139 Best Sights in Massachusetts, USA

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We've compiled the best of the best in Massachusetts - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

Boston Public Garden

Back Bay Fodor's choice
Public Garden in Boston with the famous Swam Boats. Massachusetts - USA.
Marcio Jose Bastos Silva / Shutterstock

America's oldest botanical garden is replete with gorgeous formal plantings, a 4-acre lagoon famous since 1877 for its foot-pedal–powered (by a captain) Swan Boats ( swanboats.com), and the Make Way for Ducklings bronzes sculpted by Nancy Schön, a tribute to the 1941 classic children's story by Robert McCloskey.

Keep in mind that Boston Public Garden and Boston Common are two separate entities with different histories and purposes and a distinct boundary between them at Charles Street. The Common has been public land since Boston was founded in 1630, whereas the Public Garden belongs to a newer Boston, occupying what had been salt marshes on the edge of the Common. By 1837 the tract was covered with an abundance of ornamental plantings donated by a group of private citizens. Near the Swan Boat dock is what has been described as the world's smallest suspension bridge, designed in 1867 to cross the pond at its narrowest point. The beds along the main walkways are replanted every spring. The tulips during the first two weeks of May are especially colorful, and there's a sampling of native and European tree species.

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts

Fodor's choice
Berkshires, MA, USA -September. 4. 2010: Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) in North Adams, Massachusetts
T photography / Shutterstock

Formerly the home of the Sprague Electrical Company, the nation's largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts is one of the finest such facilities in the world, a major draw for its art shows, large music festivals, dance presentations, and film screenings. Expansion in 2017 nearly doubled the amount of gallery space, bringing the total to a quarter million square feet, which includes the wall drawings of Sol LeWitt, an immersive light-based exhibit by James Turrell, and a large room in the main gallery that allows for massive exhibits that wouldn't fit anywhere else. A Kidspace, studios, cafés, shops, and festivals and other special events round out the offerings.

Race Point Beach

Fodor's choice
CAPE COD, MA - JUNE 19: A woman goes fishing at Race Point Beach on June 19, 2010 in Cape Cod. Cape Cod was the historic landing of Mayflower and is today a major travel destination in Massachusetts.
Rolf_52 / Shutterstock

Race Point Beach, one of the Cape Cod National Seashore beaches in Provincetown, has a wide swath of beautiful sand stretching far off into the distance around the point and Coast Guard station. Because of its position facing north, the beach gets sun all day long. Keep an eye out for whales offshore; it's also a popular fishing spot. Daily parking is $25; the annual seashore pass grants access to all six national park beaches for $60. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Race Point Rd., Provincetown, MA, 02657, USA
508-487–1256
Sight Details
$25 per vehicle late June–Labor Day and weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to mid-Sept.; $15 per person on foot or bicycle

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Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

Jamaica Plain Fodor's choice

This 281-acre living laboratory contains more than 4,000 kinds of woody plants, most from the hardy north temperate zone. The rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs, magnolias, and fruit trees are eye-popping when in bloom, and something is always in season from April through September. The Larz Anderson bonsai collection contains individual specimens imported from Japan. In the visitor center there is a 40-to-1 scale model of the arboretum (with 4,000 tiny trees). If you visit during May, Lilac Sunday (usually held on Mother's Day) is a celebration of blooming trees, and is the only day picnicking is allowed in the arboretum.

Berkshire Botanical Gardens

Fodor's choice

The gardens' 15 acres contain extensive plantings of exotic and native flora—some 2,500 varieties in all—plus greenhouses, ponds, nature trails, and a small gallery. A guided tour, included with admission, leaves daily at 11 am, or grab a self-guided tour at your leisure. October's Harvest Festival is by far the biggest of the facility's annual events.

Boston Children's Museum

Fort Point Channel Fodor's choice

You know you'll have found the country's second-oldest children's museum when you find the giant Hood milk bottle structure. This museum has always been ahead of the curve with creative hands-on exhibits, cultural diversity, and problem-solving. Some of the most popular stops are also the simplest, like the bubble-making machinery and the two-story climbing maze. At the Japanese House, you're invited to take off your shoes and step inside a Kyoto silk merchant's home. Children can dig, climb, and build at the Construction Zone. In the toddler PlaySpace, children under three can run free in a safe environment. There's also a full schedule of special exhibits, festivals, and performances, and Children's Wharf out front is a beautiful place to walk or rest.

