36 Hours in Boston: The Ultimate Travel Guide
Boston won me over in 36 hours. Though our trip was planned around five days in Coastal Maine, I wanted to take a day to explore Boston’s historic charm.
The city has an industrial edge with its brick buildings and turn-of-the-century finishes. But the city’s biggest draw is the juxtaposition of the super old and super modern showcasing an impressive 400 year history. In the short time I spent in Boston, I fell in love with the city. It has everything you’d hope for: incredible neighborhoods, friendly people and an overall east-coast, port-town vibe that lives up to the buzz. Here’s the Ultimate Boston Travel Guide:
your Boston travel guide
Where to stay in Boston
Knowing we had a rental car and wanted to explore the surrounding towns, we stayed a couple of miles outside of city center at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton, about a mile from the Harvard campus. The hotel room was beautiful and the hotel was immaculately clean. I booked the hotel using Hotwire’s Hot Rate tool, which made the total cost for two nights just $190! I’ve used this tool many times.
Though we didn’t stay downtown, I did consider The Revolution Hotel and Lowes Boston Hotel in the Back Bay neighborhood since they are close to a lot of great restaurants. If we didn’t have our rental car or plans to go out of the city, I might have considered staying downtown because of our time constraints. But our hotel location worked out great for us.
Things To Do
The ultimate Boston travel guide wouldn’t be complete without talking about the Freedom Trail.
The trail runs through historic downtown Boston, showcasing the city’s importance in the American Revolutionary War. There are an abundance of tour companies offering guided tours but you can also do this self-guided. We did the Urban Adventures food and history walking tour, which was fantastic! It gave a good amount of history while highlighting Boston foods, too. I highly recommend the experience if you get the chance.
Checking out the luxury of Beacon Hill is another must on a trip to Boston. The Instagram-worthy Acorn Street draws a lot of visitors to the neighborhood, but it also has a lot of great shops and sits on the edge of the Boston Common and Boston Public Garden. And for those Americana lovers, the Cheers bar is in the outskirts of the neighborhood.
Boston saw many new Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. Many of them migrated to a community now known as Little Italy. The North End neighborhood is filled with Italian bakeries serving cappuccinos and cannolis, small Italian groceries, and authentic Italian restaurants. The North End is also a great place to explore Boston history by sightseeing the Paul Revere house, the Old North Church and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Be sure to research food tours in the North End.
We were really fortunate to see the USS Constitution being moved in the harbor while on our walking tour. But if you aren’t so lucky to be there on the two undisclosed dates a year, you can visit the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill across the Charles River.
If you have a chance, be sure to check out some incredible Boston museums like the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Travel Tip! If you are a member of a museum or zoo you likely have reciprocal benefits to other institutions around the United States! Check your membership’s website to see what museums, zoos, and other sites might be included for free admission.
Day trip from boston worth taking
Although Boston has a lot of sights to see, the surrounding areas are impressive, too. Here are a couple quick drives or ferry rides from the city center to consider:
Concord
Concord is located 25 miles from downtown Boston and has a lovely, quaint downtown strip. Sally Ann’s Food Shop has some of the best sandwich bread I’ve ever eaten, too. Concord has a lot of great historical sites to visit like the Minute Men National Historic Park and Louisa May Orchard House. Even if you’re not a student of philosophy, I recommend taking the 5 minute drive to Walden Pond State Park. The park includes beach access and some nice walking trails. A half-mile from the beach, you’ll find the site of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin.
Salem
Salem is easily accessible by ferry during season or a quick car ride. Though Salem is largely known for its witch trials, the small town offers more historic charm and less cheesy magic than I imagined. Yes, there are some witch shops with trinkets and t-shirts but the town highlights the history of the witch trials thoughtfully.
One of the highlights of a visit to Salem is the Witch Trials Memorial. The small square includes protruding stones from the rock wall, each etched with the names, dates, and causes of death of the victims. You’ll find numerous walking tours available that cover the history. Other witch-y attractions include the Bewitched monument and the Witch House.
Outside of the Salem Witch Trial fandom, Salem has an incredible museum downtown right next to the National Park Service’s visitor center. The Peabody Essex Museum does a great job showcasing their collection of maritime artifacts and artwork through interesting exhibits. Additionally, I recommend walking the streets surrounding downtown to view the old historic homes. The homes have markers of the year the home was built, who built it and what their occupation was.
I loved exploring Boston and hope to get to spend more time there in the future. I hope you enjoyed my Boston travel guide and get to exploring using some of these suggestions!
