The three-mile Freedom Trail leads you past – and into – 16 of the city's principal historic monuments and sites. Traveling to this trail is actually one of the best things to do in Boston. It's easy to follow, by the line of red bricks in the sidewalk and by footprints at street crossings. Begin by picking up brochures on the attractions at the Visitor Center in the Boston Common before heading to the State House.

The trail will take you to Old Granary Burying Ground (where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock are buried, Old South Meeting House (where the ringing speeches of patriots spawned the Boston Tea Party), and the Old State House. This is Boston's oldest public building and the site of the Boston Massacre. The Freedom Trail continues through Boston's North End, past the Paul Revere House and Old North Church, and ends across the bridge in Charlestown with the 54-gun frigate USS Constitution and the 220-foot granite Bunker Hill Monument.

Address: Boston, MA 02111, USA

Official site: www.thefreedomtrail.org

Phone: 6173578300

Entrance fee: $6 for adults, $5 for seniors students, and $1 for children 5-17-years-old and free for children under 5-years-old

Google rating: 4.5/5.0

A "museum of trees," the Arnold Arboretum is especially colorful in the fall, when the maples are ablaze in reds and yellows, and in the spring, when cherry trees, lilacs, or magnolias are in full bloom. But the Arnold Arboretum is beautiful all 12 months of the year. When the trails through its 281 acres are covered in snow, they are popular places to snowshoe and cross-country ski.

A National Historic Landmark, designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, the Arboretum is maintained by Harvard University, which uses it as a teaching laboratory. Along with a wide variety of trees, shrubs, vines, and perennial flowering plants, are exceptional collections of lilacs, azaleas, and rhododendrons; the Bonsai & Penjing Collection is also a highlight. The Explorers Garden, occupying a small microclimate within the grounds, is home to two of the world's largest Franklin trees, a species now extinct in the wild. Docent-led tours range from quarter-mile introductions suitable for all abilities to a 90-minute Keeper's Tour.

Address: 125 Arborway, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: https://arboretum.harvard.edu/

Phone: 617-524-1718

Entrance fee: free

Google rating: 4.8/5.0

Known as the "cradle of liberty," Faneuil Hall was built in 1740-42 by Huguenot merchant Peter Faneuil as a market hall and presented to the city on condition that it should always be open to the public. The ground floor is still occupied by market stalls; on the upper floor is a council chamber, which in the 18th and 19th centuries was the meeting place of revolutionaries and later, of abolitionists. On its fourth floor is the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Museum, with weaponry, uniforms, and paintings of significant battles.

The adjoining Faneuil Hall Marketplace includes three long halls (Quincy Market, North Market, and South Market), dating from the early 19th century, now occupied by a lively assortment of shops, restaurants, and exhibitions. In good weather, you'll find street performers and buskers putting on shows in the square around the market, and along with the numerous food stalls, there are also shops selling jewelry, clothing, gifts, and souvenirs. The market stalls are some of the favorite places to eat lunch in Boston. Going to Faneuil Hall would be one of the best things to do in Boston.

Address: Faneuil Hall Square, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com

Phone: 617-523-1300

Entrance fee: free

Google rating: 4.4/5.0

In the heart of the city is Boston Common, America's oldest park and the start of the Freedom Trail. In this large green space, which is much used by locals year-round, are various monuments and the Central Burying Ground of 1756. You can rent skates to use on the Frog Pond from November through mid-March, enjoy the spring blossoms and fall foliage colors reflecting in its surface, and in summer, watch youngsters splash about in the wading pool.

Adjoining it on the west side of Charles Street, is the 24-acre Public Garden, America's oldest botanical garden, as well as Victorian-style monuments and statues, including an equestrian statue of George Washington and popular modern bronzes of a family of ducks immortalized in Robert McCloskey's children's book Make Way for the Ducklings. One of Boston's most iconic experiences for all ages is riding around the lake in the garden's center on the famous Swan Boats, first launched in the 1870s.