Boston Common

Beacon Hill Fodor's choice

Nothing is more central to the city than Boston Common, the oldest public park in the United States and undoubtedly the largest and most famous of the town commons around which New England settlements were traditionally arranged. Dating from 1634, the Common started as 50 acres for grazing cattle until 1830 when cows were banned. Don't confuse the Common with its sister park, the Public Garden, where the Swan Boats glide and flowers bloom three seasons of the year.

Take a break and enjoy lunch at one of the food trucks parked at the Brewer Fountain Plaza from spring through fall. A few steps away, the Freedom Trail starts in front of the Boston Visitor Information Center. The new MLK memorial sculpture, The Embrace, is close by and worth a visit.

The Common's highest point, near the Parkman Bandstand, was once called Flagstaff Hill and is now surmounted by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, honoring Civil War troops. The Common's only body of water is the Frog Pond, a tame and frog-free concrete depression used as a wading pool and spray fountain during summer and for ice-skating in winter.

Central Burying Ground lends the park an eerie vibe at its site on Boylston Street; in fact, the Common boasts a fair amount of haunted history. Across from the State House, on the Beacon Street side, sits the splendidly restored Robert Gould Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial, executed in deep-relief bronze by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1897.  This is Freedom Trail stop 1.

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area

Waterfront Fodor's choice

Comprising 34 tiny islands and peninsulas, this is one of the city's best hidden gems—and it's literally out of sight. Stretching from South Boston (Castle Island) to the coastlines of South Shore towns Hingham and Hull, each island is different, but most feature abundant nature with miles of lightly traveled trails, shoreline, sea life, and wild plants. The focal point is 39-acre Georges Island and its partially restored pre–Civil War Fort Warren that once held Confederate prisoners. Pets and alcohol are not allowed on the Harbor Islands.  Ferries shuttle visitors from Boston's Long Wharf to Georges, Thompson, and Spectacle islands daily during summer months. Plan to spend a whole day exploring!

191 W. Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA, 02110, USA
617-227–4321
Sight Details
$24.95 (round-trip ferry ticket)
Ferry schedule runs mid-May--mid-Oct. and goes from Boston to Georges, Thompson, and Spectacle islands

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Boston Harborwalk

Seaport Fodor's choice

Stretching for 43 continuous miles, Boston Harborwalk is a walking trail that skirts the twists and turns of the coast from Charlestown down to the city of Quincy. In the Seaport District specifically, the Harborwalk journeys along Fort Point Channel, around Fan Pier, up Seaport Boulevard, and out and around the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. Along the way, pedestrians can see art exhibits, stationary viewfinders, open green spaces, and incredible Boston Harbor views. Marked signs point the way, and maps can be found online.

Boston Public Library

Back Bay Fodor's choice

This venerable institution is a handsome temple to reading and a valuable research library, as well as an art gallery of sorts, and you don't need a library card to enjoy it. At the main entrance hall of the 1895 Renaissance Revival building, take in the immense stone lions by Louis St. Gaudens, the vaulted ceiling, and the marble staircase. The corridor at the top of the stairs leads to Bates Hall, one of Boston's most sumptuous interior spaces. This is the main reading room, 218 feet long with a barrel vault ceiling 50 feet high. The murals at the head of the staircase, depicting the nine muses, are the work of the French artist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes; those in the room to the right are Edwin Austin Abbey's interpretations of the Holy Grail legend. Upstairs, in the public areas, is John Singer Sargent's mural series Triumph of Religion. The library offers free art and architecture tours. The McKim building contains a Renaissance-style courtyard inspired by Rome's Palazzo della Cancelleria. A covered arcade furnished with chairs rings a fountain; you can bring books or lunch into the peaceful courtyard.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Fort Point Channel Fodor's choice

Situated at the Congress Street Bridge near the site of Griffin's Wharf, this lively museum offers an interactive look at the past in a place as close as possible to the actual spot where the Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. Actors in period costumes greet patrons, assign them real-life Colonial personas, and then ask a few people to heave boxes of tea into the water from aboard historical reproductions of the ships forcibly boarded and unloaded the night Boston Harbor became a teapot. There are 3D holograms, talking portraits, and even the Robinson Half Tea Chest, one of two original tea chests known to exist.  Abigail's Tea Room (you don't need a museum ticket for entry) features a tea tasting of five tea blends that would have been aboard the ships.

