169 Best Sights in Boston, Massachusetts

The MFA's collection of approximately 450,000 objects was built from a core of paintings and sculpture from the Boston Athenæum, historical portraits from the city of Boston, and donations by area universities. The MFA has more than 70 works by John Singleton Copley; major paintings by Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Fitz Henry Lane, and Edward Hopper; and a wealth of American works ranging from native New England folk art and Colonial portraiture to New York abstract expressionism of the 1950s and 1960s.

More than 30 galleries contain the MFA's European painting and sculpture collection, dating from the 11th century to the 20th. Contemporary art has a dynamic home in the MFA's dramatic I. M. Pei–designed building.

The museum is open until 10 pm on Thursday and Friday. Save time and purchase your tickets online in advance as lines can get quite long. The museum requires you to check any bag larger than 11 inches by 15 inches (even purses).

From its perch above the Charles River, the Museum of Science sits half in Cambridge and half in Boston. This unique trait is the first of many at this 70-plus-year-old institution that's focused on science, technology, and hands-on learning. Diverse permanent exhibits explore dinosaurs, the electromagnetic spectrum, modern conservation, math, motion, nanotechnology, the natural world, space travel, a garden walk and insect zoo. The Theater of Electricity hosts explosive daily lightening shows, which can be scary for children under age seven. 

In the Green Wing, "The Hall of Human Life" walks visitors through the inner workings of their own bodies. A barcode bracelet picked up at the entrance tracks personal data gathered at dozens of interactive components and makes comparisons. At "Science in the Park," kids test out physics, motion, and momentum while playing on swings, a seesaw, and other familiar objects.

The Charles Hayden Planetarium, with its sophisticated multimedia system based on a Zeiss planetarium projector, produces exciting programs on astronomical discoveries. Laser light shows, with laser graphics and computer animation, are offered daily. The museum also features the Mugar Omni Theater, a five-story dome screen with 360-degree projection that allows the audience to feel like they're experiencing the action within the IMAX films on-screen.

As interesting and exciting as it is educational, this aquarium is a must for those who are curious about what lives in and around the sea. The building's glass-and-steel exterior is constructed to mimic fish scales, and seals bark and swim in the outdoor tank. Inside the main facility, more than 30,000 animals of 800 different species frolic in simulated habitats. Visitors can get up close to a variety of species of sharks and rays at the Shark and Ray Touch Tank.

In the semienclosed outdoor space of the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, visitors can enjoy the antics of northern fur seals and sea lions while gazing out at Boston Harbor. The real showstopper, though, is the four-story, 200,000-gallon ocean-reef tank. Ramps winding around the tank lead to the top level and allow you to view the inhabitants from many vantage points. Up top, the Yawkey Coral Reef Center features a seven-tank exhibit gallery that gives a close-up look at animals that might not be easily seen on the reef. Don't miss the five-times-a-day feedings; each lasts nearly an hour and takes divers 24 feet into the tank.

Add on to the day at the aquarium's IMAX theater, which takes you on virtual journeys from the bottom of the sea to the depths of outer space in 3D films.  Planning to see an IMAX film or go whale-watching in addition to visiting the New England Aquarium? Ask about combo tickets to save some money.

At one end of the Paul Revere Mall is a church famous not only for being the oldest standing church building in Boston (built in 1723) but also for housing the two lanterns that glimmered from its steeple on the night of April 18, 1775, and celebrating the 250th anniversary of this famed lighting. This is Christ (or Old North) Church, where Paul Revere and the young sexton Robert Newman managed that night to signal the departure by water of the British regulars to Lexington and Concord. Newman, carrying the lanterns, ascended the steeple, while Revere began his clandestine trip by boat across the Charles.

Although William Price designed the structure after studying Christopher Wren's London churches, Old North—which still has an active Episcopal congregation (including descendants of the Reveres)—is an impressive building in its own right. Inside, note the gallery and the graceful arrangement of pews; the bust of George Washington, pronounced by the Marquis de Lafayette to be the truest likeness of the general he ever saw; the brass chandeliers, made in Amsterdam in 1700 and installed here in 1724; and the clock, the oldest still running in an American public building. 

Try to visit when changes are rung on the bells, after the 11 am Sunday service; they bear the inscription, "We are the first ring of bells cast for the British Empire in North America." The steeple itself is not the original—the tower was destroyed in a hurricane in 1804 and was replaced in 1954. 

