347 Best Sights in Massachusetts, USA

Passing through the Hoosac River Valley, the paved 12.7-mile Ashuwillticook (pronounced Ash-oo-will-ti-cook) trail links Adams with Pittsfield. The trail follows an old railroad, passing through rugged woodland and alongside Cheshire Reservoir. Walkers, joggers, cyclists, in-line skaters, and cross-country skiers all enjoy this route.

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.

Built by sea captain Joseph C. Atwood in 1752, this museum has a gambrel roof, hand-hewn floor planks, an old kitchen with a wide hearth, and a beehive oven. The Joseph C. Lincoln Room has the manuscripts, first editions, and mementos of the Chatham writer; antique tools are displayed in an additional gallery. There's also a portrait gallery featuring Chatham-born sea captains, painted by Frederick S. Wight. In a remodeled freight shed are the stunning and provocative murals (1932–45) by Alice Stallknecht Wight portraying religious scenes in Chatham settings. On the grounds are an herb garden, the old turret and lens from the Chatham Light, and a simple camp house rescued from eroding North Beach.

This rock garden beside the Housatonic River (the Native American name means "river beyond the mountains") is a National Natural Landmark, with 5 miles of hiking trails passing through fields of wildflowers. The 277-acre site has a visitor center and a museum, as well as the state's largest cottonwood trees.

The smell of freshly baked cider doughnuts greets you upon entering this orchard's market, which also sells cider and maple syrup. Seasonally you'll find many apple varieties bagged for purchase, but it's more fun to head into the orchard and pick your own.

Built in the 1930s, this mountaintop lodge retains its rustic charm with comfortable, no-frills lodging and a restaurant in a stunning setting.

Taking in one of Yarmouth Port's most beautiful areas, Bass Hole Boardwalk extends over a swampy creek, crosses salt marshes, and winds around vegetated wetlands and upland woods. Gray's Beach is a little crescent of sand with still water that's a favorite family swimming hole. At the end of the boardwalk, benches provide a place to relax and look out over abundant marsh life and, across the creek, the beautiful, sandy shores of Dennis's Chapin Beach. At low tide you can walk out on the flats for almost a mile.

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.

Opened in 1903, this "universal" museum has a little bit of everything: paintings from the Hudson River School, local artifacts, and natural history specimens both animal and mineral. The Hall of Innovation showcases Berkshires innovators whose creations range from special effects for Star Wars to the paper used for U.S. currency. Don't miss the Egyptian mummy, or the aquarium with a touch tank in the basement.

In a restored 1903 railroad station, the museum's collection includes antique rail equipment, vintage items, a children's area, and a large working model railway. Short rides aboard the Lenox Jitney train from one end of the grounds to the other are available. 

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.

Less posh than Newbury Street, this broad thoroughfare is the southern commercial spine of the Back Bay, lined with big-name restaurants and shops, and where you'll find the Boston Marathon finish line. Also located here is the Boston Marathon Bombing Memorial, composed of light spires and stone pillars, which pays homage to the Boston Marathon bombing victims at the sites where they were killed on April 15, 2013.

The promontory where this 26-foot-tall, white-painted beauty stands offers views of the harbor and town. The point was once the site of the second-oldest lighthouse in the country (1746); the present, much-photographed light was built in 1901. There are no tours inside the lighthouse, but the grounds are open to the public.

This charming, yellow, 18th-century, gambrel-roof Colonial once belonged to the Loyalist William Brattle. He moved to Boston in 1774 to escape the patriots' anger, then left in 1776 with the British troops. From 1831 to 1833 the house was the residence of Margaret Fuller, feminist author and editor of The Dial. Today it's the office of the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1852 as a church, this local landmark has been a typical New England general store since 1866, with such essentials as daily newspapers, penny candy, groceries, and benches out front for conversation. It specializes in oil lamps and antique lanterns of all types, jigsaw puzzles, and unique kitchenware. Next door, the Brewster Scoop serves ice cream from Memorial Day–Labor. Upstairs, memorabilia from antique toys to World War II bond posters is displayed. Downstairs there's a working antique nickelodeon; locals warm themselves by the old coal stove in colder months.

From April to October, an arched, 400-foot trolley bridge is transformed into this promenade bursting with color and a wide variety of flowers.

While waiting for the arrival of the British on the morning of April 19, 1775, the minutemen gathered at this 1690 tavern. A half-hour self-guided tour takes in the tavern's seven rooms, which have been restored to the way they looked in the 1770s. Among the items on display is an old front door with a hole made by a British musket ball.