Topic

Things to Do in Boston

Attractions, tours, viewpoints and free ideas across Boston – what each one costs, how long it takes and whether it is worth your time.

11 guides

Start here

Back Bay's towers, including the Prudential Tower, rising above the Charles River and the Harvard Bridge on a bright afternoon.

Things to Do10 Sep 202632 min read

Things to Do in Boston: What’s Worth Your Time

A working guide to the best things to do in Boston: what each attraction costs, how long it takes, when to go, and the famous few that are not worth…

The red-brick facade of Faneuil Hall with its white cupola, gold dome and grasshopper weathervane against a clear blue evening sky, with visitors at the entrance below.

Things to Do

Faneuil Hall Marketplace: What’s Worth It and What Isn’t

The history upstairs, the free ranger talks, Quincy Market at 200, an honest guide to eating here and nearby, the street performers, hours and…

A still pond at the Arnold Arboretum in summer, fringed with purple flowers and reeds, reflecting a lawn, a curving path and dense green trees under a clear blue sky.

Things to Do

Hidden Gems in Boston: 20 Places Most Visitors Walk Past

Twenty places in Boston most visitors miss — a walk-through glass globe, the room where anesthesia began, Phineas Gage's skull, a preserved Victorian house…

The Back Bay skyline, with 200 Clarendon and the Prudential Tower, rising behind the arches of the Longfellow Bridge across the Charles River on a summer evening, with small boats moored in the foreground.

Things to Do

Best Views in Boston: Where to See the City, Mostly for Free

Where to see Boston at its best — from towers and monuments, from parks across the harbor and the Charles, from the water and…

The Boston Public Library's McKim Building lit up at night on Copley Square, its arched windows glowing and American flags hanging from the facade, with office towers and the Prudential Tower behind.

Things to Do

Boston Public Library Tour: Bates Hall, Sargent and the Courtyard

How to book the library's free guided tour, a room-by-room route through the McKim Building on your own, and the stories behind Bates Hall,…

Downtown Boston's towers seen from the top of the Prudential Tower, with the Custom House clock tower among them, Logan Airport, the harbor and the Harbor Islands behind, and the trees of the Common in the foreground.

Things to Do

View Boston Observation Deck: Tickets, Floors and When to Go

What is on each of View Boston's three floors at the top of the Prudential Tower, what you can see in every direction, the…

The Public Garden lagoon in spring with the Swan Boats moored together at the right, willows in new leaf along the banks and Back Bay buildings beyond.

Things to Do

Swan Boats Boston: Season, Prices and the Story Since 1877

When the Public Garden's Swan Boats run, what they cost, what the fifteen-minute ride is really like, and the family that has pedaled them…

A paved path running between tall elms and green lawns on Boston Common in spring, with Downtown towers beyond the trees.

Things to Do

Boston Common: America’s Oldest Park, and How to See It

Four centuries of cows, hangings, redcoats and rallies on 50 acres of downtown Boston — what to see on the Common, how the Frog…

Passenger ferries moored at Long Wharf on Boston's waterfront, with the Custom House clock tower and downtown towers behind and a white tent on the Aquarium's wharf to the left.

Things to Do

Boston Sightseeing Tours: Which Ones Are Worth Booking

Every kind of Boston tour compared on price and value — guided walks, free ranger and building tours, trolleys, Ducks, harbor cruises and whale…

An orange Boston Duck Tours vehicle afloat on the Charles River beside a tree-lined riverbank, with a stone-arched bridge and a church spire in the distance.

Things to Do

Boston Duck Tours: Route, Real Prices and Who Should Skip It

What eighty minutes on a Boston Duck actually costs once the fees are added, where it goes on land and on the Charles, which…

The brick Old State House at a downtown Boston intersection, dwarfed by financial district towers.

Things to Do

Top Attractions in Boston, Ranked by What They’re Worth

Boston's twelve best attractions ranked by value rather than fame, with September 2026 prices, closing days, seasonal warnings and the passes that actually pay…