The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips

2017/09/21 – Boston Travel Tips

Our son who was recently engaged, lives in Providence Rhode Island. That gave us the perfect excuse we needed to travel out to New England.  Of course we were going to visit him and his new fiancé, and we also wanted and see and experience as much as we can in the shortest amount of time.  We wanted to become the experts so that we can give you the best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips!

This particular post is the 1st few days of that trip as we flew into Boston. We wanted to take in as much as humanly possible without killing ourselves.

I had posted on Facebook a request to all my friends to give me ideas of places we must see and visit in New England. See the post here!  So we had a great list of things we wanted to do in Boston. You can find the list at the bottom of this article.

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Day 1 – Boston Arrival

The airplane arrived in Boston at 10:45 a.m. and immediately we decided to try to check into our hotel. I ordered an Uber for the first time, believe it or not, and it was awesome. Both of us had tried before from our house in MN to the airport but at 4:00am there were none available.

Anyway, we headed to our hotel in downtown Boston. We stayed at the Boston Marriott Copley Place.  It is a lovely hotel right in the middle of the shopping district and a perfect place to start our first afternoon of Boston sightseeing.

By this time we were getting hungry and and New England seafood was very high on our list for what to eat for most of this trip. For right now we decided to grab something quick so that we could get on our way.

Boston Public Library

We knew we were going to be heading out to get to The Freedom Trail and we knew we were going to walking all day so we had to start the day with great shoes.

Going to Commonwealth Avenue would bring us past the Boston Public Garden and then on to Boston Common at which point we could connect with The Freedom Trail. This is where I am kicking myself already because we walked right by Boston Public Library and did not go in. The Library is an architectural masterpiece (see images here  ) and I love to photograph architecture and we did not go in. This is an example of how travel is always a balance of time and seeing everything you want to see. Our goal for this particular day was to finish as much of The Freedom Trail as possible so we had to move on.

Boston Commonwealth Avenue

Our route to The Freedom Trail led us to Commonwealth Avenue.

 

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips brownstone buildings of commonwealth avenue boston ma

Brownstone Buildings of Commonwealth Avenue Boston MA

Commonwealth Avenue (colloquially referred to as Comm Ave by locals) is a major street in the cities of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. It begins at the western edge of the Boston Public Garden, and continues west through the neighborhoods of the Back Bay, Kenmore Square, Allston, Brighton and Chestnut Hill. It continues as part of Route 30 through Newton until it crosses the Charles River at the border of the town of Weston.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips brownstone buildings of commonwealth avenue boston maStatues of Commonwealth Avenue Boston MA

Often compared to Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s Paris boulevards, Commonwealth Avenue in Back Bay is a parkway divided at center by a wide grassy mall. This greenway, called Commonwealth Avenue Mall, is punctuated with statuary and memorials, and forms the narrowest “link” in the Emerald Necklace. It connects the Public Garden to the Fens.
wiki

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips brownstone buildings of commonwealth avenue boston maWalking the Parkway of Commonwealth Avenue Boston MA

 

Walking down Commonwealth Ave, you get to walk through 200 years of history and touch the lifestyle of the rich and the famous. The things that caught my attention most quickly were the historic statues and the beautiful historic brownstone buildings.  And I was thinking what in the world would be the value of this Boston Real Estate?  I bet the cost here is through the roof?

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips brownstone buildings of commonwealth avenue boston maBrownstone Buildings of Commonwealth Avenue Boston MA

Yikes, I can just image all of the stories that could be told from those houses and apartments.

Boston Public Garden

The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common. It is a part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks, and is bounded by Charles Street and Boston Common to the east, Beacon Street to the north, Arlington Street and Back Bay to the west, and Boylston Street to the south. The Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in America.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston Public Garden Boston MA

Boston Public Garden Boston MA

History
Boston’s Back Bay, including the land the garden sits on, was mudflats until filling began in the early 1800s. The land of the Public Garden was the earliest filled, as the area that is now Charles Street had been used as a ropewalk since 1796.[4] The town of Boston granted ropemakers use of the land on July 30, 1794, after a fire had destroyed the ropewalks in a more populated area of the city. As a condition of its use, the ropewalk’s proprietors were required to build a seawall and fill in the land which is now Charles Street and the land immediately bordering it (now a part of the Public Garden).

