The Best Places to See in Boston, MA
Some of the Best Places to See in Boston, MA, from the North End to Fenway Park
Founded in 1630, Boston is the capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, at a population of 645,000. It's a city with a rich sports history thanks to the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics, deep historical roots (remember the Boston Tea Party?), unique buildings like the Hancock Tower and the Pru, world renowned museums, unbeatable restaurants, and above all, character. Read more about the best places to visit in Boston, cool places to go, and interesting destinations near and within the city that you shouldn't miss.
This page will list the best sightseeing attractions and viewpoints of the city. For a list of popular activities in the city, please read this guide on
Boston is One of America's Oldest Cities!
Renovations to the city make it modernized and new (The Big Dig)
Since Boston buildings have been close together for hundreds of years, before the advent of cars, the road system is quite tough to navigate. The much criticized "Big Dig" work that was done from the first ground breaking in 1991 and being completed in 2007. The new tunnel system had huge obstacles to overcome, such as tunneling under an existing subway tunnel and circumventing pipes and wires already in place. By the end of the construction, a number of parks and open areas made the top of the city much more attractive, while alleviating traffic below (though the tunnel has has its problems).
The Best Boston Guide - Just the right size for travel - detailed photos, maps, and recommendations
DK Eyewitness Travel makes some of the best and easiest to use books for easy reading at a glance. Recommendations for restaurants, real-world tips, pictures and history are all given.
DK Travel always makes an excellent guide, and this is no exception. Navigating the streets of Boston can be overwhelming, as streets are set up very haphazardly. This books covers all of the must-see gems and treasures Boston has to offer, all in one convenient guide.
Fenway Park
Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge
Landfill!
The original size of Boston was much smaller than the present size. Boston used to be a peninsula, which was later filled in. Much of the present day city is predominantly fill, and no longer resembles a peninsula.
Old North Church
Have You Been Here? - Vote and tell us how many times you've been...
How many times have you been to Boston?
The Prudential Building
Back Bay View of the City
Have an area you think is even better than any of these that are mentioned? Tell us about it in the guestbook!
What's your favorite part of Boston?
A Cruise Through Boston
A cruise through the Big Dig Tunnels caught on tape!
Quincy Market and Customs House Tower
It's the "T." The mostly underground transportation system is known as the "T." Don't call it anything else, it's a dead giveaway you're a tourist!
Boston weather can range during the seasons from icy, blistering cold in the winter to very hot and humid in the summer. Expect summer and spring days to change without notice to rainy, cool days in the '50s and '60s, while peaking in the high 80's and sometimes 90's. Winter temps are typically between 25-45 during the day. Autumn temperatures range usually in the 50s and 60s and mostly dry.
Here's a chart with annual averages for precipitation in Boston as well as temperatures from Weather.com.
Peak fall foliage colors for Boston usually hits mid to late October. Colors here are vibrant, but even more so north of the city in the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont. Expect traffic and sometimes difficulty finding places to stay during those weeks, so book ahead. The western part of Mass, the Berkshires, is also known for its impressive foliage in autumn.
It's safe to say that it's "shorts and t-shirt" weather from late May to early September, plus or minus a few weeks. In the fall, you'll need a windbreaker, light jacket, or sweatshirt with pants, and in the winter, dress as warm as possible from December to mid March (again, plus or minus a few weeks).
Winter driving in Boston can be tough. If you haven't driven in the snow before, it might be a good idea to have some more experienced drive (Bostonians aren't very tolerant of newbie snow drivers!), or to at least rent an SUV with four wheel drive.
Buildings on the Waterfront at Dusk, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Around Boston
There are several cool places to visit not far from Boston, like Plum Island, Plymouth, Cape Cod, the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Even other states are comparitively close, Rhode Island being only about 45 miles away and New Hampshire about 30 miles away.
Boston Lighthouse Links - Learn more about these historic lighthouses, or take a tour:
- Massachusetts Lighthouses
Massachusetts has many, many historical lighthouses which you may recognize. From Highland Light in Truro, Gay Head Light on Martha's Vineyard, Sankaty Head Light on Nantucket, or Boston Harbor Light, you can find directions and history on these old - Boston Lighthouse Cruise
A cool cruise around Boston harbor would round out your trip nicely. Check dates, times and availability here. - Boston Light History
Find a brief history of Boston Light here.
Downtown Boston
A Few Recommended Boston Books - Guides to the city that are perfect for your trip!
Here are some excellent rated books and guides to navigate the city of Boston.
Red Sox Apparel
You'll find yourself making plenty of friends in Boston if you have the right sports attire on. Here are some hand picked, highly rated Red Sox clothing, shirts, hats and sweatshirts.
Celtics Apparel
What trip would be complete to Boston without some unique sports apparel from the local teams? We've hand picked the best rated and best looking Celtics shirts, hats and more here.
Recommended Links:
Be sure to also visit...
