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 The Freedom Trail weaves its way through Boston, passing the city’s historic sites where the birth of American Independence took place and guided tours are available to help illustrate events.
The Freedom Trail begins in Boston Common, America’s oldest public park and its marked red line winds through the city, finishing at Bunker Hill in Charlestown . Along the 2 and a half mile route, the Freedom Trail takes in the major sites of Boston’s Revolutionary history. Tour guides, in 17th century colonial character are available from the Visitor Information Centre on the common, and you should expect a little playful joshing if you’re English. Guided tours take around 45 minutes, but you should allow half a day to complete the tour and visit some of the 16 official sites along the way.
The Boston portion of the tour is less than two miles. From the Common you head up to the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill , then along Park Street to ‘Brimstone Corner’ and the white steeple of Park Street Church.
Just around the corner is the Granary Burying Ground, where you’ll find the remains of some of the famous names from the American Revolution, including three signatories of the Declaration of Independence, nine governors of Massachusetts and famous Bostonians; John Hancock, Paul Revere and Samuel Adams.
Just down the road is King’s Chapel containing the largest of Paul Revere’s bells and the chapel’s graveyard, the oldest in Boston, contains the remains of the city’s Puritan founders. Behind the Chapel is the site of America’s first public school, the Boston Latin School. In its courtyard is a statue of Benjamin Franklin, prodigious inventor, dangerous kite flyer and the Latin School’s most famous dropout. Across the courtyard is a statue of Josiah Quincy, Boston’s second mayor who built Quincy Market.
The trail then leads to the gambrel-roofed red brick building of the Old Corner Bookstore, a flourishing centre for literature since the mid 1800s. Opposite the bookstore is the Old South Meeting House and it was here that the cry of ‘no tax on tea’ led to the famous Boston Tea Party. The house was also a place of worship, built by the Puritans in 1729, Benjamin Franklin was baptized here and the building has been kept in its original state.
Next stop is the Old State House , Boston’s oldest public building, which served as the administrative centre for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Outside the building a brick circle on the sidewalk marks the site of the Boston Massacre, where five colonials were shot dead by British troops.
The trail then leads on to Fanueil Hall , once a key meeting point for New England revolutionaries and regarded as the Cradle of Liberty and close by is the famous Qunicy Market. This is where the Boston part of the trail and guided tours end, but the trail continues into the oldest part of Boston; the North End .
Here you’ll find the Paul Revere House , built in 1680, it’s the oldest building in Boston and was home to the imminent silversmith and midnight rider; Paul Revere. Close by is the Old North Church, the oldest church building in Boston and where Paul Revere hung the lanterns to signal the advance of the British. Copp’s Hill Burial Ground is the North End’s oldest landmark and is where the city’s leading merchants were laid to rest. It is also the vantage point used by the British to firebomb Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Which is where the trail now heads, crossing over the Charlestown Bridge and heading to Bunker Hill where British and New England army clashed on June 17 1775. The USS Constitution , ‘Old Ironsides’ is berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard nearby and is included in the Freedom Trail. You may want to do the Charlestown section of the tour separately, given the early closing times and often, long queues for the Constitution and Trolley tours stop here regularly.
Tour times: April – November, daily every 30 minutes: 10am-4.45pm
Fees:
Adult: $12
Children: $6
Concessions: $10
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