We may earn a commission from links on this page, at no cost to you. Disclosure
The best things to do near Faneuil Hall are within about ten minutes on foot: eat in Quincy Market, hear a free ranger talk in Faneuil Hall's Great Hall, see the Boston Massacre site at the Old State House, walk through the New England Holocaust Memorial, then cross into the North End for the Paul Revere House or head to the waterfront for the New England Aquarium. As of September 2026, Faneuil Hall Marketplace is open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Restaurants and shops inside set their own hours and some run later, so the marketplace's hours are a guide rather than a hard closing time. Here is what is close, in the order most people walk it.
Quincy Market and the marketplace
Faneuil Hall Marketplace is three long granite market buildings, Quincy Market in the middle with the North and South Market buildings either side, plus Faneuil Hall itself at the west end. Quincy Market's central colonnade is the food hall, the quickest lunch in the area, and the marketplace counts more than 80 businesses in all. Street performers work the cobblestone promenades daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Faneuil Hall's Great Hall and ranger talks
Faneuil Hall is run by the National Park Service as a visitor center and historic site, and entry is free. Upstairs, in the Great Hall where colonists protested the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, rangers give free talks of about 15 minutes; our listing records them Wednesday to Sunday on the half hour from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The hall can close for city events, so check the park's visitor page on the day.
Old State House and the Boston Massacre site
Two blocks south, the Old State House at 206 Washington Street is a Freedom Trail stop, and the Boston Massacre site is marked just outside. Revolutionary Spaces runs it with the Old South Meeting House on one ticket; both are open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both are also among the five sites on the Boston 250 Pass, which our guide compares with CityPASS and Go City.
New England Holocaust Memorial
Across Congress Street from the marketplace, in Carmen Park beside Union Street, six glass towers etched with numbers stand along a path, one for each of six death camps. The memorial is outdoors, free and open at all times, and it sits on the Freedom Trail. Allow 15 minutes and go quietly.
Blackstone Block: oysters and an old tavern
Behind the memorial, Union Street has two of the city's oldest places to eat and drink. Union Oyster House has served oysters at 41 Union Street since 1826, and Bell in Hand Tavern next door dates its first pour to 1795. Around the corner on Marshall Street is the Boston Stone, set into the base of a building.
Boston Public Market and Haymarket
A block north, Boston Public Market at 100 Hanover Street is an indoor market of New England food producers, open daily from 8 a.m. (to 6 p.m. Sunday to Tuesday and 8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday). The open-air Haymarket produce stalls set up beside it on Blackstone Street.
The North End: Paul Revere House and Old North Church
Cross the Rose Kennedy Greenway and you are in the North End. The Paul Revere House, built about 1680 and downtown Boston's oldest building, puts itself about ten minutes from Faneuil Hall along the Freedom Trail; adult admission is $6. Continue up the trail to Old North Church, where the lanterns were hung in 1775, and finish with dinner at Neptune Oyster or Giacomo's.
The waterfront: New England Aquarium and the harbor
East of the marketplace, the New England Aquarium on Central Wharf is built around a four-story Giant Ocean Tank, and its harbor seal exhibit on the front plaza is free to watch. Entry is by timed ticket, so book ahead. From next door Long Wharf, ferries to the Boston Harbor Islands run from mid-May to mid-October.
A drink after dark
Sam Adams Boston Taproom at 60 State Street overlooks the marketplace and is 21 and over with a parent-or-guardian exception before 7:30 p.m. The Black Rose at 160 State Street books live Irish music seven nights a week.
Getting there and parking
Take the T. The marketplace lists State (Orange and Blue lines), Haymarket (Orange and Green), Government Center (Green and Blue) and Aquarium (Blue) as its nearest stations. If you drive, it names nine garages within a 15-minute walk, including 75 State Street, 60 State Street, 200 State Street, the Boston Harbor Garage at 266 Atlantic Avenue, the Dock Square Garage at 20 Clinton Street and the Parcel 7 (Haymarket) Garage at 136 Blackstone Street. The marketplace does not publish rates. Two nearby businesses validate at the Haymarket garage: Boston Public Market and Union Oyster House, with a purchase.
More nearby: things to do near the New England Aquarium, things to do near North Station, things to do downtown and Boston's oldest restaurants.
Sources: Faneuil Hall Marketplace and its parking and directions page, Boston National Historical Park, Revolutionary Spaces, New England Holocaust Memorial; listing facts from our linked listings. Checked September 30, 2026.