10 Top Things to Do in Boston

Boston Common, established in 1634, is the oldest public park in the United States, a 50-acre green that has served as everything from a cattle pasture to a Revolutionary encampment. Today it is the city's front lawn, with the gold-domed Massachusetts State House looking down from Beacon Hill and the Freedom Trail beginning at its edge.

Across Charles Street, the adjoining Public Garden is more formal, a Victorian botanical garden famous for its lagoon, its swan boats that have paddled since 1877, and the much-loved Make Way for Ducklings bronze statues. Together the two parks make a relaxing start or finish to a day in the centre.

Pro Tip: Ride the swan boats in the Public Garden lagoon between spring and early autumn - they are gentle, cheap and a Boston institution. In winter, the Common's Frog Pond becomes a public ice rink right in the middle of the city.

Faneuil Hall has been a marketplace and meeting hall since 1742, earning the nickname the 'Cradle of Liberty' for the revolutionary speeches made within its walls. Today it anchors a lively market district, with the great colonnaded Quincy Market hall behind it packed with food stalls, from clam chowder to cannoli.

The cobbled plazas between the halls draw street performers, buskers and crowds throughout the day, making it one of the busiest and most atmospheric corners of downtown. It is a natural lunch stop on the Freedom Trail, even if the food leans more touristy than refined.

Pro Tip: Grab a bowl of New England clam chowder from a Quincy Market stall and eat it outside watching the street performers. Come mid-morning or mid-afternoon to dodge the lunchtime crush, and step inside Faneuil Hall itself, which is free to enter.

Opened in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark still in use in Major League Baseball and the beloved home of the Boston Red Sox. Its quirks are legendary: the towering left-field wall known as the Green Monster, the lone red seat marking the longest home run ever hit there, and the hand-operated scoreboard.

Catching a Red Sox game here, with the crowd singing along to 'Sweet Caroline' in the eighth inning, is one of the great American sporting experiences. When there is no game, year-round guided tours take you onto the field, up to the Green Monster seats and through the park's century of history.

Pro Tip: Game tickets sell out fast, so book ahead, especially for summer weekends and games against the Yankees. No game during your visit? The daily ballpark tour is excellent and far easier to get into, with the best light for photos in the morning.

The Museum of Fine Arts is one of the largest and finest art museums in the United States, holding nearly half a million works across galleries that range from ancient Egypt to contemporary art. Its collections of Impressionist paintings, American art and Asian art are particularly strong, and it holds the largest collection of Monet paintings outside Paris.

The building blends a grand 1909 Beaux-Arts core with the light-filled modern Art of the Americas wing, so it is a pleasure to walk even between exhibits. Allow at least half a day, and note the adjacent Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum makes an easy add-on.

Pro Tip: Buy a timed ticket online to skip the queue, and check whether your visit falls on a discounted or pay-what-you-wish evening. The Art of the Americas wing is the highlight; start there before the galleries fill in the afternoon.

On Central Wharf at the downtown waterfront, the New England Aquarium is built around its four-storey Giant Ocean Tank, a 200,000-gallon cylindrical Caribbean reef you spiral around on a ramp, watching sea turtles, sharks and rays glide past. A breezy outdoor harbour-seal exhibit greets you for free before you even buy a ticket.

Inside are penguin colonies, a touch tank of rays, and exhibits on the marine life of the Gulf of Maine. The aquarium is also the departure point for the city's whale-watching cruises, which head out to the feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank in the warmer months.

Pro Tip: Book a timed entry online to skip the wharf-side queue, which can be long in summer. Combine a morning at the aquarium with an afternoon whale-watching cruise from the same wharf, and check feeding times for the best tank viewing.

Across the Charles River in Cambridge, Harvard University is the oldest university in the United States, founded in 1636, and its tree-shaded Harvard Yard is open for wandering. The red-brick halls, the statue of John Harvard with its famous lucky foot, and the surrounding museums make it a rewarding half day.

Harvard Square around it buzzes with bookshops, cafes and street musicians, and student-led tours offer an entertaining insider take on campus life and legends. The neighbouring Massachusetts Institute of Technology and its striking modern architecture are a short ride further along the river.

Pro Tip: Join a free or low-cost student-guided campus tour for the stories you will not get wandering alone, then explore Harvard Square's independent bookshops. The Harvard Museum of Natural History, with its famous glass flowers, is an underrated stop nearby.

Berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard at the northern end of the Freedom Trail, the USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, launched in 1797 and nicknamed 'Old Ironsides' after cannonballs were seen to bounce off her oak hull. Active-duty US Navy sailors give tours of the decks.

The adjacent USS Constitution Museum tells the story of the ship and her crew through hands-on exhibits, and the historic navy yard itself is a pleasant waterfront walk with views back across the harbour to the downtown skyline. Boarding the ship is free, though you pass through a security check.

Pro Tip: Arrive by the MBTA harbour ferry from Long Wharf for a scenic approach and skip the long Freedom Trail walk back. Bring photo ID for the security screening to board the ship, and check the day's tour times when you arrive.

Beacon Hill is the postcard Boston of gas lamps, brick row houses and steep cobbled lanes, the city's most genteel and historic residential district. Its showpiece is Acorn Street, a narrow cobblestone lane lined with ivy-clad townhouses that is often called the most photographed street in the United States.

Charles Street at the foot of the hill is full of antique shops, boutiques and cafes, while Louisburg Square is ringed by some of the city's grandest homes. The whole neighbourhood is best simply wandered on foot, and it sits a few minutes from Boston Common and the State House.

Pro Tip: Photograph Acorn Street early in the morning before the crowds and parked cars appear; the cobbles are uneven, so wear sensible shoes. Combine a wander through Beacon Hill with the start of the Freedom Trail on the neighbouring Common.

The North End is Boston's oldest residential neighbourhood and its Little Italy, a tight grid of narrow streets packed with trattorias, espresso bars and bakeries. Hanover Street, the main artery, smells of garlic and fresh pastry, and the rivalry between its historic cannoli shops is taken very seriously by locals.

It is also rich in Freedom Trail history: Paul Revere's House, the oldest building in downtown Boston, and the Old North Church, where the lanterns signalled the British advance in 1775, both stand here. The mix of revolutionary landmarks and an Italian dinner makes it a perfect evening stop.

Pro Tip: Come hungry in the evening for dinner, but expect queues at the famous restaurants, which mostly do not take small bookings. Settle the cannoli debate by trying both of the rival Hanover Street bakeries, then walk it off among the historic sites.