One of America’s great walking cities, Boston is best explored by following the 2.5-mile self-guided Freedom Trail that unfolds through its historic neighbourhoods. Laid out in 1958, the trail connects 16 important sites, extending all the way across Boston Harbor to Charlestown.
The sign-posted path is a line of red paint or red brick (or both) that runs down the middle of the street. It begins at Boston Common, the nation’s oldest park (1640), and runs past Colonial and Revolutionary War-era landmarks such as churches, graveyards or ‘burying grounds’, monuments, and houses of government, as well as the USS Constitution, better known as Old Ironsides, the oldest commissioned U.S. Navy warship (1797).
The sign-posted path is a line of red paint or red brick (or both) that runs down the middle of the street. It begins at Boston Common, the nation’s oldest park (1640), and runs past Colonial and Revolutionary War-era landmarks such as churches, graveyards or ‘burying grounds’, monuments, and houses of government, as well as the USS Constitution, better known as Old Ironsides, the oldest commissioned U.S. Navy warship (1797).
The Paul Revere House, constructed of wood around 1680 and purchased by the legendary silversmith (of ‘Midnight Ride’ fame) in 1770, is the oldest dwelling in downtown Boston. Revere’s church is on the Freedom Trail, too. Still an active congregation, the ‘one if by land, two if by sea’ Old North Church has stood in the North End since 1723 and makes a fascinating stop. Another famous house of worship is the Old South Meeting House, where disgruntled Bostonians gathered on a cold night in December 1773 and wound up throwing the so-called Boston Tea Party.
Also on the trail is Faneuil Hall (built in 1742), Boston’s original market building and once the colony’s foremost meeting hall. Today, it’s the centre of a five-building complex of shops, nightspots and restaurants. Durgin-Park, a restaurant on the second floor of the North Market Building, boasts that your great grandfather might have eaten there, which actually seems too modest—the restaurant opened in 1827. Known for its lively atmosphere and hearty New England food, its tried-and-true signature dishes are corn bread, baked beans and Indian pudding; the prime rib, turkey dinner and Boston cream pie all need to be sampled, too.
Just across the street from the marketplace in the tiny, ancient area known as the Blackstone Block is Ye Olde Union Oyster House, the country’s oldest restaurant in continuous service. Its famous raw bar is visible from the street, and you can see the ‘shuckers’ opening oysters and clams so quickly that their hands are a blur. Regional classics like oyster stew, lobster and gingerbread are time-tested favourites here. The path to your table, across sloping wooden floors, may take you past Booth 18, where John F. Kennedy used to sit and read the paper.