Guide to Exploring Boston’s Freedom Trail During the 250th Anniversary
The Old North Church surrounded by the narrow streets of Boston’s North End. All Photos by John O’Boyle / The Empty Nest Explorers
In 2026, the United States is celebrating its 250th anniversary, and there is no better place to celebrate than in Boston. Perhaps the easiest way to explore historic Boston is to walk the Freedom Trail.
I have been visiting Boston and walking the Freedom Trail since I was a kid. Seeing the sites that were pivotal in the founding of the United States never gets old.
Downtown Boston is very walkable, and at the time of the Revolutionary War, it was even smaller.
In 1951, journalist William Schofield noted that tourists were having a hard time finding some of Boston’s attractions. The Boston Mayor agreed, and by 1953, visitors were following the Freedom Trail.
Today, the Freedom Trail is a collection of public and private sites linked together by the famous red brick trail.
Most of the sites are free, although the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, and the Paul Revere House charge admission.
| 📍 Trail Length | 2.5 miles |
| 🏛️ Official Sites | 16 |
| ⏱️ Time Needed | Half day (highlights) to full day (all 16 sites) |
| 🚩 Starting Point | Boston Common Visitor Center, 139 Tremont St |
| 🚇 Best T Stop | Park Street (Red & Green Lines) |
| 🎟️ Admission | Mostly free; paid sites from $6 to $15 |
| 💡 Money-Saving Tip | 3-site joint ticket (Old State House + Old South Meeting House + Old North Church) — $30 at the Boston Common Visitor Center |
| 📅 Best Time to Go | Weekday mornings; April/May or September/October for smaller crowds |
The trail is run by a collection of entities, including the Freedom Trail Foundation and the National Park Service.
I’d recommend downloading the National Park Service app. Not only do they have a great map and audio guide for the Freedom Trail, but they have fantastic info on all National Parks and attractions operated by the National Park Service.
While you certainly can follow the trail from its start on the Boston Common to the end at Bunker Hill, I recommend looking at it by sections. And there is no reason why you have to stop at each location.
You could easily do the central Boston parts on one day and the North End and Charlestown attractions another day.
Walking the Freedom Trail couldn’t be easier, just follow the red brick path.
If you want to follow it as a path for a one-day adventure, then I’d suggest stopping for lunch at Quincy Market, next to Faneuil Hall, and timing the end of your day so you can get dinner in the North End.
If you want to split it up over two days, then you could visit the New England Aquarium or the Boston Tea Party ship during the afternoon of your first day. They are both a short walk from Faneuil Hall.
The Boston Tea Party Museum is an attraction that many consider essential to the Freedom Trail, as the incident played a pivotal role in leading to America’s independence.
We first visited when our son was young, and it was fun to actually “dump the tea into the sea” on a replica of the actual ships.
On our most recent visit, we enjoyed a two-person play featuring actors reading the letters of John and Abigail Adams.
Surprisingly, the Boston Tea Party Museum is not on the Freedom Trail. It’s located nearby and a worthy stop, especially if you have kids or are just young at heart.
