The Battle Road Scenic Byway

BostonMA6 miles off

In our guide: 30 historic sites · 5 animal attractions · 3 lakes · 1 park

CambridgeMA4 miles off

No guide of our own yet — the name is here so you can find it.

MappariumMA5 miles offRoadside oddity

Walk inside a three-story stained-glass globe from 1935

Museum of Bad ArtMA7 miles offRoadside oddity

Gallery of art 'too bad to be ignored' inside a brewery

Trinity Church in the City of BostonMA5 miles offHistoric site

A working Episcopal church on Copley Square designed by H. H. Richardson, with stained-glass windows, colorful mosaics and painted wall murals inside; a self-guided visit with a map usually takes 15 to 30 minutes.

Hours

Trinity Church is currently open for tours Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm through December 2026 and Wednesday through Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm starting January through March 2027

Admission

The price is $10 for Adults, or $8 for Seniors, Students, Educators, Military, First Responders, and Massachusetts Residents. Children younger than 14 and EBT & WIC cardholders are free.

Season

As an active Episcopal parish, visitor services hours may vary due to weddings, funerals, worship services, and other parish events.

Run by

Trinity Church in the City of Boston (active Episcopal parish)

Boston Public Library, Central Library in Copley SquareMA5 miles offHistoric site

The main city library on Copley Square, free to walk into and look around its art and architecture; a 30-minute audio tour plays on a phone app, and weekly guided tours need advance sign-up.

Hours

Monday 9:00AM - 8:00PM Tuesday 9:00AM - 8:00PM Wednesday 9:00AM - 8:00PM Thursday 9:00AM - 8:00PM Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM Saturday 9:00AM - 5:00PM Sunday 11:00AM - 5:00PM

Admission

The Central Library is free and open to the public. All visitors are welcome to visit and explore on their own any time during the library's open hours.

Run by

Boston Public Library

Boston Tea Party Ships & MuseumMA6 miles offHistoric site

A one-hour guided tour with costumed reenactors and replica 18th-century ships, where children get to throw tea into Boston Harbor; strollers stay in a parking area by the ticket booth.

Hours

Off-Season Hours: Tours begin at 10a, last tour 4p.

Admission

From $36.00 Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum General Admission

Run by

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum (operator site; parent company not named on the pages read)

Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumMA5 miles offHistoric site

An art museum built around a plant-filled courtyard whose displays change with the seasons; children under 18 get in free, and so does anyone named Isabella, for life.

Hours

Monday: 11:00am–5:00pm Tuesday: Closed Wednesday: 11:00am–5:00pm Thursday: 11:00am–9:00pm Friday: 11:00am–5:00pm Saturday: 10:00am–5:00pm Sunday: 10:00am–5:00pm

Admission

Adult $25 Children (17 and under) Free Senior (65 and up) $22 Student (with current ID) $15

Run by

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMA6 miles offHistoric site

A large art museum with collections ranging from ancient times to today; a self-guided highlights tour is laid out for visits of about an hour, and children 6 and under are free but still need a ticket.

Hours

Sunday 10 am–5 pm Monday 10 am–5 pm Tuesday Closed Wednesday 10 am–5 pm Thursday 10 am–10 pm Friday 10 am–10 pm Saturday 10 am–5 pm Last entry 30 minutes before closing.

Admission

Adults $30 Youths 7–17 $14 Youths 0–6 Free

Season

Closed New Year’s Day, Patriots’ Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Run by

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Sports Museum (inside TD Garden)MA5 miles offHistoric site

A guided, roughly one-hour tour inside TD Garden through exhibits on Boston's Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox, Patriots and the Marathon, with a look out from the upper seats toward the championship banners.

Hours

We are a guided-tour-only facility with tours departing hourly between 10:00AM and 3:00PM during the fall season.

Admission

Adults: $30 Seniors (65+): $25 Children (Ages 2-12): $20 Military (with valid military ID): $15

Season

Tours depart on the hour from 10:00AM to 3:00PM. Click the “Visit” button to view availability and book your tour.

Run by

The Sports Museum

The West End MuseumMA5 miles offHistoric site

A small museum about a Boston neighborhood that was home to free Black citizens after the Revolution and was torn down by city leaders in 1958; children under 10 get in free.

Hours

Monday: Closed Tuesday: Closed Wednesday: 10.30am – 5pm Thursday: 10.30am – 5pm Friday: 10.30am – 6pm Saturday: 10.30am – 6pm Sunday: 1.30pm – 5pm

Admission

$12 General Public $8 Seniors, Students, & Veterans $0 Children Under 10

Run by

The West End Museum

The Rose Kennedy GreenwayMA6 miles offHistoric site

A 1.5-mile park running through downtown Boston, with a carousel of hand-carved animals based on Boston Harbor wildlife and children's drawings; riders under 42 inches go with an adult, who rides free.

Hours

The park is closed from 11 PM to 7 AM.

Admission

Single Ride______$4

Season

Open Friday – sunday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Run by

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy

Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of ScienceMA5 miles offHistoric site

The domed planetarium inside Boston's Museum of Science, showing space programs such as a trip down through Jupiter's atmosphere; a show can be bought on its own or added to museum admission.

Hours

Planetarium and Mugar Omni Theaters Sunday - Thursday open 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Friday and Saturday Nights, open until 10:00 pm (last show)

Admission

Planetarium Shows and Omni Films Only coming in for a show? Join us in the Planetarium or our newly refurbished Mugar Omni Theater. Adult $10 Child (3 - 11) $8 Seniors (60+) $9

Season

Thanksgiving Day - closed Christmas Eve - early close at 2:00 pm Christmas - closed

Run by

Museum of Science, Boston

Old State HouseMA6 miles offHistoric site

The oldest surviving public building in Boston, with a balcony where the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians in 1776; the Boston Massacre happened just outside. One ticket also covers the Old South Meeting House.