On the Sunday closest to April 18, descendants of the patriots reenact the raising of the lanterns in the church belfry during a special ticketed evening service, which also includes readings of Longfellow’s renowned poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and Revere’s first-person account of that fateful night. Visitors are welcome to drop in for a self-guided tour (with an immersive audio tour for an extra fee) or guided tours with additional explorations of the bell-ringing chamber, sanctuary gallery (where Black and Indigenous congregants once sat), and recently restored crypt. On the North Church campus, you’ll also find newly redesigned outdoor green spaces, including two large courtyards, two formal gardens, and a war memorial to soldiers fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan, the first of its kind built in the City of Boston.  This is Freedom Trail stop 13.

Boston's second-oldest church building might well be its most famous were it not for Longfellow's celebration of Old North Church in his poem "Paul Revere's Ride." However, Old South Meeting House is just as significant having been the site of some of the fiercest town meetings that led to the Revolution, including one on December 16, 1773, called by Samuel Adams, which led to the Boston Tea Party. The Old South's "Voices of Protest" exhibit celebrates the meetinghouse as a forum for free speech from way back then right up to the present.  This is Freedom Trail stop 8.

This Colonial-era landmark has one of the most recognizable facades in Boston, with its gable adorned by a brightly gilded lion and silver unicorn, symbols of British imperial power. This was the seat of the Colonial government from 1713 until the Revolution, and after the evacuation of the British from Boston in 1776 it served the independent Commonwealth until its replacement on Beacon Hill was completed in 1798. The Declaration of Independence was first read in public in Boston from its balcony. John Hancock was inaugurated here as the first governor under the new state constitution. Today, it's an interactive museum with exhibits, artifacts, and 18th-century artwork, and tells the stories of Revolutionary Bostonians through costumed guides. This is Freedom Trail stop 9.

This 1 linear mile of winding parks marks the path that a major highway once took through the city. A walk through the greenway shows off a wide variety of flora and fauna from the North End to Chinatown. Lawn furniture and games, seasonal farmers' and artists' markets, art installations, water features, live performances, free Wi-Fi, a beer garden, and more make it a lively spot, especially in warmer months. There's a one-of-a-kind, hand-carved carousel; and the food truck scene is bustling.

Trinity Church Boston is designated as “one of the ten most important buildings in America” by the American Institute of Architects. In his 1877 masterpiece, architect Henry Hobson Richardson brought his Romanesque Revival style to maturity; all the aesthetic elements for which he was famous come together magnificently—bold polychromatic masonry, careful arrangement of masses, sumptuously carved interior woodwork—in this crowning centerpiece of Copley Square. A full appreciation of its architecture requires an understanding of the logistical problems of building it here. The Back Bay is a reclaimed wetland with a high water table. Bedrock, or at least stable glacial till, lies far beneath wet clay. Like all older Back Bay buildings, Trinity Church sits on submerged wooden pilings. But its central tower weighs 9,500 tons, and most of the 4,500 pilings beneath the building are under that tremendous central mass. The pilings are checked regularly for sinkage by means of a hatch in the basement.

Richardson engaged some of the best artists of his day—John La Farge, William Morris, and Edward Burne-Jones among them—to execute the paintings and stained glass that make this a monument to everything that was right about the pre-Raphaelite spirit and the nascent aesthetic of Morris's Arts and Crafts movement. Along the north side of the church, note the Augustus Saint-Gaudens statue of Phillips Brooks—the most charismatic rector in New England, who almost single-handedly got Trinity built and furnished. The shining light of Harvard's religious community and lyricist of "O Little Town of Bethlehem," Brooks is shown here with Christ touching his shoulder in approval. For a nice respite, enjoy one of the Friday organ concerts at 12:15. Guided tours are held throughout the week.

Affectionately known as "Old Ironsides," the USS Constitution rides proudly at anchor in her berth at the Charlestown Navy Yard. The oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. fleet is a battlewagon of the old school, of the days of "wooden ships and iron men"—when she and her crew of 200 succeeded at the perilous task of asserting the sovereignty of an improbable new nation. Every July 4, she's towed out for a celebratory turnabout in Boston Harbor, where her keel was laid in 1797.

