Top 10 Summer Vacation Activities In Boston

What do you think about when you think about Boston?  If you’re like most people, you think ‘history’ when you think about Boston. Who can forget learning in school about Paul Revere riding by horseback in 1775 to tell people in colonial Massachusetts that the British Army was approaching in an effort to quash the colonists’ rebellion? Who can forget their lessons about the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and several military battles during the Revolutionary War? 

Boston’s role in the USA’s creation is still part of its allure, appeal, and charm. Its many historic sites include the Bunker Hill Monument, the Old North Church (the place where Revere’s lanterns sent signals about British troop movements), the USS Constitution, and the Freedom Trail.

However, Boston is also known today as a place where you can have fun year round, particularly in the summer. The numbers show clearly that millions of people have fun in Boston each and every summer. Faneuil Hall Marketplace is the fourth most visited tourist destination in the USA behind New York City’s Times Square, the Las Vegas Strip, and Washington, D.C.’s National Mall and the memorial parks that are part of the mall. This article in The Travelers Zone reports that more than 20 million people visit the Faneuil Marketplace each year.


If you’re interested in history AND fun, Boston is THE place to visit. Here are 10 excellent summer vacation activities in Boston.

1. Independence Day Celebrations

Because of Boston’s importance in the USA achieving independence, we will start with the July 4 Independence Day celebrations. The fireworks at the city’s most prominent celebration will be shot from “a number of massive barges that float in the middle of the Charles River,” reports this article. The celebration includes music from the renowned Boston Pops Orchestra.

2. Boston Harborfest

If you’re in Boston for the July 4 celebrations, you should definitely go to Boston Harborfest. This is an ideal opportunity to experience fun and history simultaneously. There’s plenty of music, food, and entertainment. The kids will looove the historical re-enactments of the American soldiers fighting the British and you can sneak in some history lessons as they watch. 

3. The Freedom Trail:

History is NOT boring. When you’re walking on the Freedom Trail, the famous trail that links about 20 historic sites, you will come across 10 cool stops for kids. The kids can climb to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument and get an idea of what it was like to live in Paul Revere’s house in 1775.

4. The Red Sox:

“How about the Red Sox?” you kept asking as you read this article. Yes, the Red Sox are great. They were popular even when they were bad, but they’ve now won three World Series baseball titles since 2004 so now they’re really popular. Here is information on how to get tickets to a game this summer. You can also tour historic Fenway Park when the team isn’t playing.

5. Minuteman Bikeway

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy recreational activities while they’re on vacation. The Minuteman Bikeway, which is an 11-mile path that connects several western Boston suburbs and goes by Revolutionary War landmarks, gives adults and children an opportunity to bike, walk, jog, and skate (and ski in the winter).

6. Boston Children’s Museum

There are many great museums in Boston, including the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Boston Tea Party Shops & Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts. This museum, though, is perfect for children. It has numerous interactive exhibits on children-friendly subjects. Children can crawl, climb a maze, blow bubbles, build things, and pretend to drive cars.

7. Franklin Park Zoo

Would you like you children to watch and take photos of giraffes co-existing with zebras? This is their opportunity. Altogether, the zoo has more than 220 species of animals, including dwarf crocodiles, pygmy hippos, and giant pandas. There are also all kinds of birds, lions, and gorillas in an environment that’s as natural as a zoo environment can be.

8. Plimoth Plantation

Large groups of schoolchildren regularly visit this living history museum. And yes it’s Plimoth, not Plymouth. Your children can watch “pilgrims” living as if they were in 17th century Boston. They can also eat 17th century food and enjoy many “Just Kids” activities, including coloring, interactive Thanksgiving activities, and “a place where you can learn to talk like a Pilgrim!”

9. Labor Day Events

If you missed the fireworks on Independence Day, you can still catch fireworks on Labor Day weekend. The show will be on Saturday night, Sept. 2. Labor Day is on Monday, Sept. 4. There are many other events over the holiday weekend, including hands-on activities for the family on the USS Constitution. Children can learn what sailors did for fun on the USS Constitution.

10. Faneuil Hall Marketplace:

No, we didn’t forget about Faneuil Hall Marketplace. A marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742, it was the site of famous speeches by people like Samuel Adams that urged independence before the USA existed. Today, it is the site of more than 100 places to drink, eat, and shop as well as perpetual entertainment by jugglers, magicians, and musicians.


Boston is an exciting city to visit 365 days a year, but the cold weather can spoil a visit in the winter and, sometimes, part of the spring and fall.

In the summer, Boston is exciting and a fun place to spend a vacation.

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