347 Best Sights in Massachusetts, USA

This 2-mile-long sandy beach has a view of Cape Cod across Nantucket Sound. Occasional food vendors and calm, warm waters make it a popular spot for families. Arrive early or late in high summer: the parking spots fill up quickly. It's best to bike, walk, or take the shuttle here. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: swimming.

This wide, sandy beach has an area set aside for windsurfers and a sheltered area that's good for kids. It's a great spot for watching boats go in and out of the harbor. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking; windsurfing.

Two blocks north of Fenway Park is Kenmore Square, where shops, restaurants, and the city's emblematic sign advertising Citgo gasoline can be found. The red, white, and blue neon sign from 1965 is so thoroughly identified with the area that historic preservationists fought, successfully, to save it. The old Kenmore Square punk clubs have given way to a block-long development of pricey stores and restaurants, as well as brick sidewalks, gaslight-style street lamps, and tree plantings. In the shadow of Fenway Park between Brookline and Ipswich is Lansdowne Street, a nightlife magnet for the trendy, who have their pick of dance clubs and pregame bars. The urban campus of Boston University begins farther west on Commonwealth Avenue, in blocks thick with dorms, shops, and restaurants.

Both somber and dramatic, King's Chapel looms large. In 1688, the first chapel on this site was erected as an Anglican place of worship, but that no longer stands. Today's interior remains essentially as it looked in 1754 and is a masterpiece of proportion; unfortunately, the building is not open to the public. Its acoustics make the use of a microphone unnecessary for Sunday sermons. Among other fun facts, the pulpit, built in 1717, is the oldest pulpit in continuous use on the same site in the United States, and a special pew to the right of the main entrance was once reserved for condemned prisoners about to be hanged on the Common. The chapel's bell is Paul Revere's largest and, in his own judgment, his sweetest sounding.  This is Freedom Trail stop 5.

Whether in rain or shine, legends linger in this oldest of the city's cemeteries, its first proper burying ground. A handy map of famous grave sites is posted a short walk down the left path. Notable people buried here include Elizabeth Pain, the model for the Hester Prynne character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter; William Dawes Jr., who rode out to warn of the British invasion with Paul Revere; and John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts. This is Freedom Trail stop 5.

Swimmers have access to the warm, relatively shallow, brackish Lake Tashmoo from this beach—or cooler, gentler Vineyard Sound. It's a favorite spot for surf casters. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming.

Here you can pick your own bushel of apples (and other fall fruit) and sip on freshly pressed cider. The friendly farmers also sell homemade pies and pastries, but make sure to sample their singular (and superb) cider doughnuts.

Brookline's largest park was once the home of wealthy socialites Larz and Isabel Anderson, who left the estate to the town in 1951. It's now home to a large lawn at the top of the hill, playing fields, a pond, a seasonal outdoor ice rink, and the Larz Anderson Auto Museum. The top of the hill offers great views of Boston.

Look for the giant LEGO giraffe and you've found this recently redone mecca for building-block enthusiasts, where your kids can freestyle their own creations, build spaceships, launch their LEGO car off a ramp, or test their energy with the Hero Zone's climbing wall, action games, and laser maze. The Duplo Farm is perfect for tiny tots to spend some quiet discovery and building time. The 4D Cinema brings LEGO movies to life with additional wind, rain, and snow effects, while the indoor rides and Great LEGO Race virtual-reality experiences add in some interactive fun. Discover iconic Boston attractions and local buildings all made entirely out of LEGO bricks in the famous MINIWorld attraction that used more than 1.5 million.

Dedicated in 2002, the Zakim Bridge (as it's locally known) is the crown jewel of Boston's legendary Big Dig construction project. At 1,432 feet, it is one of the widest cable-stayed hybrid bridges ever built, and it is the first to use an asymmetrical design. Over the last 20 years, the Zakim has become an iconic part of Boston's skyline, especially at night when it is illuminated in different colors. The bridge's full name honors Leonard P. Zakim, a Boston area leader and civil rights activist, and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

It was on this 2-acre triangle of land, commonly referred to as simply the "Battle Green," on April 19, 1775, that the first confrontation between British soldiers, who were marching from Boston toward Concord, and the Colonial militia known as the minutemen took place. The minutemen—so called because they were able to prepare themselves at a moment's notice—were led by Captain John Parker, whose role in the American Revolution is commemorated in Henry Hudson Kitson's renowned 1900 Minuteman statue. Facing downtown Lexington at the tip of the Battle Green, the statue is on a traffic island.