The venerable craft has narrowly escaped the scrap heap several times in her long history. She was launched on October 21, 1797, as part of the nation's fledgling navy. Her hull was made of live oak, the toughest wood grown in North America; her bottom was sheathed in copper, provided by Paul Revere at a nominal cost. Her principal service was during Thomas Jefferson's campaign against the Barbary pirates, off the coast of North Africa, and in the War of 1812. In 42 engagements her record was 42–0.

The nickname "Old Ironsides" was acquired during the War of 1812, when shots from the British warship Guerrière appeared to bounce off her hull. Talk of scrapping the ship began as early as 1830, but she was saved by a public campaign sparked by Oliver Wendell Holmes's poem "Old Ironsides." She underwent a major restoration in the early 1990s. Today she continues, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, to be a part of the U.S. Navy. In 2015, she was dry docked for a 26-month restoration that included replacement of select hull planks, the 1995 copper sheathing, and deck beams, returning to the water in 2017.

The active navy personnel who look after the Constitution maintain a 24-hour watch. Instead of taking the T, you can get closer to the ship by taking MBTA Bus 93 to Chelsea Street from Haymarket. Or you can take the Boston Harbor Cruise water shuttle from Long Wharf to Pier 4. This is Freedom Trail stop 15.

With nearly 2,000 artifacts and more than 10,000 archival records pertaining to the USS Constitution on display, exhibits spark excitement about maritime culture and naval service. All ages enjoy “All Hands on Deck: A Sailor’s Life in 1812,” complete with opportunities to scrub decks, scramble aloft to furl a sail, eat a meal of salted meat and ship’s biscuit, and crawl into a hammock. History buffs get a stem-to-stern look at the ship's history, from its creation to battles.

With 33 miles of views from the tippy top of the Prudential Center, View Boston offers a 360-degree observation deck (part of which is open-air) high above the heart of Boston. A true bird’s-eye experience, there are elevated viewing spots, as well as the fun, interactive Virtual Viewers discovery tool to help ID neighborhoods. The Boston 365 activation is a remarkable 3D model of the city with projection mapping, and the 270-degree immersive theater showcases street-level sights up close. Dine among the clouds at the Beacon Bistro or grab a cocktail at Stratus.

Interactive, immersive, and impactful, this "museum" features a variety of contemporary and experiential art installations grouped under one roof. The highlight is Yayoi Kusama's mirrored Infinity Room, while other exhibits react and play with you thanks to generative light floors, monochromatic lights, and audio tracks on old-fashioned telephones. Visitors can buy beer, seltzer, or soda to take around the museum, and you can also peruse the small gift shop after.

In the early 1970s, the tallest building in New England became notorious as the monolith that rained glass from time to time. Windows were improperly seated in the sills of the blue rhomboid tower, designed by I. M. Pei. Once the building's 13 acres of glass were replaced and the central core stiffened, the problem was corrected. Bostonians originally feared the Hancock's stark modernism would overwhelm nearby Trinity Church, but its shimmering sides reflect the older structure's image, actually enlarging its presence. Renamed from the John Hancock Tower to 200 Clarendon in 2015, the building is mostly offices and remains off-limits to the public.

Opposite the Park Square corner of the Public Garden, this church was erected in 1861—the first to be built in the Back Bay. Though a classical portico is a keynote and its model was London's St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Arlington Street Church is less picturesque and more Georgian in character. Note the 16 Tiffany stained-glass windows. During the year preceding the Civil War the church was a hotbed of abolitionist fervor. Later, during the Vietnam War, this Unitarian-Universalist congregation became famous as a center of peace activism.

What was once large, barren fields and the former home of a Ford assembly plant is now a thriving destination neighborhood along the Mystic River. Seemingly always growing, Assembly Row is an open-air community of live-work-play spaces all connected by waterfront walkways and parks. Retail abounds, with stores like Puma, Brooks Brothers, a J.Crew outlet, the area's only Saks Off Fifth, and more. For entertainment, check out the AMC movie theater, the newly revamped LEGO Discovery Center, and Lucky Strike Social, a 36,000-square-foot space with dining, bowling, games, and shuffleboard on the first floor and an island bar on the second. Seasonal programming includes Club Volo's volleyball and pickleball courts, yoga in the park, Markers Market, live music Fridays, free lessons at Dancing on the Row, and September's Riverfest.