| # | Site | Admission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Common | FREE | America's oldest public park (1634). Official trail start. |
| 2 | Massachusetts State House | FREE | Free guided tours weekdays 10am–3:30pm. Golden dome is unmissable. |
| 3 | Park Street Church | FREE | Founded 1809. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" was first sung here. |
| 4 | Granary Burying Ground | FREE | John Hancock, Paul Revere, Sam Adams all buried here. |
| 5 | King's Chapel & Burying Ground | $5 | Boston's first Anglican church (1686). Oldest burying ground in the city. |
| 6 | Boston Latin School Site | FREE | Oldest public school in America (1635). Marked by a Benjamin Franklin statue. |
| 7 | Old Corner Bookstore | FREE | Now a Chipotle. Oldest commercial building downtown — published Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Longfellow. |
| 8 | Old South Meeting House | $15* | Where the Boston Tea Party was planned. *Joint ticket with Old State House. |
| 9 | Old State House | $15* | Oldest surviving public building in Boston (1713). *Joint ticket with Old South Meeting House. |
| 10 | Boston Massacre Site | FREE | Marker on the sidewalk outside Old State House. Five civilians killed here in 1770. |
| 11 | Faneuil Hall | FREE | Good lunch stop at adjacent Quincy Market. NPS visitor center inside. |
| 12 | Paul Revere House | $6 | Oldest house in downtown Boston. Cash and checks only at the booth. |
| 13 | Old North Church | $10 | Built 1723. Discovery Pass includes sanctuary, exhibit, audio guide & crypt. Closed Mondays. |
| 14 | Copp's Hill Burying Ground | FREE | Second oldest cemetery in Boston (1659). Views across the Charles River to Charlestown. |
| 15 | USS Constitution | FREE | Ship is free (ID required). Adjacent museum is ~$15 suggested donation. |
| 16 | Bunker Hill Monument | FREE | 221-foot granite obelisk. Climb to the top for harbor views. |
Highlights of the Freedom Trail
The Boston Common
The Swan Boats at the Public Garden adjacent to the Boston Common.
Located in the heart of Boston, it’s considered the oldest public park in the United States.
The Boston Common and the adjacent Public Garden are lovely spots to relax.
On our most recent trip, we grabbed lunch from a restaurant on nearby Charles Street in the Beacon Hill section and sat on a park bench for an hour or so.
There is a very convenient parking garage under the Boston Common. I would not leave valuables in the car since thieves know tourists park there.
The State House
The golden dome of the Massachusetts State House.
The “new” State House (we’ll visit the Old State House later), with its giant golden dome, has towered over the Boston Common since 1798.
The building has both self-guided and guided tours. The free guided tours are given weekdays year-round from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
While I have never visited inside, I don't think I’ve ever visited Boston without at least one photo of the giant gold dome.
The photogenic Acorn Street in the Beacon Hill section.
If you climb up the hill to visit the State House, you might want to combine the visit with a stroll through the iconic Beacon Hill area behind the building.
The area features narrow cobblestone streets and gas-powered street lights.
The famous Acorn Street has been featured in photos for generations and now attracts Instagrammers from all over.
A map of the Freedom Trail highlights
Park Street Church
Park Street Church sits right at the edge of Boston Common, and its 217-foot steeple is hard to miss. Built in 1809, it is still an active congregation. The church shows up on the Freedom Trail not because of its role in the Revolution but because of what came after. The hymn "America" ("My Country, 'Tis of Thee") was first sung here, and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison gave his first major anti-slavery speech here in 1829.
Most people just admire it from the outside as they walk past. That's perfectly fine. It's a beautiful building and earns its place on the trail.
Granary Burying Ground
A guide leads a tour through Granary Burying Ground.
Just a very short walk from the Boston Common is Granary Burying Ground.
The small cemetery is the final resting spot for many of the major players of the American Revolution.
You can see the graves of John Hancock, Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and the victims of the Boston Massacre.
There are maps and signage around the paths that help give insight into the burying grounds' history.
King's Chapel & King's Chapel Burying Ground
A short walk from Granary Burying Ground, King's Chapel is one of those stops that looks plain from the outside but rewards you if you go in. Founded in 1686 as Boston's first Anglican church, the 1754 granite building still stands on the church's original site at the corner of Boston's oldest English burying ground.
The bell, forged in England in 1772, cracked in 1814 and was recast by Paul Revere in 1816. It still rings today. The interior is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in North America.
Admission is $5 per person, purchased at the church with no reservation needed.
Right next to the chapel is King's Chapel Burying Ground, which is free to visit. It is Boston's oldest burying ground, and its notable residents include John Winthrop, Massachusetts' first governor, and Mary Chilton, the first woman to step off the Mayflower.
The Old State House
A few stops on the Freedom Trail after Granary Burying Ground is another major site - The Old State House
The Old State House, built in 1713, is the oldest surviving public building in Boston.
