World City Guide

Tours of the City

Walking Tours
Boston By Little Feet (tel: (617) 242 5675) tours run from mid-May through October on Mon, Sat and Sun; cost: US$6) offers a special hour-long version of the Freedom Trail aimed at 6-12 year olds. From May to October, there is Boston By Foot (tel: (617) 367 2345: website: www.bostonbyfoot.com ; cost: US$9) an adult 90-minute tour of the major city areas, from Copley Square to the North End, using the ‘T’ and also exploring one or two of the unused stations.

The Literary Trail of Greater Boston (tel: (617) 350 0358, website: www.lit-trail.org ; US$30 guided tour, US$21 self-guided) organise walking and bus tours that leave from the Omni Parker House Hotel, 60 School Street, and take in homes, meeting places and districts popular with the 19th-century literary circle. Another angle on Boston is offered by Ben Franklin’s Boston (tel: (781) 648 0628; website: www.iiboston.org/historical_walks ; cost: US$39), following Franklin through his colonial parts of the city. Includes lunch. Departs from International Institute of Boston, One Milk Street, at 0930. Check departure dates.

For walking tours with an ethnic flavour, contact Boston Walks (tel: (617) 489 5020; website: bostonwalks.tripod.com), which specialises in ethnic tours, which includes Jewish, Irish and Italian Boston. These can be guided, walking or bicycling tours, or even self-guided with a book.

Trolley Bus Tours
The oldest and most popular trolley bus tour is the two-hour Beantown Trolley/Brush Hill Tours (tel: (781) 986 6100 or (800) 343 1328; website: www.brushhilltours.com ; cost: US$24). Old Town Trolley Tours (tel: (305) 433 8395 or (800) 213 2474; website: www.trolleytours.com ; cost: US$25) operates two-hour general city tours, as well as ‘subject’ tours, such as Discover Cambridge and JFK’s Boston. Other options include: Cityview Luxury Trolley Tours (tel: (617) 363 7899, website: www.cityviewtrolleys.com ; cost: US$22), and Discover Boston Multilingual Trolley Tours (tel: (617) 742 1440: website: www.discoverbostontours.com ).

Boat Tours
City Water Taxi (tel: (617) 422 0392; website: citywatertaxi.com; cost: US$10) runs the hourly boat shuttles up the river between Museum Wharf and North End. The AC Cruise Line Company (tel: (800) 422 8419 or (617) 261 6633; website: www.accruiseline.com ) offers whale-watching cruises (US$27.50). Massachusetts Bay Lines (tel: (617) 542 8000; website: www.massbaylines.com ) runs a cruise into the past on the Boston by Sea cruise. The Charles Riverboat Company (tel: (617) 621 3001) operates narrated cruises on the river and the harbour. Lunchtime and dinner cruises with cabaret-style entertainment are provided by Spirit of Boston (tel: (617) 748 1499; website: www.spiritcruises.com ). A similar experience on yachts is offered by Odyssey (tel (617) 654 9700; website www.odysseycruises.com ). Boston Harbor Cruises (tel: (617) 227 4321; website: www.bostonharborcruises.com ) operate cruises to the offshore Harbor Islands – the Inner Harbor Cruise and the Outer Harbor Cruise.

The season for whale-watching is April-October and trips are offered by the New England Aquarium (tel: (617) 973 5200 or 5277, recorded information; website: www.neaq.org ; cost: US$31) and Beantown Whale Watch (tel: (617) 542 8000; website: www.beantownwhalewatch.com ; cost: US$29).

Other Tours
One of the more unusual transport tours is run by Boston Duck Tours (tel: (617) 723 3825; website: www.bostonducktours.com ; cost: US$23). Tours are in refurbished WWII amphibious vehicles – called ‘ducks’ which cruise the land and the Charles River. Tours depart every 30 minutes from the Prudential Center, 101 Huntington Avenue. Another unique tour, Innovation Odyssey (tel: (617) 350-0358; website: www.innovationodyssey.com ; cost: US$25) explores the past 400 years of Boston’s invention and discoveries.