Boston

Boston was founded in 1630 by English Puritan settlers on the Shawmut Peninsula and is now the third-most populous city in the Northeastern United States, after New York and Philadelphia. Its harbor, recognized historically as one of the finest natural harbors in the world for its depth and the natural shelter its many islands provide, shaped the city's growth as a commercial and shipping center from the start.

The Freedom Trail runs 2.5 miles from Boston Common to the Old North Church in the North End and the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, passing sixteen sites tied to the Revolutionary War, including a historic naval frigate. Most stops are free or ask for a donation; the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, the Paul Revere House and Old North Church charge admission, according to the National Park Service. Old North Church, built in 1723 and the oldest standing church in the city, is where two lanterns were hung in the steeple on April 18, 1775, signaling British troop movements the night of Paul Revere's ride.

The North End, settled in the 1630s, is Boston's oldest residential neighborhood and today is known for its Italian American community and restaurants, packed into just over a third of a square mile. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought nearby on June 17, 1775, and the 221-foot granite obelisk marking the site was built between 1825 and 1843.

The Freedom Trail is a marked, 2.5-mile route through downtown Boston connecting sixteen sites from the Revolutionary era, from Boston Common to the Old North Church and the Bunker Hill Monument. Stops include graveyards, historic churches and government buildings, and the USS Constitution, a commissioned naval frigate still afloat in the harbor.

The North End's restaurant density reflects generations of Italian American settlement in the neighborhood; the area has close to a hundred food and drink establishments inside a third of a square mile.

Faneuil Hall's marketplace area, near the start of the Freedom Trail, holds a mix of food stalls and restaurants within walking distance of the National Park Service visitor center.

38 breweries within 10 miles of Boston, 18 of them brewpubs with a kitchen.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

The New England Patriots (NFL) and New England Revolution (MLS) both play at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, about 22 miles southwest of downtown Boston, so neither counts as a Boston home team on this page.

20 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Boston in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• ProvidenceRhode Islandabout 40 mi
• BristolRhode Islandabout 50 mi
• ManchesterNew Hampshireabout 50 mi
• PortsmouthNew Hampshireabout 50 mi
• Provincetown (Cape Cod)Massachusettsabout 50 mi
• NewportRhode Islandabout 60 mi
• ConcordNew Hampshireabout 65 mi
• Basketball Hall of FameMassachusettsabout 80 mi
• SpringfieldMassachusettsabout 80 mi
• MysticConnecticutabout 85 mi
• HartfordConnecticutabout 95 mi
• PortlandMaineabout 100 mi
• FreeportMaineabout 110 mi
• New HavenConnecticutabout 120 mi
• North Conway (White Mountains)New Hampshireabout 120 mi
• Albany/CooperstownNew Yorkabout 140 mi
• AugustaMaineabout 150 mi
• MontpelierVermontabout 150 mi
• WaterburyVermontabout 160 mi
• StoweVermontabout 170 mi

• MappariumOdd building / architectureBostonabout 2 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Costs something — we did not find the price published

  When you can see it

  Only while it is open, and we did not find its hours published

  Nearest road

  I-90 (Mass Pike)

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

  Read on the page we checked

• Museum of Bad ArtQuirky museumBoston (Dorchester)about 3 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Free

  When you can see it

  Only while it is open, and we did not find its hours published

  Nearest road

  I-93

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

  • Fine for most children, but look it over before you let them loose

  Read on the page we checked

• PonyhengeFolk art / sculpture gardenLincolnabout 14 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Free

  When you can see it

  Any time — outdoors, visible from the road

  Nearest road

  MA-117 / MA-2

  Field of rocking horses mysteriously rearranged

  Read on the page we checked

These are things you can go and look at, not a recommendation of any of them. Oddities move, get sold and quietly disappear more than anything else we list, so check anything you are driving a long way for. Where this list says we did not find a price or opening times published, that is exactly what we mean. A blank is not “free” and not “always open”. Some sit on private land and can only be seen from the road — please do not go onto anyone’s property. Every entry links the page we read it off.

The National Park Service puts the full Freedom Trail walk at about an hour and a half without stopping at individual sites; the Freedom Trail Foundation suggests budgeting at least 20 to 45 minutes for each historic site visit, and its one-day outline combines as many sites as possible with guided walking tours and meals at historic restaurants in downtown Boston, the North End and Charlestown.

The trail is marked by a red brick or painted line through downtown Boston, the North End and Charlestown, according to the National Park Service; the Freedom Trail Foundation describes it as a physical red line embedded into city sidewalks to help trail goers find each historic site. The park service adds that visitors frequently use guide books, park brochures or its free mobile app.

Boston's public transit system (the MBTA) has stops along the Freedom Trail: the Freedom Trail Foundation lists Park Street and Downtown Crossing for the Boston Common area, State Street and Government Center for the sites from King's Chapel to Faneuil Hall, and Haymarket for the Paul Revere House, Old North Church and Copp's Hill Burying Ground. The National Park Service says the Charlestown Navy Yard is reached by the Long Wharf/Charlestown ferry and the Bunker Hill Monument is roughly a 12-minute walk from the Orange Line's Community College stop, and its directions to the Longfellow House in Cambridge say to take the Red Line toward Alewife and exit at Harvard Square.

Downtown parking is split between metered street spaces and garages; the National Park Service says street parking is not recommended for visiting Faneuil Hall, that several privately owned garages are in the area, and that public transportation is recommended for downtown Boston. The City of Boston says most meters are active Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and it lists different per-hour meter rates by area.

The Freedom Trail

Address

Begins at Boston Common, Boston, MA 02108

Hours

Outdoor trail, open anytime; individual site hours vary

Price

Free to walk; some sites along the route charge admission

Link

thefreedomtrail.org

We checked operating status, opening hours and fees on 2026-10-13. These change without notice — confirm with thefreedomtrail.org, nps.gov and boston.gov the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Boston, not drive time.

• Boston Logan International (BOS) — 3 miles
• Norwood Memorial (OWD) — 13 miles
• Laurence G Hanscom Field (BED) — 14 miles