Address: Public Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: http://swanboats.com

Phone: 617-803-8785

Entrance fee: Adults: USD 4 · Children (2-15): USD 2.50 · Senior: USD 3.50 · Under 2 years entry is free

Google rating: 4.8/5.0

One of the leading art museums in the country, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts excels in its collections of Impressionist paintings, ancient Egyptian treasures, Asian and Persian fine arts, and works from ancient Greece and the Middle East. Its newest and crowning achievement is the construction of an entire American Wing to house, integrated in chronological order, outstanding collections of American paintings, furniture, decorative arts, folk art, silver, glassware, and design dating from pre-Columbian arts to the Art Deco and Modernist eras.

Highlights elsewhere include a 12th-century lacquered-wood sculpture of a Buddhist Bodhisattva and Korean painted screens, the ivory and gold statue of the Minoan Snake Goddess from 1500 BC, and a statue of the Egyptian Pharaoh Mycerinus and his queen from 2548-2530 BC. Visting the Museum of Fine Arts Boston is regarded as one of the best things to do in Boston.

Address: 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: www.mfa.org

Phone: 617-267-9300

Entrance fee: $10–27

Google rating: 4.8/5.0

Set in a building its eccentric creator modeled after a 15th-century Venetian palace, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum displays its collections in rooms surrounding a four-story central courtyard filled with flowering plants and fountains. The priceless 2,500-piece collection of paintings, sculptures, furniture, tapestries, decorative arts, books, and manuscripts reflect the personal tastes and considerable expertise of Mrs. Gardner herself, whose own flamboyance further adds to the charm of the museum.

Behind the palazzo, a 70,000-square-foot glass-clad building designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano creates new viewpoints for the original palazzo and stunning spaces for music and visual arts, allowing the museum to showcase exceptional contemporary works and artists. Rather than clash or compete with the original building, Piano's wing simply provides a new glass through which to view Mrs. Gardner's palazzo. From almost anywhere in the new building are uninterrupted prospects of the palace and gardens through transparent walls. After you tour the museum, stroll through the Fens, a long green space, where you'll find a beautiful rose garden in bloom from June through October.

Address: 280 The Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: http://www.gardnermuseum.org/home

Phone: 617-566-1401

Entrance fee: $13–20

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

Nicknamed Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy, and is still commanded and crewed by Navy personnel. The ship is open to visitors, who can go below desks and hear about the ship's construction and action at sea. Visiting USS Constitution and Bunker Hill is one of the best things to do in Boston.

Across the pier, the USS Constitution Museum provides historical context through interactive exhibits that illustrate life aboard a naval vessel two centuries ago. Another ship you can tour here is the Cassin Young, a World War II destroyer. Charlestown Navy Yard is part of the Boston National Historical Park, and it's a short walk to the Bunker Hill Monument and Museum, also in the park. The 221-foot-tall granite monument marks the hilltop site of the earthen fort built by New England soldiers prior to the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first pitched battle of the American Revolution.

Address: Building 22, Charlestown Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts

Official site: https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org

Phone: 617-426-1812

Entrance fee: free

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

Exhibits in this extensive Science Museum encourage learning through hands-on exploration of science and technology, but the museum is not just for children. Physics, biology, chemistry, ecology, zoology, astronomy, computers, and more are explored in more than 700 permanent, hands-on exhibits that are enhanced by stage presentations and interpreters.

Highlights are a 65-million-year-old fossil discovered in the Dakota Badlands, an electricity dome with continuing programs, the Butterfly Garden where you can walk among free-flying butterflies in a conservatory filled with exotic plants, a live animal center, a chance to join local meteorologists to learn weather forecasting, and Computer Place, where you can operate a robot and explore how your computer stores information. The planetarium presents daily laser and star shows, and the Mugar Omni Theater has a five-story domed screen.

