You're welcome, everyone! I hope this thread is useful for someone.

N.B. All the sites visited on the Freedom Trail tour by the NPS are only exterior stops. Normally the tour goes inside Faneuil Hall (2nd floor), but it was closed for an event on the day of our tour. Other sites such as Old State House and Paul Revere House can be toured - admission fees apply.

We should remember this threaad for anytime someone asks about visiting Boston! Here is it in one place. Thanks yk.

Wow, thanks for the great information!

If you are visiting Boston between NOW and October 31, 2009, check out the many discounts offered in the Family-Friendly ValuePASS.
http://www.bostonusa.com/images/stor...ndly_sum09.pdf

Discounts available for trolley tours and Duck tours, attraction admissions, shopping etc.

Here is the CharlieCard 2009 Discount Book PDF. Show your Charlie Card (NOT Charlie Ticket) and save. Lots of discounts and 2-for-1 admissions to plenty of attractions and shops.
http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/do...unt%20Book.pdf

Don't forget that if you are local, your public library probably has free or reduced-price passes for a number of attractions in the greater Boston area. For example, a couple of weeks ago friends of mine came to town and I checked out a pass for Boston by Foot tours. The three of us (the pass was actually good for four people) took two tours (Freedom Trail and North End - I thought the North End was the better of the two) for FREE. Without the pass we would have spent $72. Not bad!

At some libraries the passes are only for Friends of the Library members, but even so, joining can be a money-saver. A couple of years ago I joined the "Friends" of the library in a nearby town just to get access to their pass (for 2 people) to the Norman Rockwell Museum (out in Stockbridge, in western Mass). The FotL membership was less than the cost of two tickets to the Rockwell museum, plus I had access to their other passes for the rest of the year.

The Boston Landmarks Orchestra has free Wednesday night concerts in summer at the Hatch Shell. This year's concerts are July 15 - September 9, at 7 PM. Check out their schedule at http://www.landmarksorchestra.org/concerts.php for details.

BostonCentral.com has an events calendar with many free or low-cost activities listed. The site looks like it is designed mainly for families, but many of the activities listed would interest a cross-section of people.

http://www.bostoncentral.com/events.php

Thank you! Thank you! This is a huge help for planning my August trip!

yk mentioned in a January 26 post that there are rush tickets for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. If you follow the link and scroll down the BSO page a little, you will also see mention of "Open Rehearsals". I went to one and really enjoyed it.

The advantage over rush is you can get the tickets ahead of time. Cost is a little more than rush tickets, but not much ($15 versus $9 in my case). Also, it is more casual than a concert (even the orchestra wore jeans and sweats) - some might like that, others not.

If you are a musician, you might find the rehearsal especially fascinating (I did). At the one I attended, they played through each piece a movement at a time, not stopping in the middle of a movement but going back and working on things before proceeding to the next one.

yk!!!! What a wonderful thread and info from you!!! THANKS!

MassValuePass - with tons of savings on lodgings and attractions for the entire state of MA. Valid until June 30, 2009. Sign up with your email and you can print out the Pass.
http://www.massvacation.com/massvaluepass_landing.php

Listings here:
http://www.massvacation.com/valuepass/greaterboston.php

Fodors' editors, thanks for the shout-out on the Travel Tip of the Day column: http://www.fodors.com/news/story_3431.html

Great Views of Boston for little money

Before yesterday, the only place I knew of where the public can get a great view of Boston is from the Prudential Skywalk Observatory. From there, you can get a nice view of Charles River, Cambridge, and Beacon Hill; for $12.
http://www.prudentialcenter.com/shop...tail.php?id=64

Well, not anymore! My brother rkkwan and I found a much cheaper alternative, which has just as fantastic (and different) views! We were in downtown yesterday and found ourselves near the Custom House. I recall reading somewhere that the Custom House has an observatory deck but I didn't know if it's open to the public.

The Custom House, built in the mid-1800s, was once the tallest building in Boston for many decades. It stayed vacant in the 1990s for almost 15 years, when Marriott Group finally bought it and redeveloped it into a timeshare property with 87 rooms.

We entered the lobby and asked the front desk about the observatory deck. He informed us that it's usually open at 2pm, but since they aren't busy today, we could go up now (9:30am) if we would like, for a modest fee of $3. Oh, the fee is donated to Children's Hospital - Marriott doesn't make money out of this.

