What are the must see, should not miss historical sites in Boston?

If you walk the Freedom Trail from beginning to end, you'll hit most of them. Lexington and Concord are neat to visit, as is Plymouth.

We went to Boston last summer. Great city to visit! Defenitely do the Freedom Trail. We spaced it out over 2 days to mix in other sights. Attended a game at Fenway one night. For good lobster rolls, Neptune Oyster in the north end. Warren Tavern in Charlestown is a neat place to eat, Paul Revere used to frequent it.

If you are looking for "must see, should not miss historical sites" then start with the Freedom Trail. I will grant that the Freedom Trail sites in isolation are not the most spectacular historical experiences in my life. Boston has done a pretty good job preserving some of the major historical sites like the Old North Church, but clearly you're still in the center of a huge modern city with glass skyscrapers and the like. For this reason, I think the Freedom Trail sometimes gets a bad reputation for being an overrated tourist trap. What I found fascinating about the Freedom Trail was experiencing the human scale of the events in the early Revolution. I had just assumed as a kid that all the events like the Boston Massacre, Tea Party, Bunker Hill, etc took place over some huge area the size of Cape Cod. In reality, it's about the size of some golf courses.

By contrast, I found Plymouth Rock the most utterly skippable thing I've ever gone out of my way to see. It's just a rock. It wasn't even the coolest rock I saw that day.

In terms of fun non-historical sites:
- Red Sox game is a must
- Downtown aquarium is really nice
- Harvard campus is a great walk
- Sam Adams Brewery tour is free

Duck tour.

. I'd also check the Pops schedule. Lots of John Williams/movie soundtrack type stuff. I'm watching ET with a live orchestra in a couple months, for example.

Been a few times and on one of the trips we booked a walking tour that stops at historic pubs to have a beer. It was actually pretty cool.

Also stop in at the Omni Parker House hotel for authentic Boston creme pie. The pie was created by that hotel. It's on the freedom trail and is a nice break from the walk.

Breathing some new life into this thread. Wife and I are headed to Boston next month for our first visit there. Staying at the Park Plaza by Boston Common.

Any other recommendations for:

- Places to eat
- Things to see
- Tours to book - is the Freedom trail good as just a do it yourself walking tour or should we book a group tour with a guide?
- Someone mentioned a pub crawl of sorts that visits historical bars....any more information on that (name, website, etc)
- Best breweries to visit? Sam Adams is a definite stop for me but I know there are others there

On a scavenger hunt with my daughter as the boy and his mom were visiting colleges around Boston, I came across a Ginger Man.



The Copley Square Boston Courtyard gives away a stuffie named Exeter (aka Dexter) if you complete a scavenger hunt. It was fun and covered the Freedom Trail and more. We had our first, and last, canolis.


Dexter

The scavenger hunt list:
http://cdn1.buuteeq.com/upload/23766/exeter-scavenger-hunt-1.pdf

We were there over 4th of July. My favorite thing was the "Bells and Bones" tour at Kings Chapel. You get to peek inside a crypt that's over 200 years old, and I thought seeing the bones and coffins were pretty awesome. And, you climb the tower to see Paul Revere's last bell. Paul Revere house is interesting because it's so old. I'd never seen anything like it in the US...it's a quick tour.

We did not take a guided tour of the Freedom Trail because we knew we wanted to spend more time at some places and go in and take tours.

My kids say their favorite things were the MIT museum and the USS Constitution. Check the hours of the USS Constitution before you go. The WW2 ship USS Cassin Young has different hours and we ruined our 13 year old's life by walking up to it moments after it closed. I had assumed it had the same hours as the USS Constitution.

I enjoyed the desserts at Bova's Bakery in the North End. It's open 24 hours.

We did not have a standout meal in Boston, but we were there with our kids and probably doing it wrong. The Lobster Roll we had in Quincy Hall was expensive and mediocre, and we were disappointed in the pizza we had in the North End.

I liked drinking at the Bell-in-Hand Tavern. My kids liked charging their phones while we drank.

We did a ghost tour that I found on Groupon. It was lame.

Beacon Hill district is nice walking area. Be sure to find Acorn Steet, it's historic and supposedly one of the most photographed streets in America. The Neptune Oyster in the north end has good lobster rolls. It's a small restaurant with a wait but it was a good experience. We did the freedom trail on our own rather than with a group. We broke it up over 2 days. Really enjoyed the historic sites. Also, go over to Charlestown and have a meal or drinks at Warren Tavern. Neat place where Paul revere used to hang out. Of course, they've added the tvs since his time. Fenway park was awesome! We enjoyed Boston!

Just realized I posted similar suggestions a few months ago. Oh well, enjoy your trip!

Anybody been to the bleacher bar, baseball tavern, or cask n flagon around Fenway? Wanted to watch the Sox when they have an away game the day I'm in town and I'm staying near Fenway.

I'm sure all of those would be great choices. Random Bostonians on the street struck up baseball conversations in Philadelphia and D.C. when I wore my Red Sox baseball cap. Wear one in Boston and that happens everywhere. They love their pro sports teams in Boston and their teams deliver.

We stayed near Fenway (at the Buckminster. Super cheap...HUGE bedroom suite which was totally unexpected...clean...not fancy...would recommend, especially if you are just there to sleep, as we were). We ate at Boston Beer Works across from Fenway. Would not recommend.