10 Top Attractions in Boston – Forbes Travel Guide Story
Home to important historical sites, world-class museums and sacred sports venues, boston There are enough places to attract tourists sightseeing of a lifetime. While the Freedom Trail and Faneuil Hall consistently rank among the city’s must-see attractions, here are 10 more sights and landmarks you don’t want to miss.
The gold-domed Massachusetts State House is an important building for many reasons. Of course, the state’s senators, representatives and governor conduct federal business here. You’ll learn some fascinating history and admire gorgeous architecture and artwork when you take a free guided tour. Charles Bulfinch designed the State House, and Samuel Adams laid the cornerstone in 1795. Paul Revere installed the copper dome in 1802, which was later covered in gold.
Your guide will also highlight the Holy Cod in the House Chamber. The nearly five-foot-long wooden statue symbolizes the importance of the salt cod industry to the area.
View Boston is one of the city’s newest attractions, located atop the Prudential Tower and offering 360-degree views of the area. The venue occupies three floors of the 52-story building and features indoor and outdoor viewing spaces, state-of-the-art immersive experience exhibits, open-air observation decks and two restaurants. Digital maps allow you to zoom into a location to learn more.
If you want to eat and drink while overlooking the city, stratus The 51st floor cocktail bar has a deck with indoor and outdoor seating, while lighthouse The restaurant serves traditional New England cuisine. There’s also an immersive 270-degree theater with street views of the neighborhood and popular Boston attractions.
Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum
This hands-on, interactive venue is a fun way to learn about this significant event in the country’s history. You can throw (fake) tea on board, climb aboard replicas of the brigs the Beaver and Eleanor (two of the three ships involved in the Boston Tea Party), and discuss colonial issues with period actors. “Samuel Adams” greets visitors and discusses the stakes of 1773.
The museum is located at Griffin’s Landing, near where the Tea Party actually took place on December 16, 1773. Exhibits include 3D holograms, talking portraits, a Robinson tea chest (one of two original tea chests known to exist) and a film let it start from hereshowing at the Cinerama, makes you feel like you were part of the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.
Most people probably don’t make it a habit to go to their local library unless they want a book. Yet our nation’s first free library, housed in a magnificent 1895 Renaissance Beaux-Arts classicist building in Back Bay, is a must-see. You will be wowed by world-class artwork, murals, and a gorgeous 3,250-square-foot reading room with a 50-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling. The main entrance features a monumental stone lion by Louis Saint-Gaudens, a grand marble staircase and a depiction by French artist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Fresco of the Nine Muses.
In addition, there is the mural series “The Triumph of Religion” by John Singer Sargent. Be sure to visit the stunning Renaissance-style courtyard, which is a replica Romeof the Prime Minister’s Office.
The USS Constitution, known as “Old Ironclad,” is the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. fleet. The ship was launched on October 21, 1797 as part of the nation’s new navy, with a hull made of live oak, the hardest wood growing in North America. It was Paul Revere who wrapped her ass in copper. The nickname “Old Iron Cannon” was coined during the War of 1812, when the British battleship Guerrière’s cannonballs appeared to ricochet off the hull.
Today, it has become America’s national ship and welcomes tourists aboard. You can explore the top three decks while the crew is happy to educate you on naval history, ship facts and figures. Not to be missed USS Constitution Museum There are more information and hands-on exhibits next door.
Old North Church, built in 1723, is the oldest church building in Boston. It was also here that Revere and sexton Robert Newman famously signaled their departure by water to Lexington and Concord to British regulars on April 18, 1775. Take a behind-the-scenes tour, visit the Bell Ringing Room, and walk up the same staircase where Revere stepped up in that crucial moment.
Inside the church, sit in a box pew and listen to a brief introduction to the founding of the Old North, the story of the lantern, and the church’s role in the American Revolution. There are 37 graves in the crypt, resting 1,100 people, the most famous of whom is Samuel Nicholson, the first captain of the USS Constitution.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
There’s a lot to see at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with more than 500,000 works in its vast collection, ranging from ancient Greek art to modern photography. The one-hour guided tour (included with admission) is a great introduction, with a docent giving an overview of the museum’s treasures.
If you’re not taking a tour, start your visit at the Art of the Americas, home to more than 16,000 artifacts spanning 3,000 years of history. Highlights include early colonial New England decorative arts and paintings, including John Singleton Copley’s famous Revere portrait and the Silversmith’s Sons of Liberty bowl. Other popular galleries include the Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art, which houses 65,000 works, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, which houses works from the second half of the 20th century to the present day.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
In 1860 Isabella Stewart came to Massachusetts from New York and married John Lowell Gardner, one of Boston’s prominent citizens. She soon became a fixture in society and built a beautiful Venetian palazzo to display her extensive art collection, mostly from Europe. including works by Titian Rape of EuropaGiotto’s Presence of the Child Christ in the Temple and John Singer Sargent’s Jareo.
Under the terms of Stewart’s will, her home will remain exactly as she left it, albeit with some notable changes. In 1990, 13 priceless works of art were stolen and their whereabouts remain unknown. A concert hall, exhibition space and much-needed conservation laboratory were added in 2012. Another highlight of the museum is its magnificent interior courtyard, which displays gorgeous seasonal flowers. If you’re lucky enough to be named Isabella, you get free admission.
Housed in a modern, glass-walled cantilevered building on Boston’s waterfront (a work of art in itself), the Institute of Contemporary Arts offers a rich program, from changing exhibitions by cutting-edge artists to live music and dance performances to film and digital media selections.
The museum was founded in 1936 and has been dedicated to discovering and exhibiting today’s most important artists ever since. These include celebrities such as Andy Warhol, Edvard Munch, Laurie Anderson and Roy Lichtenstein. You can also take the water shuttle bus there ICA watersheda cool seasonal exhibition space in East Boston.
fenway park
America’s oldest Major League Baseball ballpark has been home to the Boston Red Sox since 1912 and is a revered local landmark. Whether you’re a baseball fan or not, this hallowed stadium is worth a visit. Guided tours are available year-round, and enthusiastic docents will take you around the park and fill you in on fun trivia, including the seats above the iconic 37-foot left field wall affectionately known as the “Green Monster.”
Other highlights include visiting the site of Ted Williams’ famous 502-foot home run in 1946, learning about Pesky’s pole and actually walking on the field.