There are 40 restaurants including the trendy River Bar (loved for its year-round fire pits), casual noodles and sake at Fuji, a three-season patio at Salt & Stone, Greek at Zo, and the relocation of neighborhood favorite Posto. The eight-in-one fitness studio FitRow has you covered for whatever workout you desire, from boxing to cycling to Pilates.

Need some downtime from all that activity? Pop into Heyday Facial and the area's first Squeeze Massage location for a quiet respite. Also here is the Row Hotel at Assembly Row, a boutique hotel with some of the best interior design around.

This pocket of early-19th-century brick row houses, near Arlington and Piedmont streets, is a fine, mellow neighborhood (Edgar Allan Poe was born here) that's actually Boston's smallest officially recognized neighborhood. Its window boxes and short, narrow streets make the area seem a toylike reproduction of Beacon Hill. Note that, owing to the street pattern, it's difficult to drive to Bay Village, and it's easy to miss on foot.

Some New Englanders believe that wealth is a burden to be borne with a minimum of display. Happily, the early residents of Beacon Street were not among them. They erected many fine architectural statements, from the magnificent State House to grand patrician mansions. Here are some of the most important buildings of Charles Bulfinch, the ultimate designer of the Federal style in America. See dozens of bowfront row houses, the Somerset Club, and the William Hickling Prescott mansion.

This 300-acre patch of remaining wetland environment is indicative of the salt marsh landscape that covered Boston when early settlers arrived and which today has been filled in. As you walk or run Belle Isle's gravel paths, listen to the sound of the marsh's diverse bird community, which includes the American kestrel, belted kingfisher, great blue heron, northern harrier, and salt marsh sparrow. Boardwalks venture into the marsh for great viewing and photo ops.

This stop on the Freedom Trail, in front of Old City Hall, commemorates the revolutionary, statesman, and inventor that every school child knows by name. Speaking of education, Franklin's likeness marks the original location of the Boston Latin School, the country's oldest public school (founded in 1635). Franklin attended Boston Latin with three other signers of the Declaration of Independence—Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine. However, he has the dubious distinction of being the only one of the four not to graduate. This is Freedom Trail stop 6.

Surrounded by water on three sides, Black Falcon Pier is a stop on Boston's Harborwalk that seekers of amazing views won't want to miss. There's not much to do out this way at the end of the Seaport District except gaze at the fishing vessels, barges, and cruise ships navigating the inner harbor. However, lots of visitors find themselves out this way as Black Falcon Pier is home to Flynn Cruiseport Boston, where major cruise ships dock daily with Boston as a port of call.

Between North and Hanover streets, near the Haymarket, lies the Blackstone Block, now visited mostly for its culinary landmark, the Union Oyster House. Named for one of Boston's first settlers, William Blaxton, or Blackstone, it's the city's oldest commercial block, for decades dominated by the butcher trade. As a tiny remnant of Old Boston, the Blackstone Block remains the city's "family attic"—to use the winning metaphor of critic Donlyn Lyndon: more than three centuries of architecture are on view, ranging from the 18th-century Capen House to the modern Bostonian hotel. A Colonial-period warren of winding lanes surrounds the block.

Facing the Blackstone Block, in tiny Union Park, framed by Congress Street and Dock Square, are two bronze figures, one seated on a bench and the other standing eye-to-eye with passersby. Both represent James Michael Curley, the quintessential Boston pol and a questionable role model for urban bosses. It's just as well that he has no pedestal. Also known as "the Rascal King" or "the Mayor of the Poor," and dramatized by Spencer Tracy in The Last Hurrah (1958), the charismatic Curley was beloved by the city's dominant working-class Irish for bringing them libraries, hospitals, bathhouses, and other public-works projects. His career got off to a promising start in 1903, when he ran—and won—a campaign for alderman from the Charles Street Jail, where he was serving time for taking someone else's civil-service exam.

Over the next 50 years he dominated Boston politics, serving four nonconsecutive terms as mayor, one term as governor, and four terms as congressman. No one seemed to mind the slight glitch created when his office moved, in 1946, to the federal penitentiary, where he served five months of a 6- to 18-month sentence for mail fraud: he was pardoned by President Truman and returned to his people a hero.

