Freedom Trail Walking Tour with Bunker Hill and USS Constitution
Description
Most tours of the Freedom Trail are partial tours, skipping sections to save time. This tours will take you from start to finish -- with a focus on the people and events that propelled peaceful Puritans into revolutionaries willing to give their lives to separate themselves from Great Britain. If you want the complete story, including visiting Bunker Hill and the USS Constitution, this is your tour! FAQs! How long is the tour? It takes about four hours. Are there restrooms? Yes, of course. There are four, and we always stop when someone requests a break. What should I carry? A large water! Camera and hat, and be sure to check the forecast and dress accordingly. Adults bring your ID. You may also want to bring a snack to enjoy as you walk. How do we get back to downtown? There are two main ways: walk or take a ferry to Long Wharf. Is this a good tour for children? Kids who are at least 12 years old usually enjoy the tour. The tour is not recommended for younger children.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You'll see all three buildings used as the seat of Massachusetts government. This is the current State House, designed by the father of Federal Architecture, Charles Bulfinch.
At the time it was built, the church was the tallest building in the country. It's history is tied to the Abolition Movement and was know at "Brimstone Corner" both for the fiery sermons and a surprise of what was once stored in the cellar!
This is the resting place of many of the key figures of the Revolution. You'll meet them and have a brief introduction to each and the roles they played. Buried here are Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and the victims of the Boston Massacre.
This 1749 Anglican Church is where the first conflict erupted between Puritans and the King when in the 1680's the King stole land to place an unwanted church in Boston.
We visit the statue of Benjamin Franklin and a marker commemorating the oldest and still-operating school in the Colony.
Meeting halls were exceptionally important in Colonial times. People heard from preachers and politicians. Most notably, it was from this Puritan Meeting House that Samuel Adams launched the Boston Tea Party and, in doing so, practically guaranteed the war that would follow.
Once the head of the hated British government, this was the site of a fiery court battle that demonstrated the disregard for Colonial rights in 1761. It is also the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre where innocent citizens were gunned down in cold blood... or did it happen a bit differently?
Faneuil Hall has a history of hosting great speakers. From Samuel Adams who decried "No taxation without representation" to escaped slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass.
There is much to see in the "Blackstone Block", from the offices of newspaper, "Massachusetts Spy" to the "Headquarters of the Revolution" (a bar!) to the home of Ebenezer Hancock, brother of John, who's home was used to store money sent from the French to support the Revolution.
One of the oldest homes remaining in Boston, Revere purchased this 1680 Post-Medieval house in 1770 where he fathered sixteen children with two wives.
This church is key to the story of the Revolution when it was used to notify Patriots across narrow waters in Charlestown that the British "Regulars" would pass through Cambridge on their march to collect guns and powder in Lexington and Concord.
A brief visit to this burying ground to understand the geography of the Battle of Bunker Hill and visit a grave marker with an interesting story. to tell.
Learn here about the Battle of Bunker Hill -- fought on Breed's Hill. While losing the battle, the British losses were triple those of the Patriots.
The oldest commissioned war ship in the world is our final stop. Old Ironsides served the US Navy for many years both in US and foreign waters. It is a remarkable treasure.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(806)
Very knowledgeable guide. The USS Constitution is amazing. The Boston Massacre site is disappointing (not the company’s fault) Bunker Hill made me very emotional.
Mark leads an excellent tour. The story of the lead-up to the revolutionary war is brought to life through Marks narrative as we visit these places. His tour is very well-paced, allowing for breaks at just the right time and locations. Bring waters and a snack…our tour was four hours long. We loved it! I highly recommend this tour!
I wanted a tour that did more than just touched on the history of Boston. This 4-Hour tour did all that and more. When I'm traveling, I can typically spend all day in museums and learning. But we were given more information during this 4 hours than I would have gotten 2 days of touring museums. Mark was awesome. He does it for the love of the job and refused to take a tip. This tour took us to all the places we wanted to go and would have enabled me to figure out how to spend the next ~3 days in Boston going into greater detail on some of the places we visited. Exactly what I wanted in a tour and we enjoyed the exercise of crisscrossing Boston in pursuit of the history.
This was a long walking tour with breaks included. Our guide was mark and he was absolutely fantastic. He was very energetic and knowledgeable and made the tour extremely interesting. Even my teen kids enjoyed his style of presentation.
I had an amazing time with this tour, we walk the whole Freedom Trail from Boston Commons to The USS Constitution for 4 hours. I did not feel tired or bored, Mark our guide was really entertaining and informative. If you love history and don't mind walking this is the tour for you.
Mark obviously loves the history of Boston. He made everything interesting and brought it to life. A great afternoon experience.
We covered much ground walking and historically! Mark was considerate and well informed on Boston and the history of our country. I learned new facts and found it interesting. Highly recommend.
This is easily the best tour we’ve ever been on. Mark was incredible! Knowledgeable, engaging, affable. I caught myself with my mouth agape half the time he was talking. Do this tour!
This tour with Mark was excellent! My husband and I are not huge history buffs, but we really enjoy museums and tours when we travel to bring more meaning to the trip! We booked this tour because it is the only one that went all of the way to Bunker Hill and the USS Constitution. We loved how Mark used different historical figures to tell the story of the Freedom Trail versus a bunch of random facts - It really helped to tie everything together. We also loved how he would use cliffhangers to bring you to the next stop! Because of the way he strung along the story, it really didn't feel as long of a tour as it was! The price of the tour is very reasonable for the length of tour you get, and the tour group size is so nice! I saw other tour groups that were huge, so it was nice to have a more intimate group size! You end the tour at the USS Constitution where you are left to explore on your own, which was a great ending point! Overall, I would highly recommend this tour! Mark was professional, informational (even had maps/pictures to reference), and kind! You can tell that he really loves what he dos! I would honestly go on the tour again!
Excellent tour. I am local to Boston and have walked the Freedom Trail at least a dozen times with various types of guides when friends come to visit and this was by far the best experience. Mark is extremely knowledgeable and has visuals to help explain Revolutionary War history. Will recommend this to all our friends and family that come visit us!
Thank you for your wonderful recommendation. I'm so glad you enjoyed the experience! Happy travels!
