Boston Vacation

Faneuil Hall Marketplace: a Boston Vacation Highlight

No Boston vacation would be complete without a visit to Faneuil Hall, pronounced to rhyme with panel. Located in the heart of Boston, Faneuil Hall Marketplace combines old and new Boston. Built in 1742, it has been a market place and favorite site for political speeches since it first opened. The Hall has seen speeches by Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, James Otis, and more recently, John Kerry, when he conceded the presidential election in November 2004. Today, it is a vibrant marketplace, filled with unique shops, eateries, and an eclectic food court. In the summer, street performers and musicians fill the courtyard. A Boston National Historic Park, it is a favorite stop along the Freedom Trail.

Boston’s Freedom Trail and the Old North Church

Boston’s Freedom Trail is a mostly brick, red path that leads visitors through the heart of Boston to many of the city’s most historic sites. It begins at Boston Common and leads sightseers two-and-a-half miles to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Along the way, it passes the Massachusetts State House, Kings Chapel and adjacent burying ground, the site of the first public school, the Old State House, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s House, and the Old North Church.

The Old North Church, officially called Christ Church, is a must see on any Boston vacation. The oldest active church in Boston, this church is best known as the steeple where patriot Paul Revere signaled One if by land, Two if by sea, a sign that the British were coming during the American revolution, a signal immortalized by Cambridge poet Henry W. Longfellow. A simple church with heavy wooden pews and whitewashed walls, the Old North Church is awash in natural light and carries an unadorned elegance. The church has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

Harvard University, Cambridge

Cambridge

Across the Charles River from downtown Boston lies Cambridge, an interesting and diverse community, home to Harvard University, established in 1636 and the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and the distinguished Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The community centers around Harvard Square, a good place to begin a stroll through the venerable and stately buildings of the university. Harvard is home to the world’s third largest library as well the important Fogg Museum of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. But Harvard isn’t all about history and art. The international student population gives the campus a vibrant and expectant air that’s refreshing and intoxicating. Adjacent to Harvard are dozens of small, independent bookstores intermixed with affordable pubs and ethnic restaurants. Brattle Street, leading off of Harvard Square is lined with numerous gracious 18th century mansions, the most notable of which is the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House, most famous as the longtime home of poet, Henry W. Longfellow.

The Fens - Perfect for a Cultural Boston Vacation

The area west of downtown Boston called The Fens after the old English word for swamp, is an important stop on a Boston vacation. The area is home to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, one of the oldest and most important museums in the United States as well as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a quirky art collection housed in a magnificent turn-of-the (20th) century Italianate mansion, and Symphony Hall, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Just a few blocks away is Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team and the oldest ballpark in current use in the United States.