A notable feature on the outside is the seven-foot-tall wooden figures depicting a lion and a unicorn, symbols of the British monarchy.
Confetti is released after the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Old State House on July 4th.
The building has served in many roles over the years, but most notably, it was the spot where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the citizens of Boston.
This year, on July 4th, we had the opportunity to witness the 249th reading of the Declaration from the same window.
On July 11, 1976, Queen Elizabeth II stood on the same balcony and delivered a speech.
This is one of the few sites on the Freedom Trail that requires an entry fee. A ticket is $15 for adults, $14 for seniors, and $8 for kids.
The ticket will also get you entry to the Old South Meeting House.
Debbie and John wait for the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Old State House.
Boston Massacre Site
Directly outside the Old State House is a marker depicting the site of the Boston Massacre.
In March of 1770, tensions with the British Army were escalating.
A clash outside the building led to five civilians being killed by British gunfire - Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr.
After the incident, the British Army was forced to leave Boston for several years.
Faneuil Hall
If there is such a thing as ground zero for Boston tourism, then the Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market area is it.
It was at Faneuil Hall that Americans first protested against the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act, setting the table for the "no taxation without representation" slogan.
The building’s history of Revolutionary era protests has led to women's suffragists, abolitionists, and labor union organizers to use the building to meet and debate in subsequent years.
Today, the building is operated by the National Park Service.
On previous visits, we’ve enjoyed "The Destruction of the Tea" Town Meeting. A program led by actors in Revolutionary dress, acting out the issues that led to the Boston Tea Party.
Members of the audience are given parts with their lines written on index cards.
It’s not only informative but also great fun.
Note - we visited again in July 2025, and the main meeting room was closed for repairs.
The ground floor with a gift shop and exhibits was open.
If you have followed all the stops so far on the Freedom Trail, it’s probably around lunchtime.
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Adjacent to Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market, the huge market has been serving Boston since 1826.
Today, it houses a huge selection of food stalls.
While a true foodie might say you can find better cuisine elsewhere, there is a wide variety of options, many pretty good, and it’s very convenient.
At this point, you could continue on the Freedom Trail or leave the remainder for another day and check out other attractions during the afternoon.
The New England Aquarium is about a 5-minute walk away. The large aquarium attracts over 1 million guests annually. Tickets are $44 for adults and $35 for kids.
There are also whale watching tours that leave from the docks near the Aquarium.
The Boston Tea Party Museum, which I mentioned earlier, is also a short walk away.
Paul Revere House
After Faneuil Hall, the next stop is Paul Revere’s House.
One of the most interesting aspects of the house is how normal it looks. You’d walk right by if you didn’t know its famous history.
It’s a modest house given Revere’s stature. But that means that it gives you a very good look into what life was like at the time.
Admission is $6 for adults and $1 for children.
Posts on our other favorite things to do in Boston:
Visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Old North Church
A statue of Paul Revere along the Freedom Trail near the Old North Church.
It’s hard to find many buildings more critical in America’s battle for independence than Christ Church, commonly known as the Old North Church.
On the evening of April 18, 1775, British soldiers headed toward Lexington and Concord to seize American weapons.
Paul Revere’s ride to warn area militias was made famous in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride”. The “One if by land, two if by sea” lanterns in the church steeple sealed the Old North Church’s place in history.
The church offers a few different pricing options. The Discovery Pass is $10 for adults and covers a self-guided tour of the sanctuary, the history exhibit, an audio guide, and access to the crypt where over 1,100 people were laid to rest. If you want to go further, the bell chamber tour adds another $5 and takes you up to the room where Paul Revere rang bells as a teenager. Only six people can go up at a time, so book online in advance.
One tip: the church is closed on Mondays.
Book tickets online at oldnorth.com
After the Old North Church, stay in the North End a few more minutes and walk up to Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Most people skip it because they are tired by this point in the day, but it is worth a short visit.