Address: Science Park, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: www.mos.org

Phone: 617-723-2500

Entrance fee: $5–28

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

Harvard University, founded in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and is widely considered one of the world's leading academic centers. Go to the Harvard Information Center to take a spirited and entertaining free walking tour of the campus guided by a student who will share history, Harvard lore, and personal perspective. Or you can download a tour from their website. Harvard Yard sits right in Harvard Square, a lively hub for students, "townies," and visitors, filled with shops, bookstores, and allegedly more places to buy ice cream than any other U.S. city.

Adjoining Harvard Yard is the Renzo Piano-designed home of the Harvard Art Museums, including three formerly separate collections, each of which ranked high as major U.S. Art Museums. Few universities have such enviable collections. Fogg Art Museum concentrates on Italian early-Renaissance art, the Busch-Reisinger on Expressionist art of central and northern Europe, with Bauhaus objects and paintings by Kandinsky and Klee. Another important feature of the museums is one of the world's best collections of Chinese jade, as well as Chinese bronzes, Japanese prints, Indian art, and Greco-Roman antiquities, especially vases and sculptures.

Address: 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Official site: www.harvardartmuseums.org

Phone: 617-495-9400

Entrance fee: Adults: $15.00 · Seniors (65+): $13.00 · Non-Harvard students with I.D.: $10.00 · Youth ages 3–18: $10.00

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

Boston's lively Italian neighborhood, known as the North End, is one of Boston's oldest, where the silversmith and activist leader Paul Revere lived at the time of the American Revolution. The Paul Revere House, which he bought in 1770 and lived in when he made his famous ride, is the only patriot's home on the Freedom Trail, and is open to tour. You can climb to the tower of Old North Church, where lanterns were hung in April 1775 to alert Paul Revere that British troops were headed to Lexington to arrest the patriot leaders and confiscate the munitions supplies. The beautiful white interior of the church still retains its historic box pews.

The North End is a favorite spot for tourists for reasons that go well beyond its important historic sights. Although it has changed a bit over the years since it was filled with newly arrived immigrants from Italy, it retains its Italian character and lively flair. You'll find Italian restaurants; cafes; bakeries; and shops fragrant with aromas of cured olives, fresh-roasted coffee, and Italian cheeses. You'll also find the North Bennet Street School, where skills such as bookbinding, cabinet and furniture making, carpentry, silver and gold work, and violin making are taught. Their gallery shop is like a museum of fine craftsmanship and a good place to shop for one-of-a-kind gifts.

Address: 193 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113, United States

Official site: www.oldnorth.com

Phone: 617-858-8231

Entrance fee: Adults $8, Students/Seniors/Military $6, and Children 6-18 $4

Google rating: 4.6/5.0

On the night of December 16, 1773, more than a year before the first battle of the American Revolution, angry Bostonians protesting a tax on goods shipped to the colonies, stormed ships from England and threw the tea into the harbor at this site. With full-scale replicas of the original ships from which the Sons of Liberty dumped tea overboard, the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum offers tours with a participatory reenactment of that event.

Costumed historical interpreters lead visitors through that historic night, through interactive exhibits, films, and multi-sensory experiences. Of course, everyone gets to dump tea into the harbor. In the museum, you'll see the only known tea chest from that ill-fated cargo. Kids are drawn into the fun as they learn about shipboard life and American history, so it's no wonder this is one of the favorite things to do for families in Boston. And it is also one of the best things to do in Boston.

Address: 306 Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/

Phone: 617-338-1773

Entrance fee: $21–30

Google rating: 4.6/5.0

The Boston waterfront has seen many changes since its early beginnings as a colonial shipping port. After a period of decline for much of the 20th century, new life was breathed into the area in the mid-1970s with an ambitious redevelopment plan. Today, this interesting mix of residential and commercial space is connected by HarborWalk, an attractive walkway along the waterfront, with parks, public art, benches, cafés, interpretive signs, and access to several means of exploring the harbor by cruise boat, ferry, or water taxi. A shuttle-boat also runs to the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Although it extends from Charlestown to South Boston – and will expand considerably farther – the part you won't want to miss goes from the North End through the wisteria-draped pergola of Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, past Commercial Wharf, India Wharf, and Long Wharf, and by Rowes Wharf before curving along the harbor into the vibrant Seaport District to the Institute of Contemporary Art, an art museum dramatically cantilevered above the water.

