The Freedom Trail

For those who prefer guided tours, the National Park Service, conducts a tour every half hour from the park visitor center at 15 State Street opposite the Old State House. And those who would rather not walk eh unofficial guided tours or the trolley tours are available though this gives a miss to some sites along the Trail.

To find out more about guided tours contact the Greater Boston Visitors and Convention Bureau (http://www.bostonusa.com/)

The Freedom Trail Foundation (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/) works to keep this tour alive as an introduction to Colonial Revolutionary Boston.

Paul Revere House

Location: 19 North Square, North End

Paul Revere House built around 1680 is the oldest building in downtown Boston. Paul Revere and his family lived here from 1770 to 1800 and it was from here that he made the famed “Midnight Ride” to warn everybody of the coming of British Troops.  The Paul Revere Memorial Association now owns and operates this attraction. 

From April 15^th to October 31^st the house is open from 9:30 am to 5:15 pm, and from November 1^st to April 14^th, from 9:30 am to 4:15 pm everyday except Thanksgiving, Dec 25 and Jan 1, and Mondays. Admission is charged at $2.50 for Adults.

Old North Church

Location: 193 Salem Street.

The Old North Church, which is known as “Christ Church in the City of Boston”, is an Episcopal church built in 1723. This is Boston’s oldest Church building with the tallest Steeple at 119 feet, and holds the first set of bells brought to America. Paul Revere was one of the bell ringers. This church also played at important role in the defense of Boston from British, Robert Newman signaled from the steeple with lanterns to warm of the approaching British on the eve of the Battle of Lexington and Concord - “One if by land, and two, if by sea.”. The Church still the same interior high box pews, brass chandeliers, and clock.

The Church is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Sunday services are held at 9:00am and 4:00pm. There are no fees for admission but voluntary donations are welcome. 

Copp's Hill Burying Ground

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground is Boston’s second oldest burying ground, first founded in 1659 as Windmill Hill. It takes the name of a shoemaker called William Copp, who once owned this land. Thousands of artisans, craftspeople, and merchants are buried here. The Snowhill Street side of the hill also has thousands of unmarked graves, where blacks who lived in the “New Guinea” community at the base of Copp's Hill, Rest in Peace. Other illustrious Bostonians interred at Copp’s Hill include the Mather family of ministers; shipyard owner Edmund Hartt; Robert Newman, of the Steeple lantern fame; Shem Drowne, the weathervane maker who crafted the grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall; and Prince Hall, the anti-slavery activist who founded the Black Masonic Order.

USS Constitution and Charlestown Navy Yard

USS Constitution, first launched in 1797, is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. This is one of six ships ordered for construction by George Washington to protect America’s growing maritime interests. America’s school children contributed towards her restoration in 1927. The USS Constitution’s moment of greatest glory was in the war of 1812, in a sea battle against four British frigates. Cannon balls glanced off her thick hull without doing any damage and she got the nickname “Old Ironsides”. 

The Charlestown Navy Yard stands on the place where the British army landed for the Battle of Bunker Hill, at that time it was called Mouton’s or Morton’s Point. This is one of the first shipyards built in the United States. In it’s 174 years of service the Navy Yar has built, repaired and modernized, hundreds of ships, including the World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young.

It is no longer an active Navy Shipyard and the National Park Service preserves thirty acres of this historical Shipyard as part of Boston National Historical Park. 

Free guided-tours are available from 9:30am to 3:50pm; after that one can take unguided top deck tours till sunset.

The Museum is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm in fall; 9:00am to 6:00pm, in the summer; and 10:00am to 4:00pm in the winter.

Bunker Hill Monument

Location: Charlestown

The 221 feet tall Bunker Hill Monument stands on the site of the first major battle of the American Revolution, fought on Breed's Hill, June 17, 1775. The campaign for British occupation of Boston, needed to control the high ground near the harbor. When colonial forces fortified Charlestown, dug in on Breed’s Hill, which was lower and closer to the water. This is where Colonel William Prescott gave the legendary order, “Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes” the idea was to make each shot count The colonel’s men repelled two major assaults by the British Army before retreating, after killing or injuring half of the British soldiers. The battle was lost but their bravery encouraged colonists to fight on. 

The monument is open daily 9:00am to 4:30pm. Visitors may climb 294 steps for a view of Boston. Admission is free.