Downtown Freedom Trail Walking Tour - History & Architecture





Description
No Costumes! No Yelling! No Huge Tour Group! Just the best in learning about Boston. Experience the history, architecture and culture of Boston wrapped in stories as we explore the Freedom Trail in Downtown Boston. On our 70-minute walking tour, admire the architecture, and learn about the history and culture of the city as you pass attractions and landmarks like Faneuil Hall, King's Chapel, and Boston Common.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The history and architecture of the Downtown Freedom Trail from Faneuil Hall to Boston Common. Includes Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, The Old State House, Boston Massacre Site, Old South Meeting House, Old Corner Bookstore, Old City Hall, First Schoolhouse Site, King's Chapel, Tremont Temple, Old Granary Cemetery, Park Street Church, New State House and Boston Common.
Often called the "Cradle of Liberty," this marketplace hosted the fiery protests that led to the American Revolution. Don't forget to look up at the famous grasshopper weathervane.
Marked by a cobblestone ring in the pavement, this is the exact spot where the 1770 skirmish between Redcoats and colonists ignited the spark of rebellion.
Built in 1713, this was the seat of British colonial government. The Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians from its balcony.
The Old Corner Bookstore is a historic commercial building located at 283 Washington Street at the corner of School Street in the historic core of Boston, Massachusetts. It was built in 1718 as a residence and apothecary shop, and first became a bookstore in 1828.
The massive brick church where the signals were given to start the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
The Boston Irish Famine Memorial is a memorial park located on a plaza between Washington Street and School Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The park contains two groups of statues to contrast an Irish family suffering during the Great Famine of 1845–1852 with a prosperous family that had immigrated to America.
Old City Hall is a building at 45 School Street in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., which housed the Boston City Council from 1865 to 1969. Designed by Gridley James Fox Bryant and Arthur Gilman, it was one of the first buildings in the French Second Empire style to be built in the United States.
The Boston Latin School, founded on April 23, 1635, is the first public school in America, originally located on School Street. Established by Puritans, it provided free, classical education to boys. A statue of alumnus Benjamin Franklin and a sidewalk mosaic now mark its original site.
As one of the sixteen historic landmarks along Boston’s Freedom Trail, King’s Chapel is an important part of a collective. Yet the historic church also stands alone with history unique to its own site. The history of King’s Chapel spans more than 330 years, from its founding in 1686; through the American Revolution and the birth of a new nation; through great periods of change, both difficult and triumphant; to its continued presence in 21st-century Boston.
Hotels in Boston, Massachusetts | Omni Parker House, Boston ...The Omni Parker House, founded by Harvey D. Parker in 1855, is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the United States. Located on School Street in Boston, this historic hotel has hosted every U.S. president since Ulysses S. Grant and is the birthplace of the Boston Cream Pie, Parker House Rolls, and the term "scrod".
Tremont Temple was formed in 1839 under the name The Free Baptist Church. Timothy Gilbert, a piano maker in Boston, resigned his membership at Charles Street Baptist Church when the congregation dissapproved of him inviting a black family into his pew stall at Sunday worship. The church met at several locations until 1843, when Gilbert purchased the Tremont Theater for $55,000 of his own money, which is the location at which our church currently meets. Tremont Temple is famous for being the first integrated church in America, since the church from its inception offered open attendance without charge, which fostered a church community that embraced racial diversity. While primarily dedicated as a place of worship, the Temple's versatile halls also hosted an array of public events, such as the unique display of an Egyptian mummy in 1850 and influential speeches against the scourge of slavery by renowned figures like Sam Houston and Frederick Douglass.
The final resting place of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. It’s one of the most visited cemeteries in the country.
The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of 50 acres of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street.
With its iconic 23-karat gold dome, this "new" State House (built 1798) serves as the modern seat of government and overlooks Boston Common.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions; please dress appropriately
Reviews(194)
This tour was excellent! I went to school in Boston for 5 years and during that time I had walked the freedom trail many times. Since it had been quite a few years, I decided to take a tour since I was traveling up there with a family member who had never visited Boston, and boy am I glad I did! This tour was the one of the best ways to help introduce them to Downtown Boston and the Historical significance that the city has to offer! On top of all of that, our tour guide Alan was awesome!!! He not only made it worthwhile, but he helped to present it all in a way to where I even learned a few new things as well! I would definitely recommend this tour and this guide to anyone who is visiting Boston !! It’s a must! We loved it so much that we stayed on and took the tour of Back Bay as well!!!
Really appreciate your kind and thoughtful review. I do try and make the tours interesting informative for both visitors and residents alike so it's very meaningful to me as well.
Ben was amazing! He made the trail fun and educational. We learned so much. We enjoyed his jokes and the interaction with our group was great!
The guide was friendly and knowledgeable. We got lost and he was helpful and accommodating. He called me and helped us find the group, waiting some minutes until we found them. It was an interesting tour and we recommend it.
So sorry you missed some of the tour but glad you eventually got to the right place.
Our guide was friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable. He pointed out interesting sites and made to sure to find shelter when possible in the pooring rain.
Everybody on the tour was friendly as well. So thanks!
This was a fun, informative tour! We loved it. The guide taught us a lot that we didn't know. It was very cold when we went, so I would recommend dressing warmly if you are going in November. It was so fun to see Boston through the eyes of someone who knew so much about the city.
Glad you enjoyed the tour in spite of the cold!
The tour guide was very knowledgeable and engaging. I learned a lot and enjoyed the history. The weather was not favorable and there was a protest going on in the Boston Common at the end of tour. Obviously these elements were out of the tour guides control.
I apologize for the weather and the demonstration and did my best to minimize their impact on our tour. As you noted, those were out of my control (and yours too).
We knew it would be cold coming into the tour so we were prepared with the right clothes which made it bearable. I imagine it would be even better in nice weather but we still all had only good things to say. Our tour guide Al was amazing and we came away with so many tidbits from him. He was also great with the kids in the group.
Thanks very much! We're working on global warming so it may be better next time.
Our tour guide was AWESOME. He went out of his way to accommodate us when we got lost on our way to the meeting location. The tour was great, he was informative, and funny.
Well, that was an Awesome Review. Thanks!
Terrible tour guide. Older gentleman who simply didn’t speak very loud and didn’t give a lot of information. The group had a kid from kindergarten and he repeatedly would ask him question's. Couldn’t wait for it to be over and would have been better with no tour. We repeatedly had other tours near us and their guides were a far better source of information for me than our guide.
No idea how to respond to this. I do indeed involve kids when they are on the tour and adults that are persnickity. Guess I missed this person.
Steven was our guide on this free walking tour through Boston. He told the history in such a lively way, it was a true pleasure to listen to him. I learned a lot and enjoyed the full two hours. Eva



