A Perfect Day in Boston for.....
I am often asked, "what's the one thing we should do while we're here?" And honestly, I HATE that question! Suffice it to say, there's a LOT of depends in there. So, in a semi-sorta way of answering that question I give you, The Perfect Day in Boston for....The following pages are dedicated to those niche travelers looking for a power packed day in the city. Do some, do all, mix and match but most importantly, HAVE FUN!
The History Buff
OK, so right off the bat I get myself in trouble here. "History" is pretty vague. And, in a 400 year old city, there's a lot of it. We got colonial history, sports history, medical history, religious history, African America history, women's history. History literally oozing out of the potholes you drive over. However, for the purposes of this section I will stick to, the Revolution. and Boston's early, pivotal role.
The Freedom Trail: Yup, absolutely one way to do. Guided or solo, the 2.5 mile trek will take you past 16 historical sites and if you're taking your time at each or most of those sites, this will take you the entire day. A case could even be made that 2-days would be better. Regardless, a quick Google search will give most anyone all the tools they need to soak in all the amazing buildings and sites that tell the stories of the major events that put Boston at the forefront of the American Revolution.
A Trail Less Travelled: BUUUUTTTT....if you'd like a challenge and do things a little differently, allow me to suggest a different day. Do the Revolution, in order! Start in 1768 and walk all the way to 1775! (Note- this is a longer walk! You may even want to uber a part or two but....) Now, I cannot give you the whole story here along with it but, it goes a little something like this:
Crafty's Note: If you were interested, and my schedule allowed, I could be persuaded to offer a private tour for the following. Hit me up here.
Start behind the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel. Yip, right there at the water's edge. That is where the British Army arrived in October of 1768 to get us Rebels back in line and under heel.
Walk up State Street (formerly King's Street) to the Old State House and the site of the Boston Massacre on March 5th, 1770.*
From the Old State House walk up Court Street. Yes, for some reason State Street turns into Court Street for no apparent reason (welcome to Boston!) Take a left on Tremont. You will soon pass King's Chapel Burial Ground on your left. It is Boston's oldest burial ground and well worth the visit as is King's Chapel. ** Take a left on School Street. On the left you will pass a statue of Ben Franklin (marking the site of the first public school in the country) and our absolutely gorgeous, old City Hall. Arrive at the Old South Meeting House diagonally on the right at the end of School Street. The Old South Meeting House is, of course, where almost the entire town of Boston gathered on December 16th, 1773 before celebrating with a little Tea Party!
From the Old South Meeting House you can walk the path the rebels did, dressed as Mohawks, that fateful night. Take a left on Milk Street and a right on Congress Street and head to Griffin's Wharf. Griffin's Wharf is technically right behind the Intercontinental Hotel. However, you will likely want to stop right next to it at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. Simply a must-do for even casual history fans. It's a great tour, fun for the whole family and you get to throw some tea into the hahbah. Huzzah! ***
Yes, I kind of left it up to you as to how you get to our next stop here but, I am assuming you did! The Old North Church. Where, of course, things really got started the night of April 18, 1775 when a couple of lanterns were hung.****
Right, now another choice, well two, actually. First, the next stop is yet, another mile. The Bunker Hill Monument. And you will naturally want to climb those 294 steps to the top, right? So again, possible uber? The other, much bigger decision is if you truly want to do things in order, then you need to get yourself from the Old North Church out to Lexington, then to Concord and then back to the Bunker Hill Monument.
Your perfect day or days ends here. Of course, you should visit the Bunker Hill Museum where you can get an intro to my absolute favorite and extremely underrated, Son of Liberty, Dr. Joseph Warren. Please, please, please do yourself a favor and learn all you can about this amazing individual and his immense contributions to the revolution movement.*****
*Notable Detours: Before getting to the Old State House, pay a visit to Faneuil Hall where the Sons of Liberty would often hold their public meetings, anyway. Warning, you could spend a few hours in Faneuil Hall with so much more than Revolutionary history to offer. Also, don't forget the 2nd floor of the Old State House is a wonderful museum and a part of the Revolutionary Spaces along with the Old South Meeting House which will be the next stop!
**Notable Detour(s): Before turning on School Street, continue on Tremont just about another half a block. You will arrive at the Granary Burial Ground. Or, as I like to call it, the who's who of dead people. Here you can see the graves of Sammy Adams, Johnny Hancock, Paulie Revere and more. Now if you want to dive even deeper, here's two more detours to consider. Coming out of the Granary take a right on Tremont Street. On the left immediately after where they are building the new Holocaust Museum is Winter Street, walk down there to find the marker for where Sam Adams lived. Keep walking down Winter Street and take a left on Washington to get back to the Old South Meeting House. However, if you REALLY want to earn your History Badge, take a right on Washington and head to #630. Embedded in the wall of the building located there is a tablet marking the spot of the historic Liberty Tree landmark, bearing the inscription "Sons of Liberty, 1766."
***OK, so here you'll want to make a decision. The next stop is the Old North Church, roughly a mile away. If you got the legs, go for it! And if so, may I recommend using the Harbor Walk (look it up and thank me later!) Fair warning, you'll also have a decent little walk between here and the next stop, the Bunker Hill Monument (about another mile)
****Notable Detour(s): Prior to arriving at the Old North Church you should, of course, visit the Paul Revere house. And another one for the true history nerd is the marker for the Thomas Hutchinson house, just up the road from the Revere house on Garden Court, after Prince Street. If you have to ask who was Thomas Hutchinson, it's probably not worth it. Just saying:)
*****Ha, you didn't really think you were done, did ya? Your perfect history day can certainly end at the Bunker Hill Monument. HOWEVER, and yet again for the true history geek, you might want to make the 5 mile trek to Dorchester Heights. I mean, finish it off correctly at the spot where ol' George Washington himself set his new (ragtag and mostly drunkard) army and without firing a shot, forced the British military and all the loyalists out of Boston for the last time on March 17th, 1776. Oh, and just as the case for Dr. Joseph Warren, look up Henry Knox and learn how his incredible journey essentially allowed Washington to do what he did here in Boston.
*Notable Detours: Before getting to the Old State House, pay a visit to Faneuil Hall where the Sons of Liberty would often hold their public meetings, anyway. Warning, you could spend a few hours in Faneuil Hall with so much more than Revolutionary history to offer. Also, don't forget the 2nd floor of the Old State House is a wonderful museum and a part of the Revolutionary Spaces along with the Old South Meeting House which will be the next stop!
**Notable Detours: Before turning on School Street, continue on Tremont just about another half a block. You will arrive at the Granary Burial Ground. Or, as I like to call it, a who's who of dead people. Here you can see the graves of Sammy Adams, Johnny Hancock, Paulie Revere and more. Now if you want to dive even deeper, here's two more detours to consider. Coming out of the Granary take a right on Tremont Street. On the left immediately after where they are building the new Holocaust Museum is Winter Street, walk down there to find the marker for where Sam Adams lived. Keep walking down Winter Street and take a left on Washington to get back to the Old South Meeting House. However, if you REALLY want to earn your History Badge, take a right on Washington and head to #630. Embedded in the wall of the building located there is a tablet marking the spot of the historic Liberty Tree landmark, bearing the inscription "Sons of Liberty, 1766."
