Boston Common and the State House
Beacon Hill · 60 min
The red brick line starts at the visitor center on Tremont Street; follow it up to the gold dome. Free tours inside on weekdays; ask at the desk, and bring photo ID.
Boston · United States · 3 days
3 days in Boston
Three days in a city you can walk: the Freedom Trail from the Common to the North End, Back Bay and the two big museums with Fenway at the end, then Harvard and MIT across the river before the harbor and the Seaport. Take the T between areas and walk the rest.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 3 days
- 23 stops
- 7 with a ticket
- from $130 a day
When to go
September and October are the clear, dry weeks; May and June before the humidity. Marathon Monday (Patriots' Day, the third Monday in April; April 19, 2027) and the graduation weeks from mid-May to early June are when hotels sell out and the ones left run $400 to $700 a night. July and August are hot and sticky, January and February cheap, cold and sometimes snowed in.
Where to base yourself
Back Bay for first-timers: the Green Line, Newbury Street and Copley Square on foot. Beacon Hill and the waterfront put you on the Freedom Trail. The Seaport has the newest hotels and a free bus straight from the airport, but it empties at night.
Getting around
Tap a contactless card or your phone at the gate: $2.40 on the subway, $1.70 on the bus, and since September 2026 transfers between subway, bus and ferry are free for two hours on the same card. A 1-day pass is $11, 7 days $22.50. The last trains leave downtown around half past midnight. The center is small: the Common to the North End is a 20-minute walk.
Day 1
The Freedom Trail
- FromYour hotel in Back Bay
- 1
- 4 min · walk
- 2
Granary Burying Ground
Downtown · 30 min
Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams in one small graveyard. Gates open 9 to 4, free; the slate stones are the thing to look at.
- 6 min · walk
- 3
Old State House
Downtown · 60 min
The balcony where the Declaration was first read to Boston, with the Massacre site in the road outside. Open daily 10 to 6; the ticket also covers Old South Meeting House two blocks back.
$18
- 4 min · walk
- 4
Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market
Downtown · 60 min
A lobster roll or a cup of clam chowder from the stalls in the long hall; expect around $30 for the roll. The Great Hall upstairs in Faneuil Hall is free and run by the Park Service.
- 7 min · walk
- 5
Paul Revere House
North End · 45 min
The oldest house downtown, four rooms, self-guided, tickets at the booth. Open daily 10 to 5:15 a.m. from mid-April to October, to 4:15 a.m. in winter, closed Mondays in January to March.
$6
- 5 min · walk
- 6
Old North Church
North End · 45 min
The steeple of the two lanterns. The Discovery Pass is self-guided; the crypt tour is $20 and runs after hours. Open 10 to 5, Sundays from 12:30 p.m.
$10
- 6 min · walk
- 7
Cannoli on Hanover Street
North End · 30 min
Mike's Pastry has the line out the door; Modern Pastry across the street has a shorter one and a thinner shell. Order the ricotta; take it to the Prado behind the church.
- 8 min · walk
- 8
Copp's Hill and the Harborwalk
North End · 45 min
The burying ground at the top of the hill looks across to Charlestown and the Constitution's masts. Walk down to the water and along the wharves back toward Hanover Street.
- 6 min · walk
- 9
North End dinner
North End · 90 min
Giacomo's and Neptune Oyster take no reservations and the lines form before 5:30 p.m.; put your name down early or eat after 9 p.m. Mamma Maria on North Square takes bookings if you would rather not line.
Day 2
Back Bay and the museums
- FromYour hotel in Back Bay
- 1
Public Garden and the Swan Boats
Back Bay · 60 min
The lagoon, the willows and the Make Way for Ducklings statues. The boats run mid-April to early September, 10 to 4 or 5, cash or card; a ride is 15 minutes.
$4.75
- 15 min · walk
- 2
Newbury Street
Back Bay · 60 min
Eight blocks of brownstones from Arlington to Massachusetts Avenue, boutiques at the Garden end and cheaper the further you walk. Coffee at Trident Booksellers near the far end.
- 3 min · walk
- 3
Boston Public Library
Back Bay · 45 min
Walk in through the Dartmouth Street doors for Bates Hall, the Sargent murals upstairs and the courtyard. Free; open from 9, Sundays from 11, with free tours most days.
- 6 min · walk
- 4
Eataly at the Prudential Center
Back Bay · 60 min
Counters for a plate of pasta or a slice, five minutes from the library. Saltie Girl on Dartmouth Street if you skipped the lobster roll yesterday.
- 21 min · walk
- 5
Museum of Fine Arts or the Gardner
Fenway · 150 min
Green Line E to Museum of Fine Arts; the MFA ($30) has the Sargents and the Japanese wing, the Gardner ($25) the palazzo courtyard and the empty frames from the 1990 theft. Gardner tickets are timed and sell out; both are closed Tuesdays.
$30
- 14 min · walk
- 6
Fenway Park tour
Fenway · 60 min
A 10-minute walk up the Fenway. Tours leave hourly from Jersey Street, the last at 5 p.m. (three hours before first pitch on game days); around $25 direct, more through resellers.