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston Public Garden Boston MAGeorge Washing Statue – Boston Public Garden

Much of the landfill material came from Mount Vernon, formerly a hill in the Beacon Hill area of Boston. Initially, gravel and dirt were brought from the hill to the landfill area by handcart. By 1804, a gravity railroad had been constructed to rapidly bring material from the top of the hill to the marsh; today, Mount Vernon no longer exists, having been completely removed to be used as landfill for the Back Bay.
wiki

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston Public Garden Boston MA

Howard Everett Hale Boston Public Garden

 

The Freedom Trail – Part 1

The Freedom Trail is a detailed adventure of the history of Boston. Check here: http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/ This is truly one of the best ways to see the city. They have a mobile app and everything to help you see and understand as much as you can.

Being we got started relatively late in the day we assumed that we would have to break this down into two days. On the first day we were going to see as much as we sould experience and take in.


You can find our map of the Freedom Trail here: Official Freedom Trail Map

Boston Common

Boston Common is the beginning point of the trail, but it is also a modern cultural center of Boston. It is filled with people living their lives, taking lunch brakes or having a boy scout outing. There are local food vendors all over so that you can get a quick bit and experience the local fare. We were hungry again already so we grabbed some food from an asian food truck and sat down at a table in the park to experience some local people watching and entertain.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Brewer Fountain Boston Common

Boston Common

Boston is an incredibly diverse city. You will experience people from every nation, tribe and tongue. I must say, it was so invigorating.

Brewer Fountain Boston Common

The beautiful Brewer fountain is situation in the middle of Boston Common.

 The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Brewer Fountain Boston Common

Brewer Fountain Boston Common

Brewer Fountain stands near the corner of Park and Tremont Streets in Boston, Massachusetts, by Park Street Station. The 22-foot-tall (6.7 m), 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) bronze fountain, cast in Paris, was a gift to the city by Gardner Brewer. It began to function for the first time on June 3, 1868. It is a copy of the original, featured at the 1855 Paris World Fair, designed by French artist Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard.

At least sixteen other copies exist, including one on Av. Cordoba y Cerrito in Buenos Aires and in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. The fountain is decorated with the figures of Neptune, Amphitrite (Neptune’s wife), and Acis and Galatea, a couple from Greek mythology. It fell into disrepair and finally stopped functioning entirely in 2003. A major repair project began in 2009. After a year-long $640,000 off-site restoration led by sculpture conservator Joshua Craine of Daedalus Inc., it was re-dedicated on May 26, 2010.
wiki

 

We got our energy back and were ready to head out on the next steps of the journey.

For many of these next parts I will give you links to read more details of each stop but the stories I will tell are the fun little experiences along the way.

Massachusetts State House

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Massachusetts State House

Read more about the Massachusetts State House

Park Street Church

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Park Street Church

While we were there, the Park Street Church was under construction.  Bummer!  It is the church with the green wrap around it.

Read more about the Park Street Church.

Granary Burying Ground

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Granary Burying Ground

Entrance to the Granary Burying Ground

Many people very active in the revolution are buried here.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Granary Burying Ground

Common Headstone at the Granary Burying Ground

Read more about the Granary Burying Ground

King’s Chapel & Burying Ground

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips King’s Chapel & Burying Ground

The King’s Chapel

Read more about the  King’s Chapel & Burying Ground

Boston Latin School Site/Benjamin Franklin Statue

 The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston Latin School Site/Benjamin Franklin Statue

Boston Latin School Site

Read more about the Boston Latin School Site

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston Latin School Site/Benjamin Franklin Statue

Benjamin Franklin Statue

Read more about Benjamin Franklin

Old Corner Bookstore

Read more about the Old Corner Bookstore

The Old South Meeting House

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips The Old South Meeting House

The Old South Meeting House

Read more about the The Old South Meeting House

Old State House

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Old State House

Old State House

Read more about the Old State House

Boston Massacre Site

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston Massacre Site

Read more about the Boston Massacre Site

Faneuil Hall – Quincy Market

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Faneuil Hall The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall

Read more about the Faneuil Hall

 

 

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Quincy Market

Inside the Modern Bustling Quincy Market

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Quincy MarketThe Dome of Quincy Market

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Quincy Market Outside the Quincy Market

Read more about the Quincy Market

Paul Revere House

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Paul Revere House

Paul Revere House

Read more about the Paul Revere House

Old North Church

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Old North Church and Paul Revere

The Old North Church and Paul Revere

 

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Old North ChurchOld North Church Interior

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Old North ChurchOld North Church

 

Read more about the Old North Church

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

 The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Copp's Hill Burying Ground   Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

 The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Copp's Hill Burying Ground   Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Read more about the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Freedom trail was amazing! We made it through site 21  of the 23 sites. We have some more items to see and we will do our best to capture them the next day.

