We started the Freedom Trail at the Boston Commons, the oldest public park in the country.
From the visitor center, you can easily find the red line trail, sometimes the trail is red paint, other times it is brick.
State House
Robert Gould Shaw Memorial
Park Street Church
Granary Burial Ground
King’s Chapel
Boston Latin School
Old City Hall
Old Meeting House*
The Old Corner Bookstore
Old State House*
Boston Massacre
Faneuil Hall
Paul Revere House*
Paul Revere Statue
Old North Church*
Copp’s Hill Burial Ground
USS Constitution
Bunker Hill Monument
Helpful Hints:
- Bring a water bottle. Many of the stops have a water refill station. It was a hot, humid, summer day when we went, and was thankful for all the water refill stations. We probably filled up 5 times!
- Visitor Center in Boston Commons. There is a restroom inside, and a water refill station outside. There is plenty of free information on Boston and nearby attractions, but no free information on the Freedom Trail. You can purchase tour tickets for a costume guided tour (which seemed long and informational) or purchase a self-guided walking tour app (you can do this from anywhere).
- Robert Gould Shaw Memorial is across the street from the State Capital building and depicts Colonel Shaw leading the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry of African American soldiers as it marched down Beacon Street in May 1863.
- State Capital building, the oldest continually running capital in the US.
- Park Street Church was open to the public. On the second floor is the church and a few signs to read. You can’t bring in food/beverages into the main room, but you can leave them on the able right outside. There is a restroom here.
- Granary Burial Ground: Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin’s family members, John Hancock, Paul Revere and many more
- Old Meeting House – Site of the Boston Tea Party debates (among many others) due to its large size. There was an additional fee to enter this building. The room was filled with informational boards that you can read at your own pace. There are restrooms.
- The Old State House. There was an additional fee to enter this building, you will need to check, for free, your bags that are larger than a small purse. There are several rooms you can enter and read the informational brochures, but in addition, once you’ve paid, they have free ‘tours’. We participated in a 45 minute informational session on the Boston Massacre. Once the session was over, we were free to continue reading at our own leisure. There are restrooms on the bottom level.
- The National Park Service has information and a map on the Freedom Trail in Fanueil Hall. There are restrooms and a water refill station on the lower level. Additionally, this is near a mall-like plaza with plenty of eateries and places to rest for a bit.
- The Paul Revere House had a fee to enter. There is no photography in the house. The house is small with, I think, two rooms on each level that you can see. There is a restroom and water refill station in the visitor center area.
- Old North Church has an entrance fee. We did not enter this one.
We underestimated how long it would take us to do this trail, thinking it was about 3 miles plus some time to read and whatnot. We started our walk from Boston Commons at about 10:30 AM and walked to the Old North Church where we called it quits at about 3:00 PM, as we had evening plans. We stopped several times for the inside exhibits, and a drink to cool off. We walked about thirty-five minutes back to our hotel. Unfortunately we did not have time to cross the river to Bunker hill or the USS Constitution.
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