Beacon Hill & Boston Common
America's oldest public park, Boston Common has a long and storied history, serving as a campground for British troops during the Revolutionary War and as…
Must-see attractions in Massachusetts
Provincetown Art Association & Museum
Provincetown
Founded in 1914 to celebrate the town’s thriving art community, this vibrant museum showcases the works of hundreds of artists who have found their…
Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum
Provincetown
Climb to the top of the country's tallest all-granite structure (253ft) for a sweeping view of town, the beaches and the spine of the Lower Cape. The…
Beacon Hill & Boston Common
This atmospheric cobblestone alleyway is Boston's famous narrowest street. It was once home to artisans and to the service people who worked for the…
Cape Cod
Fun for kids and adults alike, the 100-acre Heritage Museums & Gardens sports a superb vintage automobile collection in a Shaker-style round barn, an…
Cape Cod
Nearly 50 historic sea captains' homes are lined up along MA 6A (the Old King's Hwy) in Yarmouth Port, on a 1.5-mile stretch known as the Captains' Mile…
Cape Cod
Hyannis has been the summer home of the Kennedy clan for generations. Back in the day, JFK spent the warmer months here – times that are beautifully…
Nantucket
More than just the public library, this stately Greek Revival edifice is a sight in itself. The 2nd-floor Great Hall has hosted such notables as Ralph…
Nantucket
Welcoming ferries into Nantucket Harbor, this lighthouse was established in 1746 and is still in operation. It's quite tiny (only 26ft), but impossibly…
Nantucket
Everyone comes to this church, which traces its roots to the early 1700s, for the eagle-eye view from the top of the steeple. It's well worth the 94-step…
Boston
Tucked into Franklin Park, the zoo features a half-dozen different habitats, as well as special exhibits devoted to birds and butterflies. The highlight…
Massachusetts
Stellwagen Bank is 842 sq miles of open ocean rich in marine life. The area was declared a National Marine Sanctuary in 1992 to conserve the area's…
Massachusetts
The most poignant site in Salem is the Witch Trials Memorial, a quiet park behind the Peabody Essex Museum, where simple stones are inscribed with the…
Massachusetts
Contained within the Peabody Essex Museum, this 16-room Chinese house was shipped to the museum from China's southeastern Huizhou region.
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
Boston
'Boston Harbor a teapot tonight!' To protest against unfair taxes, a gang of rebellious colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. The 1773…
Boston's Western Suburbs
Henry David Thoreau took the naturalist beliefs of transcendentalism out of the realm of theory and into practice when he left the comforts of the town…
Boston
Dating from 1848, Forest Hills is a gorgeous, green cemetery that is filled with art and whimsy. It is still an active burial ground, but it also plays…
Massachusetts
Georges Island is one of the transportation hubs for the Boston Harbor Islands. It is also the site of Fort Warren, a 19th-century fort and Civil War…
South Shore
The Adams family sights are accessible by guided tours departing from the Adams National Historic Park Visitor Center. Every half-hour (until 3:15pm),…
Massachusetts
Designated a National Recreation Area, the Boston Harbor Islands consist of 34 islands with sandy beaches and hiking trails. Since the massive cleanup of…
South Shore
‘You sank my battleship!’ This cry was ne’er heard aboard the mighty USS Massachusetts, a hulk of a craft that survived 35 battles in WWII, gunning down…
The Berkshires
This pastoral 122-acre plot was 'heaven' to its owner Daniel Chester French (1850–1931), the sculptor best known for his great seated statue of Abraham…
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
Massachusetts
This 4662-acre sanctuary occupies the southern three-quarters of Plum Island. More than 800 species of bird, plant and animal reside in its many…
Massachusetts
Historic buildings from throughout the region have been moved to this site to re-create a New England town from the 1830s, with 40 restored structures…
Edward M Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
Boston
Ted Kennedy served in the US Senate for nearly half a century. It is fitting, therefore, that his legacy should include an institute and museum designed…
Lowell National Historical Park
Boston's Western Suburbs
The historic buildings in the city center – connected by the trolley and canal boats – constitute the national park
Massachusetts
This museum was established in 1976 as a local repository for all of the shipbuilding artifacts of Essex residents. The fascinating collections of photos,…
The Berkshires
Almost 50 years after Nathaniel Hawthorne left his home in Lenox, another writer found inspiration in the Berkshires. Edith Wharton (1862–1937) came to…
Boston
‘No tax on tea!’ That was the decision on December 16, 1773, when 5000 angry colonists gathered here to protest British taxes, leading to the Boston Tea…
John F Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Boston
The legacy of JFK is ubiquitous in Boston, but the official memorial to the 35th president is the presidential library and museum – a striking, modern,…
Cape Cod
All roads lead to the National Seashore's Coast Guard Beach. The main road from the Salt Pond Visitor Center deposits you here, as do cycling and hiking…
Streetcar Suburbs
Under a public-private partnership with Harvard University, the 265-acre Arnold Arboretum is planted with over 15,000 exotic trees and flowering shrubs…
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Cambridge
This institution is famed for its botanical galleries, featuring some 3000 pieces of handblown, intricately crafted glass flowers and plants. There is a…
Cambridge
After a massive overhaul, the Smith Campus Center has been transformed into a fabulous 'living room' for students and visitors to congregate, study,…
Massachusetts
Six miles of trails wind along old carriageways, past ancient stonewall property markers and through acres of grasslands. Farm friends dot the pastures,…
South End & Chinatown
The brick-and-beam buildings along Harrison Ave were originally used to manufacture goods ranging from canned food to pianos. Now these factories turn out…
Pioneer Valley
During her lifetime, Emily Dickinson (1830–86) published only seven poems, but more than 1000 were discovered and published posthumously, and her verses…
Massachusetts
The artistic legacy of Gloucester native Fitz Henry Lane endures, as Gloucester still boasts a vibrant artists community at Rocky Neck Art Colony. In…
Boston's Western Suburbs
Southeast of Monument Sq, Concord Museum brings the town’s diverse history under one roof. The museum’s prized possession is one of the ‘two if by sea’…
Pioneer Valley
This mountaintop park, at the summit of Mt Holyoke, peaks out at a rather modest-sounding height of 942ft. But that's high enough to earn the visitor…
