Freedom Trail

Doing the Canada,New England cruise in September...quick question. Can I get to the Freedom Trail from where the cruise ship docks...I don't mind a good walk??? Thanks!

On this map of the Freedom Trail (zoom in to see better), look for South Station in the lower right corner. It is 1.5 miles from the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. You'd walk along Summer Street from the cruise terminal to South Station, then head downtown to get to the Trail (shown in red on the map.)

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/pdfs/boston-nps-map.pdf

Use Google Maps to see the area between the terminal and South Station.

You could take public transportation. The Silver Line subway (actually a bus) stops near the cruise terminal and goes to South Station. From South Station, you can take the Red Line subway to Park St.

http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/

Perfect...thanks!

Although I'm a local, I had a port day in Boston in May. Consider doing the Freedom trail in reverse and skipping the boring portion between the North End and the Constitution.

We took a cab from Black Falcon to the Constitution for about $16. Explored that area and then took the MBTA water taxi to Long Wharf for $3/pp. This put us at the east end of Faneuil Hall.

At this point we could have walked north along the Harborwalk and circled through the North End to pick up the Freedom trail back to Faneuil Hall, but we opted to skip that loop. Instead we followed the Freedom Trail back to the Boston Common and hung out in the Burying Ground and the Common for a while.

We could have walked back to Black Falcon, but instead took the Red Line direction Braintree (any train) to South Station and transferred to the Silver Line to Black Falcon. I used to work near Black Falcon and IMO it's pretty boring to walk in that area unless you stay on the Harborwalk.

If you're really into walking, then consider doing the Harborwalk to Long Wharf, taking the water taxi to and from the Constitution, and doing the North

End to Boston Common route described above.

The Freedom Trail is not really a trail - only a suggested walking route through old Boston so you pass all the important historical sites that are nestled in between the more modern buildings. IMO there is nothing sacred about walking every inch of the trail. The harbor "cruise" on the MBTA water taxi is wonderful - you will get a perspective on Boston harbor that you won't see from the cruise ship or you will pay big bucks for from a tour company.

Thanks Carol...important info!

Thanks Carol...important info!

Hello

If it's any help I made these from 4-5 hours in the area. They show every FT 'destination', plus one or two other places. If you want to do the free tour of the USS Constitution take your passport with you. All the best, Tony

[YOUTUBE]yCNS6_9m1PY[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]2aY4iHGXajw[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]URwOd1uvp2I[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]eibtLcOqBJI[/YOUTUBE]

Great videos! Thanks.

Those videos are awesome--thanks for posting them.

Those videos are awesome--thanks for posting them.

Thank you (and 138east) for your kind words. Many of the destinations are just walk by and nod at affairs but others are well worth a proper look, and I had a great time just strolling around. As a Brit I am ashamed to say I had no idea Boston had so much history !

 

As a Brit I am ashamed to say I had no idea Boston had so much history !

Thanks to you Brits we do! :D

You are from Cornwall? Beautiful place, would love to go back some day.

Great videos. When we were in Boston we did not have time for all of the FT but enjoyed what we saw. Thanks for posting.

thanks to you brits we do! :d

lol

I like the idea of taking a cab to see the USS Constitution and then water cab back to the North End. I'm assuming that cabs are available when we dock in Boston? Sounds like a fun stop...thanks for all the replys and videos!

We attempted the Freedom Trail...found it frustrating to follow especially in traffic. It is not clearly marked, got lost. Some people rave about it, so there must be some secret to doing it correctly.

IMO you need a real street map so you know where to turn. Downtown Boston is a maze of small narrow streets that go every which way, but they are marked fairly well. If you think you had problems walking, imagine what it's like to try to drive!