Copp's Hill was Boston's largest colonial burying ground, dating from 1659. Some notables buried here are fire-and-brimstone preachers Cotton and Increase Mather, two Puritan ministers closely associated with the Salem witch trials, and Black Freemasonry founder Prince Hall. Also buried here are Robert Newman and John Pulling, the two men who actually climbed the Old North Church steeple and hung the lanterns on the night of April 18, 1775.
During the Revolutionary War, British soldiers used the hill to overlook the harbor and Charlestown. It is said they passed the time by firing their muskets at headstones, leaving visible marks that can still be seen today. Look for the gravestone of Daniel Malcolm, a patriot whose marker still shows musket ball damage from British soldiers.
The hill also gives you a view across the Charles River toward Charlestown, where you can see the Bunker Hill Monument and the masts of the USS Constitution in the distance.
Bunker Hill Monument
The Bunker Hill Monument seen from across the Charles River.
The next major stop is across the Charles River at the Bunker Hill Monument.
I hate to admit it, but I’ve never actually made it up the hill to the Bunker Hill Monument. During every visit, we were just too tired.
Luckily, we can easily see the monument from the area around the USS Constitution and across the Charles River.
USS Constitution
I wish I could find the photo of me as a little kid with the Captain, dressed in a Colonial era uniform.
Today, the crew doesn’t dress in colonial clothing, but they are active duty sailors who are happy to answer questions.
The USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat and still part of the U.S. Navy.
The visit is free and certainly worth the trip across the river.
When launched in 1797, the ship had a crew of 450 and 54 guns.
The ship earned its nickname "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812, due to its thick hull, which seemed to withstand cannon fire.
Today, you can tour the top deck and take a close look at the cannon and rigging. If you are nimble, you can climb down a ladder and see what life was like below deck.
While it’s free to visit the ship, there is also an adjacent museum that costs $15.
That’s it, you are done with the Freedom Train. Now it’s time to go get some great Italian food in the nearby North End.
FAQ: The 2026 Freedom Trail & Boston 250
What is the "Boston 250" celebration?
2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Because so many of the pivotal events that led to the Revolution took place in Boston, it is hosting many "Revolution 250" commemorations. Throughout the year, there will be massive public reenactments, museum exhibits, and festivals.
When are the most important 250th anniversary events taking place?
While 2026 is a year-long party, four "anchor" dates will see the most spectacular programming.
March 5: The 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre.
April 19:Patriots’ Day, featuring reenactments of the Paul Revere and William Dawes Midnight Rides.
June 17: The Battle of Bunker Hill 250th, which will include one of the largest re-creations in New England's history at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester
July 4:Independence Day, where the city hosts the massive Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular and the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence from the Old State House balcony. (NOTE - Debbie and I have been to both, and they are fantastic)
Is the Freedom Trail free to walk in 2026?
The 2.5-mile red line on the ground is entirely free to follow at any time of day.
Of the 16 official stops, 11 are free to enter. In 2026, five landmarks require a modest admission fee to help with their preservation: the Paul Revere House, the Old North Church, the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, and King’s Chapel.
Is the trail accessible for visitors with limited mobility?
The Freedom Trail follows public city sidewalks, which are equipped with curb cuts and are generally accessible. However, the trail is 250 years old in some places! You will encounter some steep inclines and uneven cobblestones near Faneuil Hall. While most 2026 anniversary events are planned with accessibility in mind, some of the very old historic buildings have narrow doorways or upper floors that are only accessible by stairs. It’s amazing how much smaller people were 250 years ago, and the doorways and furniture reflect that.
This post was researched and written by John O'Boyle of The Empty Nest Explorers.
John is a professional photographer and videographer whose work has been published by the New York Times, NBC News, and Getty Images. He has been part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team and nominated for New York Emmy Awards. You can learn more about John and the Empty Nest Explorers here.
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Note - This blog post contains affiliate links. If we recommend a product, activity, or hotel, we might receive a small commission if you buy or book from these links. This is done at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we have personally used or have thoroughly researched.
Other Boston Travel Posts:
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an unexpectedly delightful attraction in the heart of Boston. The museum celebrates an eclectic mix of art forms.