Hours

November-December 2026: Open daily 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Admission

Adult (ages 18-64): $18 Senior (age 65+): $16 Youth (ages 6-17): $10 Children (ages 5 and under): FREE

Season

Holiday Closures (both sites): New Years Day - January 1, 2026 Thanksgiving - November 26, 2026 Christmas Eve - December 24, 2026 Christmas Day - December 25, 2026

Run by

Revolutionary Spaces (operator); owned by the City of Boston

Old South Meeting HouseMA4 miles offHistoric site

The colonial meeting house where the gathering that set off the Boston Tea Party took place in 1773; an immersive exhibit called Ruckus! runs every hour, and the tower clock is the oldest American-made one still working where it was installed.

Hours

November-December 2026: Open daily 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Admission

Adult (ages 18-64): $18 Senior (age 65+): $16 Youth (ages 6-17): $10 Children (ages 5 and under): FREE

Season

Holiday Closures (both sites): New Years Day - January 1, 2026 Thanksgiving - November 26, 2026 Christmas Eve - December 24, 2026 Christmas Day - December 25, 2026

Run by

Revolutionary Spaces

Public GardenMA9 miles offHistoric site

A Victorian flower garden next to Boston Common, the first public botanical garden in America, with a lagoon, fountains, statues and the Swan Boats that the Paget family has run for over 100 years.

Run by

City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department (with the Friends of the Public Garden and Common)

Charles River EsplanadeMA5 miles offHistoric site

A three-mile riverside park on the Boston bank of the Charles, entered by footbridges over Storrow Drive, with playgrounds that include one near the Hatch Shell with climbing structures and a zip line.

Hours

Hours Sunrise to sunset

Run by

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (oversees it), with the nonprofit Esplanade Association as partner

Harvard University Visitor Center and official campus toursMA3 miles offHistoric site

Harvard's visitor center in Cambridge runs free, student-led walking tours of Harvard Yard lasting 45 to 60 minutes for groups of up to 10, booked ahead; a free phone app offers a self-guided version.

Hours

The Harvard University Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission

All tours are provided to the public for free. Our tours typically run 45-60 minutes.

Run by

Harvard University Visitor Center

Christian Science Plaza (The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist)MA5 miles offHistoric site

The open plaza around The Mother Church of Christian Science in Boston, where the Mapparium globe experience is housed; free tours of the church take about 40 minutes, and bells ring out over the plaza at set times.

Admission

Come walk through and learn about The Mother Church. Tours are free and open to all.

Season

Summer chiming concerts: 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays during July and August

Run by

The First Church of Christ, Scientist

Prudential CenterMA5 miles offHistoric site

An indoor shopping and dining center in Back Bay; next to its center court is the entrance to View Boston, a separately ticketed observation deck at the top of the Prudential Tower with indoor and outdoor decks and interactive exhibits.

Hours

Center Hours Monday – Saturday: 11am – 9pm Sunday: 11am – 8pm

Admission

General Admission From $32

Run by

Prudential Center (owner/manager not named in the page text read)

South StationMA6 miles offHistoric site

Boston's downtown station where the Red Line, Silver Line, Commuter Rail and a bus terminal connect; through late November 2026 its restrooms are being rebuilt, with temporary ones outside on Atlantic Avenue.

Run by

MBTA (station page; ownership/management of the head house not stated on the page read)

Franklin Park ZooMA8 miles offAnimals

Zoo New England; evening lights event through Nov 8, 2026

Hours

9am-4pm (fall)

Child

varies by date

Season

year-round (some exhibits seasonal)

Museum of ScienceMA5 miles offAnimals

Science museum; AZA-accredited for its live animal collection

Hours

9am-5pm daily (exhibit halls)

Season

year-round

New England AquariumMA6 miles offAnimals

Harbor seals temporarily off exhibit

Hours

9am-5pm weekdays; 9am-6pm weekends

Season

year-round

Minuteman BikewayMAon the roadSki or bike

Follows Revolutionary War route through Lexington

Kind

Scenic Bike Trails

Surface

Paved

Stone ZooMA4 miles offAnimals

Zoo New England; AZA lists as Walter D. Stone Memorial Zoo

Hours

9am-5pm (as shown fall 2026)

Child

varies by date

Lake CochituateMA10 miles offLake

Swimming

yes - swimming at state park

Boating

Motorized allowed with limits: Middle Lake 22 mph, North Lake 5 mph weekends, South Lake 42 mph while skiing/tubing; no jet skis; no boating after dark; 150 ft from swim areas

Fishing

yes (species not verified)

Cost

Parking $8 MA / $30 non-MA (May 23-Oct 12)

Walden PondMA1 mile offLake

natural (kettle pond)

Swimming

yes - main beach on southeast shore; designated hours/entry points; swimmers must use a safety apparatus

Boating

Non-motorized only (no gasoline engines); ramp Apr 1-Dec 1

Fishing

yes (species not verified)

Camping

NO - day use only

Season

Open year-round for day use

Cost

Parking $8 MA plates / $30 out-of-state, year-round; cash not accepted; lot closes at capacity

PonyhengeMA4 miles offRoadside oddity

Field of rocking horses mysteriously rearranged

LexingtonMAon the road

Also here: Concord

No guide of our own yet — the name is here so you can find it.

Nashoba ValleyMA7 miles offSki or bike

Learn-to-ski hill near Boston

Kind

Ski Areas