$25
- 2.3 km · transit or taxi
- 7
South End
South End · 90 min
A 10-minute cab or the 8 bus. Coppa on Shawmut Avenue for Italian small plates, Toro on Washington Street for tapas, Myers + Chang for the noodles; book what you can, the walk-in lines build by 6 p.m.
Day 3
Cambridge, then the harbor
- FromYour hotel in Back Bay
- 1
Harvard Yard and the free student tour
Cambridge · 60 min
Red Line to Harvard. The student-led history tour is free, 45 to 60 minutes, parties of up to 10; book on Eventbrite from the Friday before and check in 15 minutes early at the Smith Campus Center, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue.
- 7 min · walk
- 2
Harvard Art Museums
Cambridge · 75 min
Three collections under Renzo Piano's glass roof, two minutes from the Yard. Free every day, open 10 to 5, closed Mondays; register online for a weekend visit to skip the check-in line.
- 9 min · walk
- 3
Harvard Square
Cambridge · 60 min
Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage for a burger named after a politician, or Felipe's Taqueria for a burrito on the roof deck. Bartley's has been cash only in the past; carry some.
- 2.8 km · transit or taxi
- 4
MIT and the Stata Center
Cambridge · 60 min
One stop on the Red Line to Kendall, or 25 minutes down Massachusetts Avenue. Frank Gehry's leaning towers on Vassar Street, open to walk through on weekdays; then the Infinite Corridor to Killian Court and the dome over the river.
- 3.0 km · transit or taxi
- 5
USS Constitution, Charlestown
Charlestown · 60 min
A 10-minute cab from MIT, or the Green Line from Lechmere to North Station and the walk over the Charlestown Bridge. The ship is free, first come, Wednesday to Sunday 10 to 4; bring photo ID.
- 24 min · walk
- 6
ICA or a harbor cruise
Seaport · 75 min
The F4 ferry from Pier 4 to Long Wharf takes 10 minutes and takes a tap, then walk the Harborwalk. The ICA ($20) closes at 5 except Thursday and Friday (open to 9), and is free from 5 on Thursdays with an advance ticket.
$20
- 19 min · walk
- 7
Row 34 or Legal Harborside
Seaport · 90 min
Row 34 in Fort Point for oysters and the warm lobster roll, booked a few days out; Legal Harborside's ground floor on Liberty Wharf for the water view. Walk the Fan Pier Harborwalk after for the skyline.
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
The practical bits
From the airport
From Logan, the Silver Line SL1 bus is free from every terminal to South Station on the Red Line, 20 to 30 minutes in normal traffic; the Blue Line is the free Massport shuttle to Airport station, then $2.40 to Government Center for the Green Line. A taxi downtown is around $30 to $45 plus tip and the tunnel toll. In summer a ferry runs from the airport dock to Long Wharf.
What a day costs
About $130 to $220 a day per person. Museums are $18 to $30, a lobster roll around $30, a sit-down dinner $50 to $80 with tax and tip, and the T is $2.40 a ride or $11 for a day pass. The Freedom Trail itself, Harvard's museums and the Constitution are free.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Tap a contactless card or phone at every gate and bus door; a CharlieCard from a machine does the same. Transfers are free for two hours, so a bus to the T costs one fare.
- Tuesdays close the MFA and the Gardner; Mondays close the ICA and the Harvard Art Museums; the Constitution is shut Monday and Tuesday. Put the Freedom Trail on those days. Waystop's hours check flags any stop placed on its closed day.
- Book the Gardner's timed ticket and the free Thursday night ahead, and the Harvard tour on the Friday before your week; all three run out.
- Tip 18 to 20 percent in restaurants and a dollar a drink. A 7 percent meals tax is added at the till; the menu price is not the price.
- The weather turns in an hour and the harbor wind is colder than the forecast. Carry a layer and a rain shell even in June.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
It's a Tuesday and the MFA is closed, rework day 2Is there a Red Sox home game while we're here, and can we get seats?Which North End restaurant takes a booking for six on Saturday?How do we get from the Gardner to Fenway for a 7:10 a.m. start?Add Salem as a fourth day in October
Questions
Is three days enough for Boston?
Yes: the trail, the museums and Cambridge are the city. A fourth day is Salem or Lexington and Concord; a fifth is Provincetown by fast ferry.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 2: the library, the MFA or the Gardner and the Fenway tour are mostly indoors, and the Green Line links them. A rain plan in Waystop keeps this day and adds a wet-weather version beside it.
Do I need a guide for the Freedom Trail?
No; the red line in the sidewalk is the guide. If you want the stories, the Freedom Trail Foundation's 90-minute walk leaves the Boston Common visitor center hourly from 10 to 2, and the Park Service runs free tours from Faneuil Hall in season.
When should I avoid Boston?
Marathon Monday (April 19, 2027) closes Boylston Street, the MFA is shut for the holiday and rooms are gone; the Red Sox play at home that morning. Late May to early June is graduation season and the most expensive week to sleep here. Book three months out or pick another week.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Boston. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.