Make your first stop in Lexington this excellent visitor center, which offers interactive exhibits, displays, a large shop, and incredibly helpful staff. You can get a great overview of the town's history and see what there is to see and do today. There is also an intricate diorama of the Battle of Lexington, which was displayed at the 1964 World's Fair in New York, inside, and outside you'll find displays about the five Navy ships named USS Lexington.

Just as its name implies, this soft-sand beach that is half in Rockport, half in Gloucester is long, and it's also broad. It draws crowds from the houses that border it, particularly on weekends. Pay attention to the tide schedule, or you may find there's no beach to sit on. Cape Ann Motor Inn is nearby. Parking is very limited. Don't even think of parking on neighborhood streets if you don't have a town parking sticker—you will be towed. However, there is a lot on the Gloucester side. Amenities: none. Best for: swimming; walking.

Long Wharf starts east of Atlantic Avenue, and it serves as the launching point for many of the city's water tours, sails, and whale-watch cruises. At its far end, it's also a departure point for Boston Duck Tours, Old Town Trolley, and CityView Trolley Tours. Halfway down the wharf, you can have dinner at Chart House seafood restaurant, but note that the historic building it houses was once John Hancock's counting house. The New England Aquarium sits next door, at Central Wharf.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet whose stirring tales of the village blacksmith, Evangeline, Hiawatha, and Paul Revere's midnight ride thrilled 19th-century America, once lived in this elegant Georgian mansion. One of several original Tory Row homes on Brattle Street, the house was built in 1759 by John Vassall Jr., and George Washington lived (and slept!) here during the Siege of Boston from July 1775 to April 1776. Longfellow first boarded here in 1837 and later received the house as a gift from his father-in-law on his marriage to Frances Appleton, who burned to death here in an accident in 1861. For 45 years Longfellow wrote his famous verses here and filled the house with the exuberant spirit of his literary circle, which included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Charles Sumner, an abolitionist senator. Longfellow died in 1882, but his presence in the house lives on—from the Longfellow family furniture to the wallpaper to the books on the shelves (many the poet's own).

The home, preserved and run by the National Park Service, hosts free guided tours Memorial Day through October. The formal garden is the perfect place to relax; the grounds are open year-round. Longfellow Park, across the street, is the place to stand to take photos of the house. The park was created to preserve the view immortalized in the poet's "To the River Charles." 

The dark brown exterior of Louisa May Alcott's family home sharply contrasts with the light, wit, and energy so much in evidence within. Named for the apple orchard that once surrounded it, Orchard House was the Alcott family home from 1857 to 1877. Here Louisa wrote Little Women, based in part on her life with her three sisters; and her father, Bronson, founded the Concord School of Philosophy—the building remains behind the house. Because Orchard House had just one owner after the Alcotts left, and because it became a museum in 1911, more than 80% of the original furnishings remain, including the semicircular shelf-desk where Louisa wrote Little Women. The only way to visit the house is by guided tour; reservations are recommended.

Charming, and tucked around the corner from historic Acorn Street, Louisburg Square (don't drop the "s") was an 1840s model for a town-house development that was never built on the Hill because of space restrictions. Today, its central grassy square, enclosed by a wrought-iron fence, belongs collectively to the owners of the homes encircling it. The houses have seen their share of famous tenants, including author and critic William Dean Howells at Nos. 4 and 16, and the Alcotts at No. 10 (Louisa May not only lived here, she died here). In 1852, singer Jenny Lind was married in the parlor of No. 20. Former U.S. secretary of state John Kerry and his wife own a home here.

Learn about the town's manufacturing heritage, including bikes and memorabilia from the former Indian Motorcycle Company, which was headquartered in Springfield. The Firearms Collection includes more than 1,600 firearms, with the largest collection of Smith & Wesson guns in the world. Board game lovers will enjoy the Hasbro GameLand exhibit, which honors Milton Bradley, who after moving to Springfield in 1856, created "The Checkered Game of Life."

A 35-foot golden and green statue of the Virgin Mary standing atop a globe dominates the Pope Paul VI Pilgrim Plaza that welcomes curious visitors and religious pilgrims to this Roman Catholic shrine. From its perch in Orient Heights, the shrine also boasts some pretty spectacular views of Logan Airport and the downtown skyline. Beneath the plaza, a sprawling sanctuary offers a quiet retreat, and some holy relics are on display. Masses are offered weekly in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

This glass conservatory glitters with more than 4,000 butterflies. Kids love the butterfly nursery, where newborns first take flight. Outside is a three-season garden filled with plants that attract local species. There's also a snack bar and gift shop.

