Boston, Massachusetts has everything anyone could want, and more than you can imagine. From its colonial history to its distinctive accents, Boston will always make an indelible impression on the first time visitor and its frequent traveler, with its outrageous sports fans, gorgeous parks, and quirky personality.
Here are ten things to do in Boston, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
1. Fenway Park
One of the oldest baseball stadiums in the country, Fenway Park is revered as a shrine by sports fans. The famous Boston Red Sox, winners of the 2018 world series and life long enemies of the New York Yankees, inspire fanatic adulation in Boston natives.
Built in1912, the stadium has been renovated or expanded many times, resulting in weird features like Pesky’s Pole, and the Green Monster in left field.
It has also hosted other sports competitions from soccer to football, in addition to concerts.
2. Harvard Yard
Not many can get into Harvard, but anyone can tour its hallowed halls and see its Ivy-covered towers. One of the country’s oldest universities and one of the most famous, Harvard is situated in Cambridge, Boston’s sister city across the Charles River. Famous alumni include several Obamas, Mark Zuckerberg, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
You can even download a free walking tour, and explore the famous red brick buildings seeking out the Harvard Crimson (newspaper) offices, the statue of John Harvard, and the Whispering Arch.
Around Harvard, there’s a ton of cool coffee shops, bars, and bookstores to fill up a day with academia and beverages. Don’t forget to pick up a crimson hat or T-shirt to wear at home!
3. New England Aquarium
Over a million visitors a year check out Boston’s aquarium, which boasts the famous Giant Ocean Tank, a 200,000-gallon tank simulating a Caribbean coral reef. Open at the top, the tank has a walkway that spirals down, giving visitors views of the reef from every angle. You can also see penguins, rare sea dragons electric eels, and sea urchins.
There are special exhibits dedicated to everything from jellyfish and turtles to seals to sharks and stingrays.
4. Quincy Market
This market has been serving food to local Bostonians since the 1800s. Also known at Fanueil Hall, this lively marketplace has all varieties of food plus street performers and all-around great people-watching.
Come here to grab some traditional Bostin meals like clam chowder, Boston cream pie, Boston baked beans with brown bread, and lobster rolls.
Because of Boston’s proximity to the sea, you can find all manner of fresh seafood. Oysters are especially tasty here, as they are freshly plucked from seabeds nearby.
Boston was also a place where many Italians resettled on coming to America. Expect to find a great assortment of Italian specialties, from excellent pizza to delicious desserts like cannolis!
5. Escape Rooms
If you are traveling with a group, there’s no better way to bond than by solving a problem together. Try it at one of Boston’s newest attractions, Breakout Games. Here your group can search for clues and solves puzzles to escape before time expires in a number of scary scenarios, from being kidnapped to conducting a museum heist.
6. Whale Watching
During spring and summer, you can jump on a charter boat and try to spot the whales that often travel through Massachusetts waters. If you are lucky, you might see humpback whales, finback whales, or pilot whales that frequently pass through Massachusetts waters.
Whales migrate to Massachusetts to feed on mackerel, herring, krill, and other fish on their way to warmer climates to mate and give birth. There are lots of tours along the wharf and through the aquarium, but be prepared to stay on the water several hours to give you a chance to see one. Dress warmly, too!
7. USS Constitution
The USS Constitution, otherwise known as “Old Ironsides” is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Everyone interested in all things maritime will love to explore this relic of the high seas.
A favorite for school trips, the ship and its museum next door have lots of interactive exhibits. If you take a harbor tour, you will learn about the Boston Tea Party, a pivotal moment in our nation’s evolution.
8. Boston Commons and the Public Garden
This beautiful park has swan boats to glide around in, and a statue based on the children’s classic: “Make Way for Ducklings.”
The oldest park in America, over the centuries it has served as a military camp, a dump, and a place for riots and protests. Nowadays, people who live in, work in and visit Boston traverse its paths for a bit of serenity in the middle of the big city.
Throughout all seasons there are things to do, from ice skating to Shakespeare in the Park in the summer to the floating jack-o-lanterns in the Frog Pond in October.
9. Warren Anatomical Museum
The Warren Anatomical Museum is a treasure trove of strange medical tools, death masks, skeletons, and human abnormalities. See items like the skull of Phineas Gage, who survived an iron bar being driven through his head and lived to tell the tale.
Great for students of medicine or just people who like ghoulish things, this museum displays over a thousand watercolors, drawings, photographs, and lantern slides, a thousand anatomical models and casts, and thousands more medical, dental, and public health instruments and devices.
10. The Museum of Bad Art
Founded in the fall of 1993, this place is exactly what it sounds like. With a tagline: “art too bad to be ignored,” this museum is currently under renovation but is worth the trip once it reopens.
You will roll on the floor with laughter at its collections of atrocious portraits (“poor traits”), hideous landscapes, and, of course, awful pictures of pets.
Things to Do in Boston: No End to the Possibilities
if you are trying to come up with a list of things to do in Boston, your real problem will be finding the time to do it all! This city is a must-see for history buffs, beer drinkers, and football fans, plus students, artists, and just about everyone else.
Keep checking back to discover new, interesting and silly ways to be entertained.