Cape Cod Museum of Natural History

Fodor's choice

A short drive west from the heart of Brewster, this spacious museum and its pristine grounds include a shop, a natural-history library, and exhibits such as a working beehive and an aquarium with live specimens from local waters. Walking trails wind through 80 acres of forest, marshland, and ponds, all rich in birds and other wildlife. A pollinator path lined with blooming plants leads to a seasonal (June-Sept.) Butterfly House. The exhibit hall upstairs has a wall display of aerial photographs documenting the process by which the famous Chatham sandbar was split in two. In summer there are family field walks, nature programs, forest bathing, and nature classes for kids age 3--12. 

Cape Cod National Seashore

Fodor's choice

The region's most expansive national treasure, Cape Cod National Seashore was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, for whom Cape Cod was home and haven. The lands and waters of the Seashore comprise 44,000 acres of the Cape, extending from Chatham to Provincetown. The protected area includes 40 miles of pristine sandy beach; rolling dunes; swamps, marshes, and wetlands; and pitch-pine and scrub-oak forest. Self-guided nature trails, as well as biking and horse trails, wind through these landscapes. Hiking trails from Salt Pond Visitor Center lead to Nauset Marsh, Salt Pond, and the Buttonbush Trail, a quarter-mile nature path designed for people with low or no vision. A hike or bike ride to Coast Guard Beach leads to a turnout looking out over marsh and sea. A section of the cliff here was washed away in 1990, revealing the remains of a prehistoric dwelling. The National Seashore has two visitor centers, one in Eastham and one in Provincetown.

Salt Pond Visitor Center, open year-round at the southern end of the Seashore, reveals sweeping views of the Salt Pond and Nauset Marsh. Activities offered (typically from May to October) include ranger-led walks, canoe and kayak tours, demonstrations, and lectures, as well as evening beach walks, campfire talks, and other programs. The centerpiece of the visitor center lobby is a large map showing Cape Cod's location in the Gulf of Maine, displaying the Cape's glacial history and the powerful natural forces that continue to shape it. The visitor center's museum explores the cultural themes represented on Cape Cod, including the Wampanoag, "The First People of the Light," plus European settlement, fishing, life-saving, lighthouses, communication technology and tourism. An air-conditioned auditorium shows films on geology, sea rescues, whaling, Henry David Thoreau, and Guglielmo Marconi.

Castle Island

South Boston Fodor's choice

Although it once was, Castle Island is no longer, well, an island. Capping the South Boston neighborhood, Castle Island is accessible by car and by foot from Day Boulevard. Its centerpiece is Fort Independence, built in 1801 (although there have been battlements on-site since 1644), open for free tours on summer weekend afternoons. Castle Island is a popular spot to walk dogs, jog, or cycle, whether just around the island itself or along the water-set Pleasure Bay Loop. There's also a nice playground for kids. Stop by Castle Island institution Sullivan's for a hot dog, fried seafood dinner, or ice cream. Views of the harbor and its outlying islands are expansive.

Crane Beach on the Crane Estate

Fodor's choice

Crane Beach, one of New England's most stunning beaches, is a sandy, 4-mile-long stretch backed by dunes and a nature trail about an hour from Boston. Public parking is available, but on a nice summer weekend it's usually full before lunch. There are lifeguards, a snack bar, and changing rooms. Check ahead before visiting mid-July to early August, when greenhead flies terrorize sunbathers. The Ipswich Essex Explorer bus runs between the Ipswich train station and Crane Beach weekends and holidays from June to September; the $5 pass includes round-trip bus fare and beach admission. Contact the Ipswich Visitor Information Center for information. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); toilets; showers. Best for: swimming; walking.

Emerald Necklace Conservancy

Fenway-Kenmore Fodor's choice

The six large public parks known as Boston's Emerald Necklace stretch 7 miles from the Back Bay Fens to Franklin Park in Dorchester, and include Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, Olmsted Park, and the Riverway. The linear parks, designed by master landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted more than 100 years ago, remain a well-groomed urban masterpiece.