We paid our fee and were let in an elevator (card key required to operate) and told to go to the 19th floor. On 19th F, we had to change for another elevator up to the 26th floor - the obs deck.

The obs deck has an interior section, with a door leading to the outdoor wrap-around balcony with views 360 degrees! Marriott even made a deck of color photos with building IDs so you can check what you're looking at.

What I really like about the Custom House, is that the views are totally different from the views you get at the Pru. Here, you can easily spot historic sites, from the dome of Old State House, to Faneuil Hall, to North End, to Old NOrth Church, to USS Constitution, to Bunker Hill. It also has a lovely view of Boston Harbor. And since it is outdoors, you don't have to worry about glass reflection when taking photos (the Pru is all closed-in).

Custom House is also home to several nests of the peregrine falcon.

Here are a few shots I took yesterday.
Looking East towards the Harbor, with Aquarium and Marriott Long Wharf in foreground:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...N/IMG_4008.jpg

Looking NE with Old North Church (white steeple) on the right, Bunker Hill Monument on the upper left, Charlestown Navy Yard in the middle:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...N/IMG_4011.jpg

Looking North with Faneuil Hall in lower left; North End in mid-right; and Zakim bridge towards the top:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...N/IMG_4010.jpg

Looking SE with Rose Kennedy Greenway in the foreground:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...N/IMG_4005.jpg

While I am not a loyal customer of Marriott, I really applaud what they have done to the Custom House and opening it up to the public as well. Here's the Marriott Custom House website:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-custom-house/

National Historical Parks/Sites in Greater Boston

These attractions are operated by the National Park Service. Some are free of charge, while others do have an admission fee. However, the fees are quite cheap compared to other commerical attractions.

Boston National Historical Park
Located next to the Old State House. Offers free ranger-led guided tours parts of the year. I had posted a description of the tour earlier in this thread.
http://www.nps.gov/bost/index.htm

Adams National Historical Park
This is in Quincy MA. It can only be toured by a trolley operated by the NPS. Great tour of the old Adams's houses. $5pp
http://www.nps.gov/adam/

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
It comprises of plenty of islands in the Harbor. The famous ones include Geroges Island, Spectacle Island, and Little Brewster (lighthouse). Ferry cost is $14 and they are only open part of the year.
http://www.nps.gov/boha/

Longfellow National Historic Site
Located in Cambridge's Tory Row, just a few minutes' walk from Harvard Sq. One of my favorite places to visit in Boston. It also is open part year. $3pp
http://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm

JFK National Historic Site
In Brookline, JFK's Birthplace. $3pp
http://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm


Further outside of the city:

Minute Man National Historical Park
Located in Concord and Lexington, where the American Revolution began in 1775.
http://www.nps.gov/mima/

Lowell National Historical Park http://www.nps.gov/lowe
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park http://www.nps.gov/nebe
Salem Maritime National Historic Site http://www.nps.gov/sama
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site http://www.nps.gov/sair
Essex National Heritage Area http://www.nps.gov/esse

bookmarking -- this is invaluable.

For the locals here:
Free Fun Fridays Free Admission to some of Massachusetts’ most treasured resources in July and August; presented by Highland Street Foundation.

http://www.highlandstreet.org/free_fun_fridays

FRI, JULY 3rd
Museum of Science-Boston

FRI, JULY 10th
JFK Presidential Library & Museum

FRI, JULY 17
Boston harbor Island Alliance Peabody Essex Museum
Free ferry transportation to harbor islands

FRI, JULY 24th
Franklin Park Zoo

FRI, JULY 31st
Boston Children’s Museum

FRI, AUG 7th
Plimoth Plantation

FRI, AUG 14th
Stone Zoo

FRI, AUG 21st
Peabody Essex Museum

FRI, AUG 28th
Museum of Fine Arts

FRI, SEPT 4th
Springfield Museums

Museum of FIne Arts has free general admission this Sunday, June 21.

http://www.mfa.org/calendar/event.as...date=6/21/2009

The Christian Scientist center,
The glass flowers at harvard,
The mt auburn cemetery
not free but worth a visit,
the butterfly place in Westford,
Garden in the woods in framingham,
Pickety place in Mason, NH.

A couple more free tours:

AM's Free Walking Tour of Boston
Wed-Sun at 11am
http://www.amsbostontours.com/

Tour of the Park Street Church
Friday, June 19 2009 through Saturday, August 29 2009
Tuesday through Friday: 9:00 AM to 4 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
http://www.parkstreet.org/tours