of the most photographed streets in Boston. It is possible to go on a guided walking tour of the Beacon Hill area (http://www.historictours.com/boston/), and don't miss Louisburg Square: this elegant street was once home to writer Louisa May Alcott (Little Women) and is now home to Senator John Kerry.

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Phone: 617-523-9490
Website: www.beaconhillonline.com
Other Contact: webmaster@beaconhillonline.com

The 370-year-old Boston Common has served as common pasture, military drill ground and camp site, and gallows and burying site throughout its long history, so it should therefore come as no surprise that it still occupies an important place in Boston culture nowadays. The adjacent Public Garden is more recent, dating back to 1869, and takes after English-style gardens. Different monuments, sculptures and other architectural and historical attractions grace this lovely wooded area of downtown Boston, including the Public Garden's famous swan boats and "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture, and Boston Common's Central Burying Ground and frog pond, which earned Boston the rather unflattering nickname of "frogpondium", thanks to Edgar Allan Poe.

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Directions: Bound by Tremont, Beacon, Charles and Boylston Streets.
Website: http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/bostoncom

A city so full of history usually is full of ghost stories and with its downtown burial grounds and sometimes shady past, Boston is a great city for haunted walks. Several different companies offer ghost tours: the one we went on, The Boston spirits walking tour ($15.00, approx. 90 min), started at the old City Hall and finished in a rather dark area of Boston Commons - spooky!! One of the highlights of the tour was when our guide unlocked the gates to the King's Chapel burying ground and led us in to hear one of her frightful accounts of early life in Boston. What a fun way to learn more about a city's history!

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Phone: 781-235-7149
Website: www.newenglandghosttours.com

Dating back to 1660, the Granary Burying Ground is a very popular stop on the Freedom Trail. Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin's parents, Peter Faneuil and the victimes of the Boston Massacre are all buried there. Among the cemetery's weird stories is the grave robbing that took place in 1793, when John Hancock was buried - that very same night, grave robbers cut off the hand with which he had signed the Declaration of Independence!

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Phone: 617-635-7389
Directions: Tremont Street

Adjacent to King's Chapel, this burying ground is the oldest in the city and as such is an important part of Boston's history. A little map at the entrance of the cemetery will help you locate some of its most famous "residents", such as Elizabeth Pain, the woman who is thought to be the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne in his novel The Scarlet Letter. Also of interest are the Puritan headstones depicting death in a rather gruesome way...

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Phone: 617-523-1749
Directions: Corner of School and Tremont Streets
Website: www.kings-chapel.org

The Skywalk Observatory sort of took over after it was decided that tourists would no longer be allowed to visit John Hancock Tower. I'm not a big observatory fan so I wasn't too sure about going up Prudential Tower to the Skywalk Observatory but I'm really glad I did! Not only is the view breathtaking but the audio guide that describes different historic or cultural Boston scenes as you move from one window to the next is very interesting and informative. There even is a kiddy version of the guide if you happen to be traveling with your little ones!

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Phone: 617-859-0648
Address: 800 Boylston Street
Directions: Prudential Center, in the Back Bay area
Website: http://www.prudentialcenter.com/play/skywalk.html
Other Contact: jbriceno@selectrestaurants.com

For someone with an M.A. in English literature, visiting the Boston Public Library was almost like walking into a sacred temple! But even if you don't care about books as much as I do, you'll still enjoy visiting the BPL, if only for its amazing architecture. Founded in 1848, this library was America's first public library. Some of the greatest American artists contributed through their paintings or sculptures to making the library one of the finest buildings in Boston. Admission is free so you should really take a few minutes to roam around the library and snap a few pictures!

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Phone: 617-536-5400
Address: 700 Boylston Street
Directions: Copley Square area
Website: www.bpl.org

Following the events of 9/11, the 60th floor observatory of John Hancock Tower has been closed. However, it's still worth a trip to Copley Square to admire this massive glass tower built in 1972. With its 60 floors and 10,344 mirror windows reflecting its surroundings, the modernity of Hancock Tower somehow succeeds in fitting in with the 19th century buildings of Copley Square. Truly an architectural masterpiece (well, except for some of its windows that fell off but they've solved that problem!).

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Address: 200 Clarendon Street
Directions: Copley Square