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Fodor's choice

If you have kids in tow—or if you just love children's book illustrations—"the Carle" is a must-see. This light-filled museum celebrates and preserves not only the works of renowned children's book author Eric Carle, who penned The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but also original picture-book art by Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris Van Allsburg, and many others. Puppet shows and storytelling events are among the museum's ongoing programs. Children are invited to create their own works of art in the studio or read classics or discover new authors in the library.

Faneuil Hall

Government Center Fodor's choice

Faneuil Hall (pronounced Fan-yoo'uhl or Fan-yuhl) was erected in 1742, the gift of wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil, who wanted the hall to serve as both a place for town meetings and a public market. It burned in 1761 and was immediately reconstructed according to the original plan of its designer, the Scottish portrait painter John Smibert (who lies in the Granary Burying Ground). In 1763 the political leader James Otis helped inaugurate the era that culminated in American independence when he dedicated the rebuilt hall to the cause of liberty.

In 1772, Samuel Adams stood here and first suggested that Massachusetts and the other colonies organize a Committee of Correspondence to maintain semiclandestine lines of communication in the face of hardening British repression. In later years the hall again lived up to Otis's dedication when the abolitionists Wendell Phillips and Charles Sumner pleaded for support from its podium. The tradition continues to this day: in presidential-election years the hall is the site of debates between contenders in the Massachusetts primary.

Faneuil Hall was substantially enlarged and remodeled in 1805 according to a Greek Revival design of the noted architect Charles Bulfinch; this is the building you see today. Its purposes remain the same: the balconied Great Hall is available to citizens' groups on presentation of a request signed by a required number of responsible parties; it also plays host to regular concerts.

Inside Faneuil Hall are dozens of paintings of famous Americans, including the mural Webster's Reply to Hayne and Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Washington at Dorchester Heights. Park rangers give informational talks about the history and importance of Faneuil Hall every half hour. There are interactive displays about Boston sights, and National Park Service rangers at the visitor center on the first floor can provide maps and other information.

On the building's top floors are the headquarters and museum and library of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, which is free to visit (but a donation is welcome). Founded in 1638, it's the oldest militia in the Western Hemisphere, and the third-oldest in the world, after the Swiss Guard and the Honourable Artillery Company of London. The museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 am to 3 pm.

When such men as Andrew Jackson and Daniel Webster debated the future of the Republic here, the fragrances of bacon and snuff—sold by merchants in Quincy Market across the road—greeted their noses. Today the aroma of coffee wafts through the hall from a snack bar. The shops at ground level sell New England bric-a-brac. This is Freedom Trail stop 11.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Government Center Fodor's choice

A well-known complex of historical significance, shopping, eating, and street performers, Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a place for all things Boston. Stretching out in front of historical Faneuil Hall, the largest area known as Quincy Market attracts huge crowds of tourists and locals throughout the year. In the early ’70s, demolition was a distinct possibility for the decrepit buildings. Fortunately, with the participation of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, architect Benjamin Thompson planned a renovation of Quincy Market, and the Rouse Corporation of Baltimore undertook its restoration, which was completed in 1976. Try to look beyond the shop windows to the grand design of the market buildings themselves; they represent a vision of the market as urban centerpiece, an idea whose time has certainly come again.

The market consists of three block-long annexes: Quincy Market, North Market, and South Market, each 535 feet long and across a plaza from Faneuil Hall and ending at the horseshoe-shaped building of Marketplace Center Shops. The structures were designed in 1826 by Alexander Parris as part of a public-works project instituted by Boston's second mayor, Josiah Quincy, to alleviate the cramped conditions of Faneuil Hall and clean up the refuse that collected in Town Dock, the pond behind it. The central structure, made of granite, with a Doric colonnade at either end and topped by a classical dome and rotunda, has kept its traditional market-stall layout, but the stalls now purvey international and specialty foods: sushi, frozen yogurt, bagels, calzones, sausage-on-a-stick, Chinese noodles, barbecue, and baklava, plus all the boutique chocolate-chip cookies your heart desires. ArtsBoston's BOSTIX Booth can also be found in the marketplace; stop by for same-day, discounted theater and sight tickets. 

