Freedom Trail Walking Tour

Tickets, Tour Info & Visitor Guide to Boston's Revolutionary Path

⏱ 1.5-2 hours (guided core)👤 All ages$

Laid out in the 1950s and marked by a continuous line of red brick (and occasional paint) in the sidewalk, the Freedom Trail strings together 16 of the most important sites in the founding of the United States across a walkable 2.5 miles. Highlights along the route include Boston Common (the nation's oldest public park), the Massachusetts State House, the Granary Burying Ground (resting place of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock), the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House and the site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, the Paul Revere House, the Old North Church (of "one if by land, two if by sea" fame), and — across the river in Charlestown — the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument.

The trail is free and self-guided: just follow the bricks, with markers at each site. But for first-time visitors, a guided walking tour is the better introduction. Guides — many in period costume — connect the sites into a coherent narrative of how a colonial port became the cradle of a revolution, with the kind of detail and storytelling that plaques can't deliver. Guided tours typically cover the central stretch in around 90 minutes to two hours; walking the full trail yourself, with stops, takes the better part of a day.

Comfortable shoes are essential, and the route is best in good weather. Many visitors do a guided tour of the core sites first to get oriented, then return on foot to the places they want to explore in depth — several of the individual sites (like the Old South Meeting House and the Paul Revere House) have their own small admission.