Boston, Walking, Tours of Boston

Overlooking the church from the Copp's Hill Burial Ground, a former
British garrison and cannon site, you can still see where Redcoat
musket practice has left deep pock marks on several Colonial
headstones. From this high ground, the British fired flaming
cannonballs towards Charlestown, setting the homes afire during the
Battle of Bunker Hill.

Follow the path of those cannonballs across the Charles River to the
granite obelisk atop Bunker Hill. At the crest of this hill on the night of
June 16, 1775, two months after the battle at Concord, the Minutemen
secretly dug an earthen fort. The following day, in an afternoon battle,
they inflicted devastating casualties on what was at the time the
best-trained and best-equipped army in the world. Although the 2,000
British soldiers eventually took the hill, the Patriots put half the
attackers out of action. While suffering only 400 casualties
themselves, the Rebels caused British General Gage to privately
lament, "The loss we have sustained is greater than we can bear."

At the base of Bunker Hill, the Charlestown Navy Yard berths the
oldest active commissioned warship in the world, the USS
Constitution. During a sea battle in the War of 1812, the
square-rigger, built in 1797, took on the name "Old Ironsides" when
astounded British gunners saw their cannonballs bouncing off the
thick planks of Georgia Live Oak that lined the hull.

Back to Boston on the trail, nearing your sixth mile, the last and most
poignant stop should be the Granary Burial Ground, final resting place
of Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine and John Hancock, three
Boston Patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Sharing the burial ground are five victims of the Boston Massacre,
including Crispus Attucks, the first black man killed in the Revolution.

After a day on the trail you are sure to be hungry. Near the Old State
House you can find gourmet eats with an incredible harbor view from
the 33rd floor of 60 State Street at The Bay Tower Restaurant,
consistently rated tops in romantic dining.
In Chinatown, near the Theater District, crowded local favorite China
Pearl offers dim sum, or take in sophisticated Chinese-American at
P. F. Chang's China Bistro. Nearby, go elegant at the Four Seasons
Hotel's Aujourd'Hui or their Bristol Lounge serving French and
American cuisine along with their popular afternoon English tea.

Walking Boston

Walking Boston
In the Walkable city of Boston, the history lover can cut the shackles to the automobile and walk the
cobble streets in the footsteps of Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams. In Boston you walk
paths through neighborhoods that saw rebellion and revolution forge the nation's first heroes during
America's struggle for freedom.
With two walks you can cover the city: walk east and trace the footsteps of famous patriots; walk west
and follow the paths of famous artists.

Walk #1: The Footsteps of Famous Patriots

For convenience, start in Boston Common, the country's oldest public park where Colonial cows once
munched community grass. Here, you can follow costumed actor Don Watson as he talks about Puritan
Boston. "If a man kissed his wife in public on Sunday, he would be put in the stocks right here on the
Common." John says as he plays the part of Patriot James Otis and guides visitors on the three-mile
Freedom Trail to 11 places significant in Boston's history.

First stop: the Old South Meeting House, where on December 16, 1773, 5,000 Colonists rallied to protest
England's tax on tea. Fired up by oratory and feeling the spunk of rebellion, 168 men in Native American garb
stormed down to the docks and boarded three English cargo ships loaded with tea. Determined to prevent
the cargo from entering the port, the rebels smashed open 342 chests of tea and hurled it into the salty waters
of Boston Harbor.

Hardly amused at the loss of what would today be over a million dollars worth of tea, the British blockaded the
harbor, forbade public gatherings and sent an army to occupy the city.

From the Meeting House, the trail leads past the Old State House, skirts the circle of cobblestones where five
men fell in "The Boston Massacre" and then winds down the hill to Faneuil Hall, the "Cradle of American
Liberty." Here, in this public meeting house built in 1742, leaders Hancock, Adams, Paine and Revere stoked
the fires of independence with their oratory in cries of "Taxation without representation is tyranny."

Today, the second-story chamber
echoes with the lectures of park
rangers, "The child liberty was born
here in 1764." Rangers retell the
events leading up to the American
Revolution in free hourly
presentations.
From Faneuil Hall, the Freedom
Trail continues to the North End and
the oldest house in Boston, the 1680
home of Paul Revere. The aroma of
coffee and freshly baked breads
from the 80 or so restaurants and
pastry shops in this lively Italian
community might coax you to stop
for cappuccino and cannolis at
Mike's Bakery on Hanover Street. Or
try a lunch of salmon piccata at
intimate G'vanni's on Prince Street.

Institute of Contemporary Art
building on Boston Harbor

Boston Public Gardens

Boston has completed
its long building
project and is now
better than ever as a
walking city

The highway that once
cut through the city
has been put beneath
the surface and the
freed up space is being
converted to park
space.

Near this spot on the harbor colonial men in Native American garb
stormed down to the docks and boarded three English cargo ships
loaded with tea. Determined to prevent the cargo from entering the port,
the rebels smashed open 342 chests of precious Darjeeling and hurled
it into the salty waters of Boston Harbor

On the night of April 18, 1775,
Robert Newman crept up the
stairs in the Old North church
to hang two lanterns in the
steeple, a signal that 700
British soldiers were about to
escalate the tension with the
Colonists. The British boarded
barges and headed up-river
for the road to Lexington and
Concord, intent on seizing
muskets hidden by the
Minutemen. Paul Revere, sent
by the Governor to warn the
Colonial militia, galloped
toward Lexington spreading
the alarm. Later that day, a
fierce battle sent the 700
British troops scurrying in
panic back to the safety of
Boston, attacked from all sides
by 1,400 swarming Minutemen
who had rushed in from distant
settlements.

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Boat tours visit the Boston
Harbor Islands and the
distant beaches of
Provincetown

For seafood, try the venerable 1826 Union
Oyster House raw bar, just three feet from
the trail. This is where Daniel Webster
often downed mounds of Wellfleet Oysters
on the half shell.

Walk of History, Walk of Artists

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