In between Quincy Market and South Market colonnades, be sure to stop and take a seat next to the sculpture of legendary Boston Celtics coach, Red Auerbach, smoking one of his famous stogies.

Along the arcades on either side of the Central Market are mostly kiosk-based vendors selling sweatshirts, photographs of Boston, and arts and crafts—some schlocky, some not—alongside a couple of patioed bars and restaurants, including the new Sam Adams Brewery (perfectly poised within sight of his famous statue). The North and South markets house a mixture of chain stores and specialty boutiques.

Faneuil Hall provides a splash of color; during the winter holidays, trees along the cobblestone walks are strung with thousands of sparkling lights and the interior Quincy Market rotunda is home to a 20-foot Christmas tree. In summer up to 50,000 people a day descend on the market; the outdoor cafés are an excellent spot to watch the hordes if you can find a seat. Year-round the pedestrian walkways draw street performers, and rings of strollers form around magicians and musicians.

Fenway Park

Fenway-Kenmore Fodor's choice

Fenway Park is Major League Baseball's oldest ballpark and has seen some stuff since its 1912 opening. For one, it's the home field for the Boston Red Sox, which overcame the "Curse of the Bambino" to win World Series championships in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. Ticket-holding Sox fans can browse display cases mounted inside Fenway Park before and during a ballgame; these shed light on and show off memorabilia from particular players and eras of the club team's history. Fenway offers hour-long behind-the-scenes guided walking tours of the park; there are also specialized tour options.

Greenway Carousel

Waterfront Fodor's choice

You'll never see another carousel quite like this gorgeous, hand-carved custom one that brings to life the air, sea, and land animals that are native to New England—think peregrine falcon, monarch butterfly, lobster, and gray squirrel among many others. Installed in 2013, this delightful children's ride doesn't have nearly enough mileage on it yet.

Harvard Museum of Natural History

Harvard Square Fodor's choice

The Harvard Museum of Natural History (which exhibits specimens from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum) reminds us nature is the original masterpiece. Cases are packed with zoological specimens, from tiny hummingbirds and deer mice to rare Indian rhinoceroses and one of the largest Amazon pirarucu ever caught. View fossils and skeletons alongside marvelous minerals, including a 1,600-pound amethyst geode. Harvard's world-famous Blaschka Glass Flowers collection is a creative approach to flora, with more than 4,300 hand-blown glass plant models. The museum combines historic exhibits drawn from the university's vast collections with new and changing multimedia exhibitions, such as In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers: An Exploration of Change and the new The Blaschkas at the Microscope: Lessons in Botany, plus a renovated Earth & Planetary Sciences gallery.

Harvard Square

Fodor's choice

Tides of students, tourists, and politically charged proponents are all part of the nonstop pedestrian flow at this most celebrated of Cambridge crossroads. Harvard Square is where Massachusetts Avenue, coming from Boston, turns and widens into a triangle broad enough to accommodate a brick peninsula (above the T station). The restored 1928 kiosk in the center of the square once served as the entrance to the MBTA station, and is now home to lively street musicians and artists selling their paintings and photos on blankets. Harvard Yard, with its lecture halls, residential houses, libraries, and museums, is one long border of the square; the other three are composed of clusters of banks, retailers, and restaurants.

Time in the square raises people-watching to a high art form. On an average afternoon you'll hear earnest conversations in dozens of foreign languages; see every kind of youthful uniform from slouchy sweats to impeccable prep; wander by street musicians playing guitars and flutes; and wonder at how students reading textbooks out in the sunshine can get any work done among the commotion.

The historic buildings are worth noting. It's a thrill to walk though the big brick-and-wrought-iron gates to Harvard Yard on up to Widener Library, the university's flagship library. More than 50 miles of bookshelves snake around this imposing neoclassical structure, designed by one of the nation's first major African American architects, Julian Abele. It holds more than 3.5 million volumes in 450 languages, but is unfortunately only open to students and four guests.