New England Holocaust Memorial – Boston

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips New England Holocaust Memorial
MARTIN NIEMÖLLER Quote: New England Holocaust Memorial

Wiki Site: New England Holocaust Memorial 

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips New England Holocaust Memorial
New England Holocaust Memorial

Official Site: New England Holocaust Memorial

North End – Don’t Call It Little Italy


The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Little Italy
Boston The North End – Little Italy – Ristoranta Villa Francesea

 

We ventured to the North End of Boston which tourists call Little Italy, but If you call it Little Italy the locals know you are a tourist.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Little Italy
Boston The North End – Little Italy – Best Italian Grocery

 

We met at wonderfully joyful Italian woman named Francine.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Little Italy
Boston North End Local Francine

Francine gave us recommendations for what to do and what to seen, then she pointed us to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Francine encouraged us to go to Bella Vista for dinner because “they will treat us right”. We got there a little earlier than the dinner hour so they sent us over to a little bar to get a glass of wine.

Mike’s Pastry

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Mike's Pastry
Boston The North End – Mike’s Pastry

If you have not heard of Mike’s Pastry yet, you will when you get to Boston. Home of the Cannoli. You will see boxes being carried around the entire city.  (Note my wife carrying the box above with Francine) Yes, it is that popular.

Look at the Beauty of Mike’s Pastry

Founded in 1946, Mike’s Pastry is located in Boston’s historic North End on Hanover Street. Michael Mercogliano (the “Mike” behind the famed Mike’s Pastry) created the one-of-a-kind cannoli that keeps loyal Bostonians and tourists coming from around the world to enjoy. Going to Mike’s has become a Boston tradition when in town whether visiting family, friends, sporting events, college, or any other event. We hope that you continue the tradition and come see us and grab a pastry.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Little Italy
Boston The North End – Little Italy – North Square Oysters

 

After the glass of wine, we went to a local park and munched down a cannoli from Mike’s Pastry. That turned out to be our before dinner snack.

Bella Vista

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Little Italy
Boston The North End – Little Italy

 

We ended up going back to Bella Vista for dinner. It turns out we were pretty disappointed with the dinner. Francine was nice and brought over a caprese salad, on the house because we told her we were sent here.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Little ItalyBoston The North End – Little Italy – Rosticceria

The staff looked very disinterested in the clientele and it almost felt like they hated what they were doing.  It looked like they were trapped in the restaurant business.  I can understand how difficult it would be to run a restaurant, but if you hate it get out.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Boston The North End - Little Italy
Boston The North End – Little Italy – Pasta Shop Coming Soon

Day 2

Hunt Photo

We got up and got going the next day.  I realized that after charging my batteries for all my tools, I had put my camera battery in backwards and now it was stuck and my camera would not work. I had to get my camera fixed. Pictures were one of the main reasons for doing this trip.

So I found Hunt Photo, a company I was familiar with.  I had done business with them while back in Minnesota when it was time to purchase a complete filter system for my Canon. We used an Uber again to get over to one of their nearest shops. They fixed my camera in moments for free. I was elated. If you are looking to work with a great photo company check these people out. http://www.huntsphotoandvideo.com/

Fenway Park

 

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Historic Fenway Park Boston Redsox
Historic Fenway Park Boston Red Sox

Turns out, Hunt Photo was right next to Fenway Park, Home of the Green Monster and the World Famous Boston Red Sox.  We decided to create our own little tour of fenway park. So we ran around the the place seeing what we could see.  If you want a scheduled tour of Fenway Park there are many options. One is directly from the Red Sox. Fenway Park Tours.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Historic Fenway Park Boston Red Sox
Historic Fenway Park Boston Red Sox Yawkey Way

Fenway Park is a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts at 4 Yawkey Way near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home for the Boston Red Sox, the city’s American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. It is the oldest ballpark in MLB.[8] Because of its age and constrained location in Boston’s dense Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood, the park has been renovated or expanded many times, resulting in quirky heterogeneous features including “The Triangle” (below), “Pesky’s Pole”, and the Green Monster in left field. It is the fourth-smallest among MLB ballparks by seating capacity, second-smallest by total capacity, and one of eight that cannot accommodate at least 40,000 spectators.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips Historic Fenway Park Boston Red Sox
World Champion Boston Red Sox

Fenway has hosted the World Series ten times, with the Red Sox winning five of them, and the Boston Braves winning one. The first, in the park’s inaugural season, was the 1912 World Series and the most recent was the 2013 World Series. Besides baseball games it has been the site of many other sporting and cultural events including professional football games for the Boston Redskins, Boston Yanks, and the Boston Patriots; concerts; soccer and hockey games (such as the 2010 NHL Winter Classic); and political and religious campaigns.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips World Champion Boston Red Sox
World Champion Boston Red Sox

April 20, 2012, marked Fenway Park’s centennial. On March 7 of that year, the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Former pitcher Bill Lee has called Fenway Park “a shrine”. It is a pending Boston Landmark which will regulate further changes to the park. Today, the park is considered to be one of the most well-known sports venues in the world.

