100 Things to Do in Boston, Checked and Grouped by Theme

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These are 100 things to do in Boston, every one of them inside the City of Boston and checked as open on October 1, 2026. Start with the Freedom Trail, the North End, the Public Garden, the Museum of Fine Arts and a tour of Fenway Park, then work outward to the harbor islands, the Arnold Arboretum, the South End's restaurants and the city's oldest taverns. The list is grouped by theme, so you can build a day from one section.

If you only have a day or two, our top 10 things to do in Boston picks the essentials. This page is for the longer stay, the return visit, or the moment you have done the famous ten and want the next ninety. Seasonal things are marked: the Swan Boats, the harbor island ferries and the SoWa market all close for the winter.

Revolutionary Boston and the Freedom Trail

1. Walk the Freedom Trail, the 2.5-mile red line in the sidewalk linking 16 historic sites from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument. Small-group guided walks, such as the Revolutionary Story Tour, are bookable on Viator.
2. Start on Boston Common, which dates from 1634 and which the city calls America's oldest park.
3. Tour the gold-domed Massachusetts State House, the seat of state government since 1798; Paul Revere sheathed the dome in copper in 1802.
4. Visit the Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street, established in 1660, where Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere and the five victims of the Boston Massacre are buried.
5. Step into King’s Chapel, founded in 1686 as New England's first Anglican church; the stone building dates from 1754, and its Tuesday recitals start at 12:15 p.m.
6. See Old South Meeting House, built in 1729, where thousands gathered on December 16, 1773 to argue over the tea tax before the Boston Tea Party.
7. Stand under the balcony of the Old State House, built in 1713, where the Declaration of Independence was first read in Boston on July 18, 1776; the Boston Massacre happened outside in 1770.
8. Explore Faneuil Hall Marketplace, where colonists protested the Sugar Act and Stamp Act in 1764 and Quincy Market now holds the food counters.
9. Tour the Paul Revere House on North Square, built about 1680 and downtown Boston's oldest building.
10. See the steeple of Old North Church, opened in 1723, where two lanterns were hung on April 18, 1775.
11. Board USS Constitution, the frigate launched in 1797 and known as Old Ironsides, at the Charlestown Navy Yard; the ship keeps its own visiting hours, so check them first.
12. Visit the USS Constitution Museum across the pier, in the Navy Yard's old dry-dock pump house.
13. Climb the 294 steps of the Bunker Hill Monument, a 221-foot granite obelisk in Charlestown dedicated in 1843; admission is free.
14. Throw tea overboard at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum on the Congress Street Bridge, about 100 yards from where the original Griffin's Wharf stood.
15. Walk the Black Heritage Trail with a National Park Service ranger, through the 19th-century Black community of Beacon Hill.
16. Visit the Museum of African American History at 46 Joy Street, open to the public Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Parks, gardens and the harbor

17. Stroll the Public Garden, America's first public botanical garden, founded in 1837; the Swan Boats return in April 2027.
18. Ride a ferry from Long Wharf to the Boston Harbor Islands between mid-May and mid-October; there is no park entrance fee, only the ferry ticket.
19. Wander the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, 281 acres of trees and shrubs founded in 1872 and always free.
20. Walk the loop around Jamaica Pond, a short ride from the Arboretum in Jamaica Plain.
21. Stroll the Charles River Esplanade to the Hatch Memorial Shell, the riverside stage known for the Boston Pops' Fourth of July concert.
22. Ride the Greenway Carousel on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, where the seats are New England creatures; it currently runs Friday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
23. Walk out to Fort Independence on Castle Island in South Boston for wide views across the outer harbor.
24. See gorillas in the Tropical Forest and giraffes on the savannah at Franklin Park Zoo, open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
25. Meet the penguins and the four-story Giant Ocean Tank at the New England Aquarium on Central Wharf.

Museums, music and the arts

26. Spend a day at the Museum of Fine Arts, with nearly 500,000 works; it is closed on Tuesdays and open late on Thursday and Friday.
27. See one collector's palace at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, opened in 1903 and still arranged as she left it.
28. Catch a Thursday evening at the Institute of Contemporary Art on the Seaport waterfront, when admission is free for everyone.
29. Watch the Lightning! show at the Museum of Science on the Charles River Dam.
30. Visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at Columbia Point, by Red Line to JFK/UMass and a free shuttle.
31. Walk into the McKim Building of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, the country's first large free municipal library.
32. Tour Trinity Church across Copley Square from the library.
33. Walk through the glass globe of the Mapparium at the Christian Science Plaza, near the Reflecting Pool and the Mother Church (details).
34. Hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1881, or the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall on Massachusetts Avenue.
35. See a touring show at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in the Theatre District, where Oklahoma!, Porgy and Bess and Anything Goes had early runs.
36. Bring the kids to the Boston Children’s Museum on Fort Point Channel, open Wednesday to Monday and closed on Tuesdays.
37. Tour the Nichols House Museum, an 1804 townhouse on Mount Vernon Street in Beacon Hill, Tuesday to Sunday.
38. Buy a day pass or join a tour at the Boston Athenaeum, the member library at 10 1/2 Beacon Street.
39. Look down on the city from View Boston, the indoor and open-air observation decks at the top of the Prudential Tower.

Sports and the Marathon

40. Tour Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox since 1912; guided tours run every day of the year.
41. Have a beer at Bleacher Bar, the only bar inside Fenway Park, with a window onto the outfield and no ticket needed.
42. Stand at the Boston Marathon finish line, painted across Boylston Street in Back Bay.
43. Browse Marathon Sports on Boylston Street, a few steps from that finish line.