Across Garden Street, through an ornamental arch, is Cambridge Common, decreed a public pasture in 1631. It's said that under a large tree that once stood in this meadow George Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775. A stone memorial now marks the site of the "Washington Elm." Also on the common is the Irish Famine Memorial by Derry artist Maurice Harron, unveiled in 1997 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of "Black ’47," the deadliest year of the potato famine. At the center of the common a large memorial commemorates the Union soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War. On the far side of the common is a fantastic park and newly renovated playground.

Heritage Museums and Gardens

Fodor's choice

These 100 beautifully landscaped acres overlooking the upper end of Shawme Pond are one of the region's top draws. Paths crisscross the grounds, which include gardens planted with hostas, heather, herbs, and fruit trees. Rhododendrons are in full glory mid-May–mid-June, and daylilies reach their peak mid-July–early August. In 1967, pharmaceuticals magnate Josiah K. Lilly III purchased the estate and turned it into a nonprofit museum. One highlight is the reproduction Shaker Round Barn, which showcases classic and historic cars—including a 1919 Pierce-Arrow, a 1915 Stutz Bearcat, a 1911 Stanley Steamer, and a 1930 yellow-and-green Duesenberg owned by movie star Gary Cooper. The art museum has an extraordinary collection of New England folk art, including paintings, weather vanes, Nantucket baskets, and scrimshaw. Both adults and children can enjoy riding on a Coney Island–style carousel dating to the early 20th century. Other features include Hidden Hollow, an outdoor activity center for families with children. An aerial adventure park offers 60 treetop platforms connected by bridges, ladders, and 7 ziplines, designed for children age 7 and up and adults.

A shuttle bus, equipped with a wheelchair lift and space to stow baby strollers, transports visitors on certain days.  The center of the complex is about ¾ mile on foot from the in-town end of Shawme Pond.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

South Boston Fodor's choice

Sitting at the edge of Dorchester Bay, this stark, white building (a modernist monument designed by I. M. Pei) pays homage to the life and presidency of John F. Kennedy, as well as to members of his family, including his wife, Jacqueline, and brother Robert. The library-museum is both a center for serious scholarship and a focus for Boston's nostalgia for her native son. 

The library is the official repository of JFK's presidential papers and displays re-creations of his desk in the Oval Office and of the television studio in which he debated Richard Nixon in the 1960 election. Permanent exhibits focus on his life before politics, the 1960 presidential election, the Peace Corps, and the U.S. space program. There's also a permanent display on the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The facility also includes a store and a small café.

The Lawn on D

Seaport Fodor's choice

Stop, rest awhile, and have some fun. That's the purpose of The Lawn on D, a free-to-all open green space that features a plethora of games like bocce, corn hole, Ping-Pong, and pickleball, and chairs for lounging. In warmer weather, you can often catch a live concert or film screening here, or a public art installation. A concession stand makes sure visitors are well fed. The only catch? You can't bring Fido.

Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

Fodor's choice

Encompassing nearly 1,000 acres, this reserve is home to more than 300 species of birds. A jewel of Mass Audubon's statewide network of wildlife sanctuaries, Wellfleet Bay is a superb place for walking, birding, and watching the sun set over the salt marsh and Cape Cod Bay. The Esther Underwood Johnson Nature Center contains six aquariums that offer an up-close look at marine life common to the region's tidal flats, marshes, and ponds. From the nature center you can hike five short nature trails, including a fascinating boardwalk trail that leads over a salt marsh to a small beach, or you can wander through the pollinator garden.

Museum of Fine Arts

Fenway-Kenmore Fodor's choice

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).

Museum of Science

West End Fodor's choice

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.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Fodor's choice

This 80,000-square-foot facility—named for Canadian phys-ed instructor Dr. James Naismith, who invented the game of basketball in 1891 during his five years at Springfield's YMCA Training Center—showcases plenty of jerseys, memorabilia, and video highlights. High-profile players such as Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the NBA and Nancy Lieberman of the WNBA are among the nearly 300 enshrinees, but the hall celebrates the accomplishments of players, coaches, and others at all levels of the sport. In addition to displays chronicling basketball history, the hall has a soaring domed arena where you can practice jumpers, walls of inspirational quotes you can view, dozens of interactive exhibits, and video footage and interviews with former players. The hall is easy to find: look for the 15-story spire with an illuminated basketball on top.