The cheapest things to do in Boston are free: walking the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, touring the Massachusetts State House on a weekday, the Boston Public Library's McKim Building in Copley Square, the Arnold Arboretum, and ranger talks in Faneuil Hall. For a few dollars more, the Paul Revere House costs $6, an MBTA harbor ferry to Charlestown costs $2.40, and the Gardner and ICA museums are free on Thursday evenings. With a $22.50 seven-day T pass and the free Silver Line from the airport, a visit to Boston can cost far less than its hotel prices suggest.
Prices below are the published adult prices when we checked on October 1, 2026. If you are traveling with children, our guide to free things to do in Boston with kids has more ideas.
Free things to do in Boston
- Walk the Freedom Trail. Following the red line past 16 historic sites costs nothing; only some of the sites and the guided tours charge.
- Tour the Massachusetts State House. Free tours run on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; the building is closed on weekends and holidays.
- Visit the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. The Central Library is free during opening hours, with John Singer Sargent murals, Bates Hall and a courtyard. Guided art and architecture tours are free but need advance registration.
- Hear a ranger talk at Faneuil Hall. Inside Faneuil Hall, admission is free, and rangers give 15-minute talks in the Great Hall Wednesday to Sunday.
- Walk Boston Common and the Public Garden. Both are free and open every day; the Public Garden has the Make Way for Ducklings statue at Beacon and Charles streets.
- See USS Constitution. Boarding the ship in the Charlestown Navy Yard is free, first come, first served, with a security check and photo ID for adults.
- Spend a morning at the Arnold Arboretum. The 281-acre arboretum in Jamaica Plain is free and open from sunrise to sunset, a walk from the end of the Orange Line at Forest Hills.
- Tour Boston Public Market. Free public tours of the market run on Fridays at 11 a.m.
- Watch the harbor seals. The Atlantic harbor seal exhibit on the plaza outside the New England Aquarium is free to anyone walking past.
- Walk the Harborwalk. Boston Harbor Now describes it as a near-continuous 43-mile path along the city's shoreline; the stretch from the North End through the downtown wharves to the Seaport is the easiest to sample.
Free museum times
Several museums have free hours if you plan for them:
- The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is free every Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., with tickets released two days before, and free for life to anyone named Isabella.
- The Institute of Contemporary Art is free every Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. and free for everyone 18 and under. It is closed on Mondays.
- The ICA is also free for all on Indigenous Peoples' Day, which falls on October 12 in 2026, along with five other national holidays.
- The USS Constitution Museum asks for a suggested donation, with a standard amount of $15 and reduced amounts from free to $10.
Cheap things to do for $25 or less
| Activity | Adult price |
|---|---|
| Paul Revere House, North Square | $6 |
| Old North Church self-guided Discovery Pass | $10 |
| MBTA inner harbor ferry, Long Wharf to Charlestown | $2.40 |
| Freedom Trail Foundation Walk Into History tour | $17 |
| Fenway in Fifteen, a short tour of Fenway Park | $20 |
| Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, regular admission | $25 |
| Boston Harbor Islands round-trip ferry (2025 fare table) | $24.95 |
| Bluebikes single ride, 30 minutes | $3 |
The harbor islands are worth a special note this fall: the islands charge no entrance fee, only the ferry, and the park runs a $5 ferry weekend to Spectacle and Peddocks islands on October 10 to 12, 2026, the last weekend of the season.
How to get around Boston cheaply
- Walk. Downtown, Beacon Hill, the North End and Back Bay sit close together, and the Freedom Trail links most of the historic sites on foot.
- Buy a T pass. A subway ride costs $2.40. The MBTA 1-Day Pass is $11 and the 7-Day Pass is $22.50; both cover the subway, local buses, the Silver Line and the inner harbor ferry.
- Take the free bus from the airport. The Silver Line SL1 from every Logan terminal to South Station is always free from the airport.
- Use the ferry as a harbor cruise. The $2.40 inner harbor ferry between Long Wharf and the Charlestown Navy Yard gives you harbor views for the price of a subway fare.
- Rent a Bluebike. A single ride is $3 for 30 minutes, and a day pass is $11.99 with two-hour classic bike rides.
For a full guide to the system, see how to use public transportation in Boston.
Where to eat cheaply
Food halls are the budget answer downtown. Quincy Market, in Faneuil Hall Marketplace, is a long hall of food counters, and Boston Public Market has nearly 20 vendors cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner from New England ingredients, with validated parking for $3 for up to three hours at the Haymarket Center Garage. In the North End, a slice and a cannoli cost less than a sit-down dinner; see our guide to what food Boston is known for for where to find them.
A one-day Boston plan on a budget
- Morning: walk the Freedom Trail from Boston Common to Faneuil Hall, with a free State House tour if it is a weekday.
- Lunch: Quincy Market or Boston Public Market.
- Afternoon: the North End, with the Paul Revere House ($6), then the $2.40 ferry from Long Wharf to Charlestown to board USS Constitution for free.
- Evening: on a Thursday, the Gardner or ICA after 5 p.m. for free; any other day, sunset on the Harborwalk.