Location: Beacon Hill
Top Things to do in Beacon Hill
The 10 Best Things to do in Beacon Hill, Massachusetts (MA)
Walk the Freedom Trail the first time you visit Boston and you'll quickly get a sense of this coastal city's revolutionary spirit and history. But make sure you also explore some of Boston's fine museums (try the Isabella Stewart Gardner, featuring masterpieces displayed in their collector's mansion) and old neighborhoods (like the North End, Boston's Little Italy). You can't claim to have experienced real Boston culture, though, until you've watched a Red Sox game from the bleachers.
Restaurants in Boston
1. Walking Tours Of Boston In French
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 312 reviews
Boston le nez en l'air offert historical and cultural tours of Boston with a French touch. All the tours are run in French with local francophone guides.
2. Ye Olde Tavern Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 196 reviews
Since 2013, Ye Olde Tavern Tours has been offering the best way to learn Boston's history because you drink beer while doing it! On this historic tavern tour, you'll walk along the Freedom Trail to see and learn about ten historic sites related to the American Revolution and grab a beer at some of the nation's oldest taverns. Founded by a PhD in American history, you'll hear about and immerse yourself in Boston's drunken and revolutionary past. Our tours are the best way to walk the Freedom Trail and enjoy the rich history of Boston! Huzzah!
3. Four-Handed Illusions: An Intimate Evening of Laughs & Wonder
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 208 reviews
Illusionists Joel Acevedo and Steve Kradolfer join their talents in a performance that is engaging, hilarious, and mystifying. As one of only 50 guests, you will experience the magic just a few feet from your eyes. Add the sophisticated elegance of Boston’s Hampshire House and the result is a uniquely entertaining experience you'll remember for a long time. The event starts 30 mins before showtime with a pre-show reception in the mansion's Baker Bar, where you'll find a vast selection of cocktails and beverages available for purchase. At show time, guests enter the Library where they will witness surreal situations come to life. Common objects will appear, vanish, teleport to impossible locations, and move across the room in inexplicable ways. You will also experience the wonders of the human mind through masterful demonstrations of telepathy, precognition, and mind reading. Join us and see why Four-Handed Illusions is one of Boston's highest rated shows!
Reviewed By bgoverman
If you are looking for something a bit different, and loads of fun, check out these guys. They have been around for seven years, enough time to refine a superbly executed evening of illusions that will keep you baffled. The banter and audience interaction are enough to keep you laughing, and add on top of that some really excellent illusions, and voila! Nice night, followed by yummy dinner at the sublimely cozy 75 Chestnut. Thanks guys!
4. Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By KimGTravels - Pacific Grove, United States
Located across the street from the State House on Beacon Hill, this moving high-relief bronze of Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment is mounted onto stone. Comprised of the first African-Americans to serve during the Civil War, a clause in Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation made African-American volunteer regiments permissible. Fighting battles in South Carolina, 598 men returned to Boston of the 1,007 enlisted, taking part in the final ceremonies held on Boston Common. Taking nearly 14 years to its completion in 1884, Augustus Saint-Gaudens captured and honored the sacrifice of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment and their volunteer service. Colonel Shaw gallantly sits upon horseback, with three rows of his infantry boldly marching behind, representative of their journey down Beacon Street on May 28, 1863 toward battles in the South. Severely wounded in the battle at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, Sergeant William H. Carney rescued the regiment's flag from capture, becoming the first African-American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Unfortunately, Colonel Shaw was killed, along with 74 enlisted men and 3 officers in that battle.
5. Boston Public Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9,829 reviews
This Frederick Law Olmsted-designed park, famous for its Swan Boats, has over 600 varieties of trees and an ever-changing array of flowers. It is America's first public garden.
Reviewed By M3730ZNsarab
No trip to Boston is complete without walking through these gardens! Located downtown and right beside Boston Commons, this is a beautiful spot to stroll through on a sunny day and stop and sit. You can see squirrels, ducks, beautiful flowers in season, ride the swan boats, see the duck statues, see the fountains, and enjoy the day!
6. Freedom Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 17,358 reviews
The red line on the sidewalk leads you on this 2.5-mile, self-guided tour of American Revolution sites. It starts at the Boston Common, America's oldest public park, and ends at the famed Bunker Hill Monument.
Reviewed By 434eileenb - Wheaton, United States
American history starts here- Bunker Hill Monument, USS Constitution (Old Ironsides), Paul Revere's House, Old North Church, Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Boston Tea Party Site, the Granary Burial ground, King's Chapel, Old Corner Book Store are all must see sites. The "Red" trail takes you to all these places and more. Very easy walking short segments of the trail. Everyone friendly and wearing masks. We started at Boston Common. Visitor center didnot have any free maps -the one they had was $3.00 and it was the same as we got at our hotel..so pick one up at your hotel if possible. They also had bathrooms. Parking is free on Sundays on the streets so get there early in the day We stopped at Faneuil Hall for lunch and shopping. Visitor center was closed (not sure if is opened at all) We drove over to USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). We found parking on the street. We didnot see any parking lots. Visitor center/museum was $10 per adult and worth visiting. The ship is free but they only allow 25 people at a time so go early in the day. Be prepared to stand in sun as they have limited shade and they do security and virus checks.
7. Emerson College
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9 reviews
8. Church of the Advent
9. Boston Common
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,419 reviews
Whether it's a summer picnic in the grass or winter ice-skating on Frog Pond, Boston's oldest public park is the perfect escape from the bustle of the city.
Reviewed By JeanneJ739
Lovely green expanse in central Boston. In the past a spot to turn your cows out to graze, site of public hangings, protests, speeches (one by Gorbachev), concerts (a big one by Judy Garland), ice skating on the pond in winter, lots of sports facilities, and an annual Christmas tree from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in thanks for prompt and generous help from Boston after the 1917 Halifax explosion.
10. Granary Burying Ground
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,602 reviews
The burial ground for famous American patriots like Paul Revere, John Hancock and Sam Adams, is also the final resting place for Mother Goose.
Reviewed By MRayTraveler - Orange County, United States
Granary Burying Ground is one stop on the Freedom Trail, and features the final resting places of Paul Revere, John Hancock, Sam Adams, the victims of the Boston Massacre, Ben Franklin's parents and many more. So much history in such a small space. Stop by for 20 or 30 minutes and enjoy the opportunity to experience a small bit of our nation's history.
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