On the Atlantic side of the Cape is the site of the first transatlantic wireless station erected on the U.S. mainland. It was from here on January 18, 1903, that Italian radio and wireless-telegraphy pioneer Guglielmo Marconi sent the first American wireless message to Europe: "most cordial greetings and good wishes" from President Theodore Roosevelt to King Edward VII of England. There's a lookout deck that offers a vantage point of both the Atlantic and Cape Cod Bay. Off the parking lot, a 1½-mile trail and boardwalk lead through the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp, one of the most beautiful trails on the seashore; free maps and guides are available at the trailhead. Marconi Beach, south of the Marconi Station on Marconi Beach Road, is one of the National Seashore's lovely ocean beaches.

Perched on 1 acre overlooking the Lagoon Pond and outer Vineyard Haven harbor, the museum is located in the formerly shuttered 1895 Marine Hospital, which the nonprofit organization purchased in 2011, renovated, and made its home in 2019. The expansive property includes 14 exhibition areas, a classroom, program room, research library, gift shop, and small café. Exhibits include “One Island, Many Stories,” which explores the history of the island; “Challenges of the Sea,” which gives an overview of island shipwrecks, navigation, and more; and “Flashes of Brilliance,” with an 1854 Fresnel lens from the Gay Head Light.

One of the largest single collections by and about an American woman is housed at this library, which also includes temporary exhibits that celebrate the power of ideas and provide context to the life and achievements of Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910); there's a research room on the fourth floor that's open Monday through Thursday.

The library also serves as the welcome center for the entire 14-acre Christian Science Plaza and is home to the fascinating Mapparium, a huge stained-glass globe with a 30-foot interior exhibit that captures a moment in time in 1935. While the Mapparium requires tickets, the adjacent free and interactive "How Do You See the World?" experience brings together stories, artifacts, and panels on Eddy's inspired scriptural study and research and how it relates to modern-day life. Exhibit cases feature objects, books, and documents from the library’s collections, where you can explore how Mary Baker Eddy founded a church and a college, and at the age of 87, launched the Christian Science Monitor newspaper.

Halfway between Sandwich and Falmouth, this outdoor shopping center has restaurants and cafes, shopping, fitness options, and live entertainment and holiday attractions. There's mini-golf, a movie theater, and The Lanes Bowl & Bistro.

The first historical society in the United States (founded in 1791) has paintings, a library, and a 12-million-piece manuscript collection from 17th-century New England to the present. Among these manuscripts are the Adams Family Papers, which comprise more than 300,000 pages from the letters and diaries of generations of the Adams family, including papers from John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Casual visitors are welcome, but if you'd like to examine the papers within the library in depth, call ahead. The Society also offers a variety of programs and special exhibits.

Founded in 1861, MIT moved to Cambridge from Copley Square in the Back Bay in 1916. Once dissed as "the factory," particularly by its Ivy League neighbor, Harvard University, MIT mints graduates that are the sharp blades on the edge of the information revolution. It's perennially in the top five of U.S. News and World Report's college rankings. It has long since fulfilled the predictions of its founder, the geologist William Barton Rogers, that it would surpass "the universities of the land in the accuracy and the extent of its teachings in all branches of positive science." Its emphasis shifted in the 1930s from practical engineering and mechanics to the outer limits of scientific fields.

Architecture is important at MIT. Although the original buildings were obviously designed by and for scientists, many represent pioneering designs of their times. Kresge Auditorium, designed by Eero Saarinen, with a curving roof and unusual thrust, rests on three, instead of four, points. The nondenominational MIT Chapel, a circular Saarinen design, is lighted primarily by a roof oculus that focuses natural light on the altar and by reflections from the water in a small surrounding moat; it's topped by an aluminum sculpture by Theodore Roszak. The serpentine Baker House, now a dormitory, was designed in 1947 by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in such a way as to provide every room with a view of the Charles River. Sculptures by Henry Moore and other notable artists dot the campus. The latest addition is the Green Center for Physics, punctuated by the splash of color that is Sol LeWitt's 5,500-square-foot mosaic floor.