Neighborhood walks

44. Photograph Acorn Street, the narrow stone-paved lane in Beacon Hill; early morning is quietest.
45. Browse Charles Street's shops, starting at Beacon Hill Chocolates, on Charles Street since 2006.
46. Shop for women's clothing at Crush Boutique, run by its two founders on Charles Street since 2007.
47. Find small-batch designers at December Thieves, a women-owned Beacon Hill concept store.
48. Walk Newbury Street from its Public Garden end at Shreve, Crump & Low, the family-owned jeweler that dates its history to 1796.
49. Flip through color vinyl and comics at Newbury Comics, the New England chain's store on the street that shares its name.
50. Spend a slow hour at Trident Booksellers & Cafe, a bookshop and restaurant on Newbury Street since 1984.
51. Try on everyday basics at Buck Mason on Newbury Street.
52. Shop the luxury names at Copley Place, two levels of stores at 100 Huntington Avenue.
53. Eat and shop at the Prudential Center, more than 70 shops and eateries at the foot of the Prudential Tower, including Eataly.
54. Customize a pair of sneakers at the Converse flagship at the company's headquarters on Lovejoy Wharf.
55. Lose an afternoon in the Brattle Book Shop, which traces its roots to 1825 and fills three floors on West Street.
56. Dig through old prints and antiquarian books at Commonwealth Books on Spring Lane, which the shop says was laid out around 1630.
57. Support a community bookstore at Frugal Bookstore on Warren Street in Roxbury, which puts Black authors front and center.
58. Shop New England food at the Boston Public Market, more than 30 local producers above Haymarket station.
59. Spend a Sunday at the SoWa Open Market in the South End, which runs from May to mid-November.
60. Buy coffee, spices and pasta at Polcari’s Coffee, on Salem Street since 1932.
61. Pick up salumi, cheese and olive oil at Salumeria Italiana, on Richmond Street since 1962.

Where to eat

62. Order the clam chowder at Union Oyster House, serving at 41 Union Street since 1826; JFK's favorite upstairs booth is dedicated to him.
63. Go mid-afternoon to skip the wait for oysters and the lobster roll at Neptune Oyster on Salem Street.
64. Order a brick-oven pie at the original Regina Pizzeria on Thacher Street, where the name began in 1926.
65. Bring cash for Giacomo’s on Hanover Street, open since 1985 and still cash only.
66. Book one of the five dining rooms at Mamma Maria, in a 19th-century townhouse on North Square.
67. Watch the open kitchen at Carmelina’s on Hanover Street, where the front wall opens in summer.
68. Cross to East Boston for pizza and lamb skewers at Santarpio’s on Chelsea Street.
69. Eat oysters in a 1908 warehouse at Row 34 in Fort Point.
70. Book the nightly tasting menu at o ya in the Leather District.
71. Order sashimi and nigiri at Uni, inside The Eliot Hotel in Back Bay.
72. Share Barcelona-style tapas at Toro on Washington Street in the South End, open since 2005.
73. Try Venetian cicchetti and fresh pasta at SRV on Columbus Avenue.
74. Dine French Mediterranean at Mistral, on Columbus Avenue since 1997.
75. Go for Mediterranean seafood at Ostra in Park Square, by Boston Common.
76. Eat Northern Italian under glass at Contessa, the rooftop restaurant of The Newbury Boston, with views over the Public Garden.
77. Celebrate at Davio’s on Arlington Street, a Northern Italian steakhouse.
78. Order a steak at Grill 23 & Bar, Back Bay's independent steakhouse since 1983.
79. Try the classic steakhouse at Abe & Louie’s on Boylston Street.
80. Eat farm-to-table at the end of Pier 4 at Woods Hill Pier 4, overlooking the harbor.
81. Dress up for Yvonne’s, a supper club in the rooms of the old Locke-Ober.

Where to drink and hear music

82. Have a pint at the Bell in Hand, which dates its first pour to 1795.
83. Hear live Irish music at The Black Rose, on State Street since 1976, seven nights a week.
84. Drink where George Washington stopped in 1789, according to the tavern, at Warren Tavern in Charlestown.
85. Find the bar that inspired the TV show at Cheers Beacon Hill, opened in 1969 as the Bull & Finch Pub.
86. Order a whiskey at The Last Hurrah in the Omni Parker House.
87. Slip down the corridor and through the curtain to the speakeasy at Carrie Nation Cocktail Club on Beacon Street.
88. Try steak tips and one of 36 taps at The Tip Tap Room on Cambridge Street.
89. Sip American whiskey at jm Curley on Temple Place.
90. Sink into a couch at The Wig Shop, a cocktail lounge a few doors down Temple Place.
91. Drink beer brewed on site at Democracy Brewing, a worker-owned brewery in Downtown Crossing.
92. Try taproom-only beers at the Sam Adams Boston Taproom by Faneuil Hall.
93. Drink inside a working brewery at the Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall, which calls itself Boston's first craft brewery.
94. Order a pour at Trillium Fort Point, the taproom in the neighborhood where the brewery began in 2013.
95. Follow the red lights downstairs to Lucky’s Lounge, an underground bar in Fort Point.
96. Watch the skyline from the Rooftop at The Envoy in the Seaport, open all year.
97. Order tequila under the murals at Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar in Back Bay.
98. Spin the Wheel of Indecision at Bukowski Tavern, a beer bar in a Dalton Street garage.
99. Catch live music every day of the week at The Beehive in the South End.
100. Hear jazz at Wally’s Café Jazz Club, which has had live music every night since 1947.

What is not on this list, and why

Harvard University, MIT, Harvard Square and Kendall Square are in Cambridge, a separate city across the Charles River, so they are not on a list of things to do in Boston, though they are an easy Red Line trip; see our guide to things to do in Cambridge. Closed restaurants and bars from older lists are gone too. For more ideas by budget and season, try our guides to cheap things to do in Boston, Boston with kids and Boston at night.

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