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For a Sunday in Boston, build the day around three classics: a morning walk through the Public Garden, America's first public botanical garden; an afternoon on the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, most of whose sites open on Sundays; and an early seafood dinner at Union Oyster House, which has served since 1826 and opens at 11 a.m. on Sundays. The garden and the trail cost nothing to walk. The one big Freedom Trail site you cannot enter on a Sunday is the Massachusetts State House, which is closed at weekends.
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Morning: the Public Garden
The Public Garden opens at 6:30 a.m. and is laid out for strolling, with a serpentine pond crossed by a footbridge from the 1860s and flower beds grown in the city's own greenhouses. It was established in 1837 as the first public botanical garden in America. From May to September, the Friends of the Public Garden lead free one-hour tours on some Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10 a.m., starting at the Make Way for Ducklings statues with no sign-up. The Swan Boats run daily from April to September; they have finished for 2026 and return in April 2027.
Boston Common is across Charles Street. Walk through it to the Boston Common Visitor Information Center at 139 Tremont Street, where the Freedom Trail begins.
Afternoon: the Freedom Trail on a Sunday
The Freedom Trail links 16 historic sites over 2.5 miles, from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Following it is free, and the Freedom Trail Foundation's 90-minute Walk Into History tour leaves the visitor center every day, Sundays included; tickets are $17 for adults.
Here is what to expect at the main sites on a Sunday:
- The Massachusetts State House is closed at weekends, so see the gold dome from Beacon Street and come back on a weekday for the free tour.
- The Old South Meeting House and the Old State House are open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in October and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in November and December, on one joint ticket of $18 for adults.
- Faneuil Hall is free, and National Park Service rangers give short talks there from Wednesday to Sunday. The marketplace around it opens from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
- The Paul Revere House is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. until October 31 and 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. from November; adult admission is $6.
- Old North Church is still a working Episcopal church with a service at 11 a.m. on Sundays; Sunday visitor hours run from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- In Charlestown, the USS Constitution is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday, and the USS Constitution Museum opens daily from 9:30 a.m.
The trail is not a loop, so plan your way back. From the North End, Haymarket station on the Orange and Green Lines is one of the closest stops.
Evening: chowder at Union Oyster House
Union Oyster House at 41 Union Street is on the Freedom Trail, a block from Faneuil Hall. It calls itself the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the United States and has kept its oyster bar where it was installed in 1826. Order the clam chowder or oysters, raw, grilled, fried or Rockefeller. On Sundays the dining room is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and tables can be booked on OpenTable; groups of 7 to 25 should call the dining room manager.
Other Sunday ideas
From May to mid-November, the SoWa Open Market fills 500 Harrison Avenue in the South End every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and its vintage market runs downstairs at 450 Harrison Avenue year round. For a slower day by the Charles River and on Beacon Hill, see our slow Sunday itinerary for Boston. For the history of Union Oyster House, read our guide to the oldest restaurant in Boston, and for Saturday plans, our weekend planner.