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Best Attractions in Boston (2026)

Boston's main sights fall into two groups. The historic core, around Boston Common, downtown and the North End, holds the colonial and revolutionary landmarks, including Old North Church, where two lanterns were hung in the steeple in April 1775. Across the river in Charlestown, the USS Constitution Museum stands beside the Navy's oldest commissioned warship. The second group is the city's museums: the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum sit a short walk apart in the Fenway, the Museum of Science spans the Charles River Dam, and the New England Aquarium is on Central Wharf.

For planning, group sights by area. A morning on Boston Common and in the Public Garden can be followed by the Freedom Trail into the North End, while the MFA and the Gardner make a natural art day. The Gardner uses timed tickets that sell out, so book ahead, and the MFA is closed on Tuesdays but opens late on Thursdays and Fridays. Boston CityPASS covers several attractions and can save money if you plan to visit a few of them. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library on Columbia Point is best given a half day of its own, and the Central Library of the Boston Public Library at Copley Square is a free, indoor stop between Back Bay sights.

10 places · Updated October 27, 2026

Our top 3 attractions in Boston

  1. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Art museum, FenwayBoston's encyclopaedic art museum on Huntington Avenue in the Fenway, with collections ranging from ancient Nubia and Japan to American art and late evening opening on Thursdays and Fridays.
  2. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art museum, FenwayA collector's house museum built to evoke a Venetian palace, with a glass-roofed garden courtyard, paintings by Titian, Rembrandt and Sargent, and the empty frames left by the 1990 theft.
  3. Boston Common Historic park, DowntownBoston's central public park, established in 1634, with the Frog Pond, Civil War memorials, an old burying ground and the visitor centre where the Freedom Trail begins.

Attraction

3. Boston Common

Historic parkDowntown

Boston's central public park, established in 1634, with the Frog Pond, Civil War memorials, an old burying ground and the visitor centre where the Freedom Trail begins.

View details — Boston Common

Attraction

6. Old North Church

Historic churchNorth End

Boston's oldest surviving church building, begun in 1723, where two lanterns were hung in the steeple on 18 April 1775 to signal the movement of British troops.

View details — Old North Church

Attraction

7. Museum of Science

Science museumScience Park

A large hands-on science museum built across the Charles River Dam, with the Hayden Planetarium, a domed Omni theatre and the Theater of Electricity's giant Van de Graaff generator.

View details — Museum of Science