Walking Tours in Boston Including Harvard University Visits

Major tourist draws of Boston include Fenway Park, Freedom Trail, Boston Common, Beacon Hill, Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum, The Boston Pops and of course, Harvard University. The city’s essence of nostalgia and grandeur of yester years and current vibe is best captured by the various walking tours in Boston made available by experts and volunteers.

Boston is served by 33 major airlines from around the world and is one of the oldest cities in America. It is the largest city in New England and is served by one major international airport called Logan International Airport. If you are visiting several cities in New England and want to avoid a bigger airport, T.F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island may be the best option because it is only 60 miles away.

The city of Boston is well established in America as a college town with over 50 colleges and 200 others spread out throughout the state of Massachusetts. In fact it is known all over the world as a place to pursue the best higher education.

Out of the many ways of visiting the major attractions in Boston, we think the best way to discover the city is by foot. Walking tours are easy if you have a good pair of shoes and a great attitude. Some of the walking tours are only suitable for those who are fit and adventurous as there are steeply-angled streets and stairs to climb in parts of the tour.

Here are five walking tours we recommend:

One: The Freedom Trail Walking Tour
Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile walk through 16 historical sites in Boston. You will be walking on a brick-lined route and exploring the treasures of the city with a past. Find out more about the meeting houses, churches, cemeteries, homes, schools and work places.

Learn about the life of our forefathers who fought for freedom and discover more about the American Revolution as you walk on the trail that the freedom fighters did a few hundred years ago.

Here is a link to Freedom Trail Walk where you will find maps, suggestions to plan your trip and more.

Two: Beacon Hill Walking Tour
No visitor should miss Beacon Hill. It is a National Historic District with working gas lamps, brick sidewalks, 19th century row houses that include the works of architect Charles Bulfinch on Mount Vernon. See the ancient elms, ironwork hangs of houses, foot scrapers on doorsteps and more. Check out 85 Mt. Vernon Street which has been featured in movies.

Three: Boston by Little Feet
If you have young children and want to explore the city by foot, Boston by Little Feet is the most ideal option. Designed for kids from 6-12 years which includes places like the first public school in America and the oldest burial ground in Boston. It is shorter and faster than the adult version. It covers 10 historical sites in Boston.

This interesting tour includes some historical facts of the city and also fun facts like royal lion, unicorn and Benjamin Franklin flying a kite.

Four: The North End Walking Tour
The recent major construction, Big Dig connects the historic North End with other parts of Boston making it easier for walking tours. According to National Geographic, Boston’s North End is a tightly-knit community with water on three sides which housed the Irish and Jewish immigrants. Now it is an established Italian-American community with Italian restaurants, bakeries, historical sites like Paul Revere’s house and Mariners House.

Five: The Harvard Student-led Walking Tour
A reservation is highly recommended for this tour. It is an official Harvard tour led by students and departs from the Harvard Information Center in the Holyoke Center Arcade.

Harvard University is a world-renowned higher learning institution. Established in 1636, it has more than 323,000 living alumni and over 271,000 in the U.S., 52,000 in over 201 countries throughout the world. It is also one of the most sought after schools in the United States.

The walking tour includes general information, history of the university and a view of the life of a student in the campus. The hour long tour is free. Although pre-registration is not required for general visitors, you should call ahead to make sure the tours are available.

If guided tours are not available you can always take a self-guided walking tour. According to the university you can download audio files of historical information on each of the buildings in Harvard Yard and use that as a tour on your own.

Interestingly, it comes in nine languages and is downloadable to any mobile device. There is a small fee for the audio. Find out more through Harvard’s website on Walking Tours.

Boston is historic, lively and diverse. It is a city that offers various attractions for visitors of any taste, budget or age. Our best advice is to visit and find out more about why this city attracts over 12 million visitors annually.

We suggest you use Travelmath’s various calculators and tools to help you plan your trip to Boston. Here are three tools:

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Have a safe trip.