Introduction photograph by Emmanuel Huybrechts on flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.
Boston Home Remodeling from GreenStar Builders
Reliable building and remodeling on the South Shore, from Cape Cod to Boston.
Posters of fall foliage scenes throughout New England. The perfect gift for anyone that makes an annual leaf peeping trip up north!
T-shirts for every major town on the south shore of Massachusetts!
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Related
What Are Your Favorite Places to Visit in Boston? - Recommend a place, and tell us your experience!
AUTHOR@massifornia: Mass and California, my two favorite states. The North End is great, we were just there a couple weeks back.
I'm a recent Boston transplant and so far I'm loving the North End, the new Seaport area and the SoWa Open Market...can't wait to keep discovering!
Fenway Park, of course. One of the best ballparks in baseball.
I love Boston, my favorite place to go is Kenmore Square for all the great restaurants, coffee shops and of course Fenway Park.
Great Fenway park is beautiful, nice lens.
I love Boston, has many of the arts & entertainment attractions of huge cities like NYC or Tokyo but not the overwhelming amount of people.
This is a great time of year to visit Boston, even if there are a few more things to do in the Summer. Great lens. Thank you.
This is a great time of year to visit Boston, even if there are a few more things to do in the Summer. Great lens. Thank you.
I need to go back... I didn't get to go to too many places there.
I have never been, but I would really like to visit someday. Enjoyed your lens.
South Boston looks nice :) Great lens.
My brother used to go to school in Boston near the Old North Church. He used to take me around and show me the sights. I live a couple of hours away now and end up heading down that way at least once a year. A lot of my family history is rooted in Boston, so there's a bit of a hometown feel there for me. Definitely a beautiful city worth visiting!
I love boston!
I hope to visit Boston soon! These images are gorgeous! Thanks for the great collection of resources! Blessed :)
I've been to Fanuiel Hall/Quincy Market and I could just gorge myself on all the great seafood there. When I visit my family next I'll have to take my kids to a baseball game at Fenway Park!
I have visited Boston a few times. Unfortunately, all my visits have been quite short but I liked what I saw. Hotels can be $$$ so it pays to reserve early and to shop around.
saved fenway park photo, going to set it as my laptop background! 'thumbs up' for your lens.
Every time I am in Boston I try to catch a game at Fenway Park
Very Insteresting and comprehensive! Thanks!
I would say the best day in Boston would be a train ride down to Boston from Portland, then on to the Aquarium. We will pick a lunch at Fanuiel Hall then wrap the day up with a duck Boat ride.
I plan on traveling to Boston the end of April and looking forward to this trip! I just got this awesome new camera and can't wait to put it to great use here in this beautiful city! :-)
I love walking in the old part of Boston. A stop a Cheers is always fun too! Thanks for the memories. Blessed and added to my United States Travel Angel lens.
The Boston Bruins are by far the NUMBER 1 thing to see in Boston ..... Ok maybe the Red Sox are a close 2nd lol ;)
Very interesting and enjoyable lens to read about one of Americas oldest and most historical city. With recent championships won by the city's professional basketball, football, and baseball teams, Boston could easily be called "The City of Champions".
What I found most interesting was the proximity of Rhode Island(45 miles away) and New Hampshire(30 miles away) to this bustling metropolis. The accompanying photographs are a wonderful addition that really held my interest.
I saw a show on the Big Dig. Interesting.
Great lens! We just added this to the featured lenses in the sidebar of our Massachusetts wedding lens - http://www.squidoo.com/planning-a-wedding-in-massa... Looking forward to a dominating season from the Celts too! ... and the Pats and Bruins. Red Sox need to find their way again.
Cool page I grew up in East Boston
I've never been to Boston, but it is definitely on my list of places to visit. Great lens! Thanks for the tour.
I am not a city girl, but have been to Boston a few times... but can't stand the way they drive in Mass!! Frightening.... Great lens! Will do some rolling...
Boston is a great place to visit. Harvard Square is a great place to hang out, and don't forget to visit the campus along with MIT.
I have always wanted to visit Boston, but haven't. I enjoyed reading about this place and the picture are great to see. Looks like I'm going to want to go there even more now. Very nicely done lens. Its a big place with tall buildings. I haven't ever been to the coast, so I still have lots to see...hopefully someone. ~ This lens deserves a blessing for sure and that it will be. :)
Susie
We're looking forward to visiting Boston. This is a great lens. Thanks for pointing out some of the highlights.
Well thought out lens.Love the city, love your lens. Thank you for bringing us such valuable information.
I'm going to be in Boston this may, I'm definitely going to visit this site a few times before I leave!
Great lense! Informative and usefull information, especially regarding the North End because I give guided walking tours of the North End!
Ah, gorgeous! I just watched the 'John Adams' miniseries on HBO and have been thinking of Boston lately. Welcome to All Things Travel.
A quality Lens offering lots of great information 5* and welcome to Travelmania Group!
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