The East Campus, which has grown around the university's original neoclassical buildings of 1916, also has outstanding modern architecture and sculpture, including the stark high-rise Green Building by I. M. Pei, housing the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. Just outside is Alexander Calder's giant stabile (a stationary mobile) The Big Sail. Another Pei work on the East Campus is the Wiesner Building, designed in 1985, which houses the List Visual Arts Center. Architect Frank Gehry made his mark on the campus with the cockeyed, improbable Ray and Maria Stata Center, a complex of buildings on Vassar Street. The center houses computer, artificial intelligence, and information systems laboratories, and is reputedly as confusing to navigate on the inside as it is to follow on the outside. East Campus's Great Dome, which looms over neoclassical Killian Court, has often been the target of student "hacks" and has at various times supported a telephone booth with a ringing phone, a life-size statue of a cow, and a campus police cruiser. Nearby, the domed Rogers Building has earned unusual notoriety as the center of a series of hallways and tunnels dubbed "the infinite corridor." Twice each winter the sun's path lines up perfectly with the corridor's axis, and at dusk students line the third-floor hallway to watch the sun set through the westernmost window. The phenomenon is known as "MIT-henge."

MIT maintains a welcome center located at  292 Main Street in Kendall Square, where you can pick up campus maps, grab some water, and charge your phone weekdays 9 to 5.

On July 4, 1795, the surviving fathers of the Revolution were on hand to enshrine the ideals of their new Commonwealth in a graceful seat of government designed by Charles Bulfinch. Governor Samuel Adams and Paul Revere laid the cornerstone; Revere would later roll the copper sheathing for the dome.

Bulfinch's neoclassical design is poised between Georgian and Federal; its finest features are the delicate Corinthian columns of the portico, the graceful pediment and window arches, and the vast yet visually weightless golden dome (gilded in 1874 and again in 1997). During World War II, the dome was painted gray so that it would not reflect moonlight during blackouts and thereby offer a target to anticipated Axis bombers. It's capped with a pine cone, a symbol of the importance of pinewood, which was integral to the construction of Boston's early houses and churches; it also serves as a reminder of the state's early connection to Maine, once part of Massachusetts.

Inside the building are Doric Hall, with its statuary and portraits; the Hall of Flags, where an exhibit shows the battle flags from all the wars in which Massachusetts regiments have participated; the Great Hall, an open space used for state functions that houses 351 flags from the cities and towns of Massachusetts; the governor's office; and the chambers of the House and Senate. The Great Hall contains a giant, modernistic clock designed by New York artist R. M. Fischer. Its installation in 1986 at a cost of $100,000 was roundly slammed as a symbol of legislative extravagance. There's also a wealth of statuary, including figures of Horace Mann, Daniel Webster, and a youthful-looking President John F. Kennedy in full stride. Just outside Doric Hall is Hear Us, a series of six bronze busts honoring the contributions of women to public life in Massachusetts. But perhaps the best-known piece of artwork in the building is the carved wooden Sacred Cod, mounted in the Old State House in 1784 as a symbol of the Commonwealth's maritime wealth. It was moved, with much fanfare, to Bulfinch's structure in 1798. By 1895, when it was hung in the new House chambers, the representatives had begun to consider the Cod their unofficial mascot—so much so that when Harvard Lampoon "codnapped" it in 1933, the House refused to meet in session until the fish was returned, three days later. Free guided tours are available; call for reservations. This is Freedom Trail stop 2.

This seaworthy replica of the 1620 Mayflower was built in England through research and a bit of guesswork, then sailed across the Atlantic in 1957. As you explore the interior and exterior of the ship, which was extensively refurbished in time for Plymouth's 400th anniversary in 2020, sailors in modern dress answer your questions about both the reproduction and the original ship, while costumed guides provide a 17th-century perspective. This attraction is part of the Plimoth Patuxet Museums system. Plymouth Rock is also nearby.

Located in the middle of Historic Deerfield, this stand-alone three-story museum displays Native American artifacts, as well as quilts, furnishings, and crafts from the early settlers. Highlights include the farm equipment, period rooms, children's room, and the military room with rifles and Revolutionary War jackets.

Set at the point where Menemsha Pond meets Vineyard Sound, this tiny seaside outpost has been an active fishing center for centuries. Well-weathered fishing boats, including some that have been in the same family for generations, tie up at the docks when not out to sea. Spectacular sunsets make this a very popular evening spot. Several fish markets offer the freshest catch of the day. There's also a beach here, with gentle waters that are welcoming to families. If the harbor looks familiar, it might be because several scenes from the movie Jaws were filmed here.