We may earn a commission from links on this page, at no cost to you. Disclosure
A Boston tavern tour pairs Freedom Trail history with a drink in taverns that are still pouring, and the core of it fits in a few blocks of Union and Marshall streets by Faneuil Hall: the Bell in Hand (which dates itself to 1795), the Green Dragon Tavern and the bar at Union Oyster House (1826). You can walk it yourself for the price of your drinks, or book a guided tour such as Ye Olde Tavern Tours, which covers about a mile in roughly two hours with a beer at each of three taverns, for guests 21 and over.
Add Warren Tavern in Charlestown, built in 1780, if you are walking the whole Freedom Trail to Bunker Hill.
The taverns on a Boston tavern tour
Every historic tavern here makes a claim about its age, and the claims measure different things: the age of a building, the age of a business, or the age of a name. Read them as each tavern's own account.
| Tavern | Address | Date it gives | What the date means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren Tavern | 2 Pleasant St, Charlestown | 1780 | Building constructed after the 1775 burning of Charlestown; calls itself the oldest tavern in Massachusetts |
| Bell in Hand Tavern | 45 Union St | 1795 | Business founded by Jimmy Wilson; calls itself America's oldest continuously operating tavern |
| Union Oyster House | 41 Union St | 1826 | Restaurant in continuous service; The Union Bar serves until midnight |
| Green Dragon Tavern | 11 Marshall St | 1654 (name) | Modern pub carrying the name of the colonial tavern, which stood on Union Street and was demolished in 1832 |
Bell in Hand Tavern
The Bell in Hand tells its founding story on its own website: Jimmy Wilson, Boston's town crier for fifty years, opened a tavern on retiring and named it for the bell of his old trade, and by the tavern's account he served only ale. The 1795 date makes it the oldest continuously operating tavern in the country by its own claim; that is the house's history rather than an independent ruling. Today it is a big pub with three bars on the first floor, a kitchen serving chowder and lobster rolls until midnight, and live music and a DJ at weekends, which makes it the liveliest stop on the route after dark.
The Green Dragon Tavern
The original Green Dragon stood on what is now Union Street and was pulled down in 1832. Its basement was a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty and the Boston Committee of Correspondence, and the Freemasons, Paul Revere among them, used the floor above. The Green Dragon Tavern at 11 Marshall Street is a modern pub around the corner that carries the name and the story, with Irish-American and New England seafood dishes, comedy on Mondays and cover bands the rest of the week. Come for the connection and a pint rather than an 18th-century interior.
Union Oyster House and The Union Bar
Union Oyster House has served meals at 41 Union Street since 1826 and is a National Historic Landmark. For a tavern tour, the stop is its semi-circular oyster bar, where the restaurant says Daniel Webster was a regular, or The Union Bar, which keeps its own menu and stays open until midnight. Our guide to Boston's oldest restaurants covers the dining room and the Kennedy booth upstairs.
Warren Tavern, Charlestown
Warren Tavern was one of the first buildings to go up again after British troops burned Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill, and it is named for Dr. Joseph Warren, the patriot killed there. It says George Washington stopped in during 1789. It sits near the end of the Freedom Trail, a short walk from the Bunker Hill Monument, so it is the natural place to finish if you walk the whole route.
Guided tavern tours in Boston
Ye Olde Tavern Tours runs walking tours led by historians that start at Boston Common and end near Faneuil Hall, cover about a mile in about two hours, and include a beer or hard cider at each of three historic taverns. Guests must be 21 or older with valid ID, tickets carry the 5% Massachusetts sightseeing tax, and all sales are final, so book when your plans are firm.
The Freedom Trail Foundation offers a 90-minute Historic Pub Crawl as a private tour for adults: it starts at the ArtsBoston booth in Faneuil Hall Marketplace, visits three pubs, and costs $50 a person with a $300 minimum, arranged at least two weeks ahead. A small-group Freedom Trail history pub crawl is also bookable online on Viator.
A self-guided tavern route
- Start at the Green Dragon on Marshall Street for the Revolution story.
- Walk around the corner to Union Street for a drink at the Union Oyster House bar.
- Finish a few doors up at the Bell in Hand, where the kitchen runs latest.
- On a Freedom Trail day, save Warren Tavern in Charlestown for lunch or dinner after Bunker Hill.
The three downtown stops are all on the same few blocks by Faneuil Hall; Haymarket (Orange and Green lines) and State (Blue and Orange) are the nearest T stations. Massachusetts does not allow happy-hour drink discounts, so expect full price everywhere. For the history between drinks, see our guide to historical things to do in Boston and the Freedom Trail.