Fenway Park Wiki

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips David Ortiz Boston Red Sox
David Ortiz Boston Red Sox

Hop On Hop Off – Old TownTrolley Tours

After we had satisfied our curiosity of Fenway Park, we needed to find a way to get back to the last part of the Freedom Trail. We purchased tickets for an all day trolley online for about $42 each. One of the stops was Fenway Park so we were right on the route. The tour bus was a fabulous way to tour of Boston and get historical insights from local history buffs. The stories they were telling about Boston history were funny and compelling.

The company we used was https://www.trolleytours.com and the particular tour we used was Old Town Trolley
of Boston. Click here to see their complete brochure for this particular trip! 

You can see a list Best City Attractions Here! 

When the trolley got to the USS Constitution, it was time for us to hope off so that we could catch the last two stops in The Freedom Trail.

USS Constitution “Old Ironsides”

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips The USS Constitution
The USS Constitution

The USS constitution was fabulous.  The ship had recently finished a complete reconstruction, therefore it looked good as new and was able to continue as the oldest ship in the Naval Fleet.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips The USS Constitution
Canons on The USS Constitution

Read more about The USS Constitution.

The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips The USS Constitution
Boston Skyline – The USS Constitution

 

Bunker Hill Monument

We climbed all the way up the monument on the top of Bunker Hill.

The Best Boston Freedom Trail Travel Tips Bunker Hill Monument
Bunker Hill Monument

The Bunker Hill Monument was erected to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was among the first major battles between British and Patriot forces in the American Revolutionary War, fought there June 17, 1775. The 221-foot (67 m) granite obelisk was erected between 1825 and 1843 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, with granite from nearby Quincy conveyed to the site via the purpose-built Granite Railway, followed by a trip by barge. There are 294 steps to the top. – wiki

 The Best Boston Freedom Trail Travel Tips Boston Skyline Viewed from Top of Bunker Hill Monument
Boston Skyline Viewed from Top of Bunker Hill Monument

Read more about the Bunker Hill Monument

It might seem like a lot, but exploring and conquering the Boston Freedom Trail is worth it.  I want to strongly encourage you to do the entire thing and get a sense of just how difficult it was to get our country rolling.   If you can’t do the entire trail, do as much of it as you possibly can.  Each part has it’s own special importance in our history.

On to Providence RI

At the end of this dizzying day, our son picked us up from our hotel and took us to their home in Providence. Their place is in the historic district of Providence so it it is filled with an old world charm.

Nathan and Kelly are foodies so they get the responsibility of selecting the restaurant for dinner.  They selected a restaurant called North which is an Asian Fusion place and the food was delicious.  North Restaurant

Conclusion

Hew so do you think you could keep up? I hope we gave you some great ideas for your trip to Boston. You can certainly stay in Boston much longer and explore all the places in much more detail, but our time for this trip was limited and we had to move on.

Feel free to drop me a line with any question you may have about planning your trip to Boston.

And until next time, get out and capture the adventure.

Notes:

Everything we wanted to do in Boston

  1. Freedom trial walking tour Freedom trial walking tour
    • Boston commons (1)
    • Beacon hill (3)
    • Faneuil hall (12)
      • New England Holocaust Monument (one block from Faneuil Hall Marketplace)
    • USS constitution
    • Charlestown Navy Yard(23)
  2. Mike’s pastry – cannoli (300 Hanover St. – 1 block from Paul Revere House- North End)
  3. Neptune Oyster Bar – lobster rolls (on North End,  $$$ – 2 block from Mike’s pastry)
  4. North End – Little ltaly
  5. Boston Duck Tour
  6. James hook and Company Seafood restaurant 15 Northern Ave Boston (low price, waterfront shanty – take out) – on Boston Harbor

 

 

 

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The Best Freedom Trail Boston Travel Tips

 

Written by Wayne Moran - Visit Website
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