Address: Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02110, United States

Official site: www.bostonharbornow.org

Phone: 617-635-7275

Entrance fee: $15-$25

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

Although the four museums that make up this complex contain treasures such as the artifacts brought back by Lewis and Clark, for most people, the highlight is the more than 3,000 models of 830 species of flowers and plants, some with insects, and all so realistic that you will have trouble believing they are made of glass. Created between 1887 and 1936 by artisans Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, the flowers are unique in the world, and their secret process has never been replicated. These are part of Harvard's massive research collections, shown under one roof in the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, the Mineralogical Museum, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the Botanical Museum.

Those who like the Victorian "Cabinet of Curiosities" feel of old traditional museums will love the Pacific Islands balcony - it's like stepping back a century. The Museum of Comparative Zoology, founded by Louis Agassiz in 1859, contains an extensive collection of fossils, including a 25,000-year-old mastodon. The mineralogy collections include a dazzling display of rough and cut gemstones, a world-renowned meteorite collection, rocks, ores, and minerals from around the world. It is visiting Harvard Museums and the Glass Flowers which is one of the meaningful activities and the best things to do in Boston.

Address: 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Official site: http://hmnh.harvard.edu/

Phone: 617-495-3045

Entrance fee: adults $12; seniors and students, $10; youth ages 3–18, $8; under 3 free

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

At Rowes Wharf, you can board the Odyssey to cruise through Boston Harbor, from Castle Island to George's Island, then east to the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island, and back north to Charlestown Naval Yard before returning to the wharf. You can enjoy lunch, dinner, or Sunday brunch as you savor the views of the Boston skyline from the water. The skyline is especially beautiful at night, when you can take a starlight or full moon cruise.

You can travel outside the confines of Boston Harbor on Boston Whale Watching Cruises, for a chance to see humpback and fin whales, as well as dolphins and porpoises, in the wild. These three-hour, naturalist-led tours are very popular and claim to have whale sightings on every trip. Spending time on Boston Harbor and Whale Watching Cruises is really one of the best things to do in Boston.

Address: 1 Long Wharf, Boston, MA 02210, United States

Official site: www.cityexperiences.com

Phone: 781-661-5508

Entrance fee: $29.00

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

The main square of the Back Bay area is surrounded by both old and ultra-modern buildings. One side is formed by the Boston Public Library, founded in 1848 as the first publicly funded lending library in the country. Architect Charles Follen McKim designed the present building in 1895. Go inside to see the library's Renaissance Revival architecture and murals by John Singer Sargent and Edwin Abbey. Regular Art and Architecture Tours are among the several free things to do in Boston.

Facing the library, across a grassy lawn, where you can enjoy a picnic lunch with neighborhood office workers, is Trinity Church, a red sandstone building designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson in his distinctive style, known as Richardson Romanesque. On a third side of the square is the venerable Boston institution, the Fairmont Copley Plaza; these three buildings, backed by the sheer glass wall of a skyscraper, create a stunning cityscape. A block down Boylston Street, look for the finish line of the Boston Marathon, run each April on Patriot's Day. Just beyond is the Prudential Center, a 32-acre complex of apartments, shops, restaurants, and a 52-story tower. On its 50th floor, you can visit the Skywalk observation deck for 360-degree views of Boston and its surroundings.

Address: 700 Boylston Street, At Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: http://www.bpl.org/

Phone: 617-536-5400

Entrance fee: $10

Google rating: 4.8/5.0