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One Day in Boston for History Lovers


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We will be spending one day in Boston at the end of a Serenade New England cruise. We have booked the Lenox Back Bay for the night and will be flying our the following day. Would the best plan be just to walk the Freedom trail on our own, take a HOHO bus, or some other kind of tour? We are moderately active and don't mind a lot of walking. Any advice would be appreciated!

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I've never done the HOHO, but if you're active, and have one day, I'd be on the Freedom Trail! Allow time, stop to eat and grab a beverage along the way. It's been awhile, but we loved it.

 

My only caveat is if you're truly into American History, and you've never been, it's at least worth looking at a Lexington and Concord tour. We did NOT do those on the same day (I was attending a convention in Boston and traveling on my free time), but there is something about standing on the Lexington Common... (But, you can't miss the Old North Church, the Constitution, Faneuil Hall, etc...) Too much history, too little time!

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For me, the HOHO's are over-hyped. At busy times, there is no fixed schedule for the buses/trolleys, and if if it is full, a trolley will pass your stop, and you'll wait for the next, or the next. The entire Freedom Trail is only 2.5 miles from the Common to Charlestown. Walking it on your own gives you the flexibility to stop and explore in depth those sites you are really fascinated by, and skim those others. Great restaurants in North End, and some in Charlestown as well.

 

While I recommend for cruise passengers to do the Trail in reverse (start in Charlestown) so you end up closer to the ship, in your case, a short walk from the hotel gets you to the Common to start the trail. You may want to side trip to the Tea Party Ship as well.

 

When in the North End, make sure to take a detour to Commercial Street to the park near the bridge to Charlestown to find the plaque memorializing the great Boston Molasses Flood. In 1919, a storage tank holding 1 million gallons of molasses burst and the resulting flood killed 21 people, and led to the first class action lawsuit in the US.

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I'd recommend the freedom trail as well. The Constitution and Navy Yard are really great, it takes you through the North End past the Old North Church, hits all the sights. I don't know much about the hoho bus, but I do know that the duck tour loses a lot of time to going in and out of the water. And the part of the water that it goes on (the river) isn't particularly historic.

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Thanks for the advice everyone! Is the Trail easy to navigate? Is there a (paper) map I can pick up somewhere? I prefer not to navigate from my phone!

If you start at Boston Common, the Visitor Center should have a map. There should also be painted lines on the sidewalk which indicate the route of the trail.

 

If you make it all the way to Constitution in Charlestown, consider taking the mbta water taxi back to Long Wharf for an inexpensive "harbor cruise".

 

However, I agree with chengkp75 - take a cab to The Constitution first. Then I recommend taking the water taxi "harbor cruise" to Long Wharf and walking through Columbus Park into the North End to pick up the trail again walking backwards to the Boston Common. There is nothing sacred about the Freedom Trail itself (unlike the Battle Road between Lexington and Concord which the Minutemen actually walked to fight the British). The Trail was created to provide an organized walking route through downtown Boston for tourists to find all the historic landmarks that are nestled among the modern buildings.

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Freedom Trail is great, but my number 1 to do is USS Constitution!!

 

Thanks for the feedback. That's why some of us recommend starting there to see the museum and ship before the potential crowds arrive. I personally prefer the mbta water taxi ride through the harbor and walking into the North End rather than walking from the Constitution to the North End on the street.

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One more story for your planning: as mentioned, the Bunker Hill monument in Charlestown is a short walk from the Navy Yard where the USS Constitution resides. The walk up the monument is 3xx ( or is it 5xx???!) steps but well worth it with 360' panoramic views and good historical information. The museum is very interesting too, as well as the hilly site.

 

What I also enjoyed (with insight from a local) was the 'golden hour' : there is an awesome sunlit illuminated view of the Bunker Hill monument from a south side street. It is a hip section of Charlestown with pubs and great chowder and an active local / tourist street scene.

 

A historical buff's photo op for sure. A culture buff experience not to forget.

 

However, the golden hour is at the end of the day! (There is an app that will tell you the time for the day you are there). So a back track trip might be in order!

 

Enjoy your day in Boston!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited by JenZ
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We will be spending one day in Boston at the end of a Serenade New England cruise. We have booked the Lenox Back Bay for the night and will be flying our the following day. Would the best plan be just to walk the Freedom trail on our own, take a HOHO bus, or some other kind of tour? We are moderately active and don't mind a lot of walking. Any advice would be appreciated!

We live about an hour north of Boston and know the city quite well.

I highly recommend Googling "free tours by foot Boston." The tours really are free. (Our guide was so knowledgeable and entertaining that we gave him a $10 gratuity. It's totally voluntary, though.) We had friends visit from Australia and booked the North End/Little Italy tour. It was fabulous!!! We learned so much about Boston history, Paul Revere, etc. even though we've lived here for over 50 years. There are a number of free tours available.

I highly recommend Mike's Pastries in the North End. Delicious cannolis and lobster tails. (It's a dessert, not a crustacean.) If you like Italian food, you can't go wrong at any restaurant in the North End.

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We're in Boston 11-8. I'm doing Fenway tour at 1:00 then taking the T to Boston Commons to start Freedom Trail. I would like to pick up the water taxi to ship after North Church. Where is the best location to board?

 

Sent from my LG-LS777 using Forums mobile app

 

I'm not seeing any ships on the cruiseport schedule for 11/8/17. What ship are you on and what time would you be doing this trip?

 

It's an expensive plan. Water taxi rate to Black Falcon is $20/pp. Cab or Uber should be a lot cheaper (Under $20) Are you sure it's something you really want to do in November?

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I'm having trouble researching the current water taxi service. Rowes Wharf Water Transport goes to Black Falcon from Rowes Wharf for $20. Unfortunately Rowes Wharf is a bit of a walk from the North End.

 

I'm having trouble finding info on City Water Taxi.

 

Boston Harbor Water Taxi used to go to Black Falcon, but that stop is not on the current list, so you'll have to call them

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I'm having trouble researching the current water taxi service. Rowes Wharf Water Transport goes to Black Falcon from Rowes Wharf for $20. Unfortunately Rowes Wharf is a bit of a walk from the North End.

 

I'm having trouble finding info on City Water Taxi.

 

Boston Harbor Water Taxi used to go to Black Falcon, but that stop is not on the current list, so you'll have to call them

 

Best I could see is to use Boston Water Taxi from Battery Wharf or Burroughs Warf to the Seaport World Trade Center, for $12 each.

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A great thing to do in the back bay would to go up on to The Skywalk in the Prudential Center. Very cool view of the city. Another must see is the Tea Party Ship. Awesome museum!

 

 

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Glad to hear about the Tea Party museum. We are planning to be there on Friday and was wondering if the Tea Party museum is worth what looks like a hefty admission price.

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