In 1924, the Boston Bruins became the first U.S. ice hockey team to enter the NHL. The Bruins have been playing at the Garden since 1928 (although the original Boston Garden was replaced in 1995) and have won six Stanley Cup titles over that time. Spectators can see the championship banners hanging in the rafters above the ice and the stands, which are packed for every home game, despite high ticket prices. Fans are loud, vocal, and extremely loyal, so spectators with delicate personalities won't feel comfortable. Saturday afternoon games are a win for the family. Seasons run from October until April; playoffs last through early June.

The Boston Celtics franchise has won the most championship titles in the NBA with 18 banners—it's one more than the LA Lakers and at least 11 more than any other team. So, what to expect at a Celtics game from today's squad? An all-around fun experience, a charged atmosphere, and devotion from the fans to the team and the team to the fans. You'll hear "Let's Go, Cel-tics" no matter the score. The season runs from late October to April, and playoffs last until mid-June.

The Boston Common Frog Pond is a hot spot, no matter the season. In winter (November to March), city dwellers and visitors alike can skate around the man-made pool (skate rentals available), which vibes an atmosphere reminiscent of a Currier & Ives painting. In warm weather, the Frog Pond transforms into a shallow spray pool, free to all. Nearby, a carousel opens for most of the year, and a large playground is open year-round.

Dedicated in 1998, this memorial and a small park were built in remembrance of Ireland's great famine of the mid-19th century. Artist Robert Shure's two sculptures depict an anguished family on the shores of Ireland, and a determined and hopeful Irish family stepping ashore in Boston. An gorta mor, as it's called in Irish, is a tribute to the rich immigrant past of this most Irish of American cities.

A circle of cobblestones in front of the Old State House commemorates the Boston Massacre, which happened about 20 feet away. To recap: It was on the snowy evening of March 5, 1770, that nine British soldiers fired in panic upon a taunting mob of more than 75 colonists who were upset over British occupation and taxation. Five townsmen died. In the legal action that followed, the defense of the accused soldiers was undertaken by John Adams and Josiah Quincy, both of whom vehemently opposed British oppression but were devoted to the principle of a fair trial. All but two of the nine regulars charged were acquitted; the others were branded on the hand for the crime of manslaughter. Paul Revere lost little time in capturing the "massacre" in a dramatic engraving that soon became one of the Revolution's most potent images of propaganda. This is Freedom Trail stop 10.

A 7,400-square-foot National Park Service visitor center at Faneuil Hall features history exhibits, a film-screening area, and a bookstore. It's the starting point for NPS rangers' two different 60-minute Freedom Trail tours and other talks; there's a sister site at Charlestown's Navy Yard. Other Boston NPS sights include the Boston African American National Historic Site on Beacon Hill, home to guided tours of the Black Heritage Trail, and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, with trails, forts, wildlife, and camping on 34 islands. Of note, the Great Hall is currently closed for preservation.

Open year-round, the indoor Boston Public Market offers a great place to grab a sandwich, sample local foods, and even pick up a souvenir. The New England–centric marketplace has 30 vendors, selling everything from fresh herbs and fruit to meat and seafood. Everything sold at the market is produced or originates in New England. There’s also a food demonstration kitchen, where visitors might be able to catch a live cooking class (with samples). The Kids’ Nook is a designated area to gather and play, and there are kids activities throughout the week.

This should be any traveler's destination for comprehensive and local information about tours and attractions in the city of Boston. It is also a frequent meeting spot for walking tours around town, and it serves as the first stop on Boston's historic Freedom Trail. Find it on the Tremont Street side of Boston Common, equidistant between the Green Line's Boylston and Park Street T stops.

Once a storage building, today's Bow Market provides small-scale storefronts to both established and aspiring chefs, retailers, and artists from Somerville and Greater Boston. An afternoon is well spent among the 26 independent food, art, and retail shops set around a public courtyard in the heart of Union Square. Saus, Taquisimo, Nibble Kitchen, and Mike & Patty's are just a few of the eateries, while shopping goes global with one-of-a-kind gifts at retailers including vintage records at Vinyl Index, Japanese heritage crafts at Ko Kyoto, and whimsical wares at Lexie Butterfly Vintage. On any given day, there could be a pop-up event like a book fair, jewelry shops, Etsy spotlights, and oyster fests. Grab a pint (or a freshly roasted coffee) at the market's Remnant Brewery, which boasts a garage door that opens whenever the weather permits, then hit up Pop's Pinball Parlor for a game or two. You can even book a last-minute wedding ceremony within minutes at the tiny Dearly Studio.