10 Best Boston City Tours

Looking for what to see and do in Boston? You can tour it on your own with the risk of missing a landmark or choose a guided tour and get the most out of your vacation.

One of the advantages of hiring a guided tour of Boston is that you will be able to choose from many different themes, from those focused on the rich history of the city to the gastronomic ones.

Like New York, Boston was also the destination of thousands of Italian immigrants. The transalpine community settled in the North End, an area close to the harbor and downtown markets. In the 1930s, almost all the inhabitants were Italian and their restaurants attracted hundreds of customers every day.

The neighborhood establishments have survived the years and continue to bring out of the oven the best pizzas in the city.

It's worth booking a food tour of Boston to taste three pizzas at three historic restaurants.

The centerpiece is Hanover Street and halfway down, tucked away on a side street, is the home of patriot Paul Revere, a must on every tour. The guide will take you to other attractions in the neighborhood - North Square Park, Old North Church, Bunker Hill Monument, etc. - explaining the history and curious happenings in this part of Boston.

• Duration: about 2 hours and a half
• Price: between 40 € and 50 €.

The metropolis of Massachusetts played a key role in American history. The Siege of Boston blockaded the city from April 1775 to March 1776 and sparked the American War of Independence.

Tours follow the famous Freedom Trail, a red brick path through historic neighborhoods. Guides enliven the tour with interesting facts and amusing anecdotes. On many of these tours, halfway through the tour, a stop is made to enjoy a snack (included in the total cost).

• Duration: between 3 hours and 4 hours
• Price: between 60 € and 80 €.

In the United States, baseball is a true ritual. The professional league was born in the 19th century and one of the most historic franchises is the Boston Red Sox. Since April 1912, the legendary American club has had Fenway Park as its home.

It is the oldest stadium in the Major League; it has been the scene of the team's successes and has hosted a multitude of concerts and political rallies.

Guided tours will take you to discover the records and secrets of "America's most beloved ballpark". Among other things, you'll see the famous Pesky's Pole, the pole on the right field foul line dedicated to shortstop and third baseman Johnny Pesky. He was a legendary player and the first batter to score 6 points in a 9-round game.

The stadium is located in the center of the city, in an area known for its restaurants and nightclubs. If you haven't gotten your Red Sox ticket, you can turn to a neighborhood classic: Cask 'n Flagon, a pub that has been guarding the same corner since 1969 (62 Brookline Avenue).

• Duration: between 1 hour and 1.5 hours
• Price: around 30

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the most famous universities not only in Boston but in the entire United States.

If you like mathematics, science and technology in general, this is a must stop. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Salman Khan (the founder of the Khan Academy) and Andrea Wong (the president of Sony), among others, studied here.

The guides are the students themselves who will introduce you to the history of the university. Among the buildings you will see, it is worth mentioning the Green Building (a slender building designed by architects I. M. Pei and Araldo Cossutta) and the Stata Center, a complex designed by the famous Frank Gehry.

• Duration: just over 1 hour
• Price: between 10 € and 20 €.

A great experience if you visit Boston with kids. It's not every day you have the opportunity to ride in an amphibious vehicle inspired by a famous WWII model. This "bus with a shell" leaves the streets to get wet in the river. A spectacular entrance that will amaze your little ones.

The route is quite extensive as it runs both on asphalt and in the water. The list below gathers some of the landmarks that you will be able to admire from your seat:

• Boston Public Library, the first in the United States. Its neo-Renaissance silhouette was designed by architect Charles Follen McKim.
• Boston's Tea Party Museum, the interactive floating museum that delves into the history of the Tea Party Riot, the episode that sparked American independence.
• Esplanade, a large riverside park. It is beautiful in all seasons, especially when autumn turns the leaves red.
• Longfellow Bridge, a stone and steel bridge connecting Boston to Cambridge. It was built thanks to the City Beautiful Movement, an urban movement led by architects and landscape architects that reached its peak in the early twentieth century.
• Boston Aquarium, is known mainly for the Giant Ocean Tank, a huge tank where sharks swim.

The river cruise lasts about 20 minutes, which is more than enough time to take some pictures of the skyline. Throughout the tour you will have an audio guide in several languages, including Spanish. It can be a very interesting option if you stay only one day in Boston.

• Duration: about 1 hour and a half
• Price: between 50 € and 60 €.

An alternative to Boston's tour buses. In this case, instead of a double-decker bus, these routes are operated aboard an Old Town Trolley, a vehicle halfway between a bus and a streetcar.

The best thing about these tours is that they are easy! You can get on and off wherever you want and as many times as you like.

You will listen to the explanations of an expert guide at all times and, in many cases, you can enjoy an exclusive discount for the Boston Tea Party Museum. The Old Town Trolley operates at any time of the year and stays in the garage only if the weather is very inclement.

• Duration: between 2 hours and 3 hours
• Price: around 40 €.

Boston is located at the confluence of the Charles and Mystic rivers and is spread over a series of peninsulas. The terrain is mostly flat, a factor that favors travel on two wheels. Guided tours will take you to discover the city's main neighborhoods and its most famous monuments:

• North End, Boston's Little Italy. Here are concentrated pizzerias and restaurants specializing in the recipes of the transalpine country.
• Bunker Hill Bridge, an iconic cable-stayed bridge that spans the Charles River.
• John Hancock Tower, the city's most iconic skyscraper
• Beacon Hill, an elegant hillside district. Boston' s best ghost tours pass through here.
• Trinity Church, the building that put the "Richardsonian Romanesque" architectural style on the map.
• Back Bay, the neighborhood that concentrates the largest number of skyscrapers and luxury stores.

Each tour will put at your disposal not only a traditional bicycle or ebike but also a helmet and an expert guide. The tours are conducted in all weather conditions. The tour is cancelled only in case of snow, a very common phenomenon if you visit Boston in winter.

• Duration: between 2 hours and 3 hours
• Price: between 60 € and 70 €.

Boston is an important fishing port and the ideal destination for food lovers. You will find countless restaurants offering dishes based on oysters, clams, lobsters and other delicacies. Before you sit down at the table, your guide will tell you about the local history.

Typically, tours include four meals: clam chowder, lobster roll, oyster tasting and dessert. For an even fresher fish tasting, you can travel to the nearby islands. To that end, I recommend you read the post that explains how to get to Cape Cod from Boston.

• Duration: about 3 hours
• Price: between 100 € and 150 €. Please note that you will have to pay for alcoholic beverages separately.

Want to take the perfect picture? In Boston there are guided tours that take you to Beacon Hill, the most Instagrammable neighborhood in the city.

It has a unique charm: its cobblestone streets are embellished by elegant mansions from the federal period. The guide will take you to the most charming corners and explain the history behind each building.

• Duration: between 1 hour and 2 hours
• Price: more or less 40 €.

The Massachusetts metropolis holds several records: it is the best destination for recent college graduates, the best city for walking and also the city with the highest alcohol consumption per capita. There are thousands of bars and breweries scattered throughout Boston.

A guided tour is the ideal way to discover this side of the city. You will travel aboard a bus and have the opportunity to taste a few pints. For more information, I recommend you to read the post about the best food tours in Boston.

• Duration: about 5 hours
• Price: just over 100 €.

Of course you can! The article on the 10 best tours from Boston will give you lots of ideas. There are mountains, pristine coastlines, cities, islands and other attractions.

If you stay 3 days in Boston, I recommend setting aside a few hours to explore the surrounding area.