Massachusetts offers an abundance of diverse sites from forested mountains to historic towns, making for an engaging state visit. Learn about its past while enjoying summer hikes, winter skiing or local seafood delights.
Visit Boston and experience its 2.5-mile Freedom Trail that winds past 16 historic spots, such as the site of the 1773 Boston Tea Party which marked one of America's first protests leading up to Revolutionary War.
Boston
Boston is widely recognized for its central role in the American Revolution of 1776-1783; however, today it also serves as an epicenter of culture, higher education, and technology.
Boston is a compact and walkable city filled with historic neighborhoods that honor notable figures or events from history: Beacon Hill is home to the original colonial government; North End traditionally welcomes Italian immigrants; while South End boasts Irish roots. Harvard and MIT universities as well as numerous cultural institutions can all be found within Boston's limits.
Boston was originally designed as a port city, and this maritime history can be seen today through lighthouses, lifesaving stations, shipbuilding yards and the U.S. Navy. Some of these landmarks can be found as part of Massachusetts Maritime National Park which offers guided tours at certain sites.
Boston is not complete without taking a stroll along its historic Freedom Trail. This route highlights 16 key locations that represent significant moments leading up to and marking the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. Explore on your own or join a guided tour and you may see highlights like the Boston Massacre site, Old South Meeting House and Faneuil Hall's famed steeple; as well as burial grounds where Sons of Liberty rest.
Boston is well known for its long, rich history that spans both abolitionist and civil rights movements, with landmarks from both movements preserved as part of the Black Heritage Trail for visitors to learn about. Rangers also lead educational programs on this topic which offer visitors insight into this chapter in Boston history.
Boston is known for both its sports and culinary traditions. Home of America's oldest professional baseball and basketball teams, with fans who remain fiercely dedicated. Also a premier beer-drinking destination with numerous brewpubs and microbreweries as well as international restaurants serving traditional fare.
Lowell
Lowell emerged as one of America's premier industrial cities during the 1840's. Dubbed "spindle city" and "Manchester of America," its textile mills flourished greatly, leading to an economic boom that gave birth to Romanesque structures and new civic buildings as well as Irish immigrants replacing New England farm girls and creating an ethnic mix that included twenty nationalities by century's end.
During the Industrial Revolution, inventions allowed manufacturers to mass produce fabrics more rapidly. A number of these inventions were built in Lowell; among them were "fly shuttle" and "spinning jenny." At its peak, Lowell boasted 20 mills that ran at once thanks to a network of canal waterways powering these mills.
At first, the city gained international acclaim, with workers becoming known as "mill girls." Mills were known for offering comfortable working conditions, but the good times began to slow in 1840 as companies moved their operations south for cheaper labor costs and during Civil War textile production declined further before rebounding during World War I as mills expanded further.
By the 1920s, it had become a center for culture and art; Jack Kerouac himself was born here. Unfortunately, however, due to drug trafficking and gang activity it earned an unfavorable reputation; today however, its image has improved substantially with a historic downtown area featuring renovated mills converted into apartments and shops.
At Lowell National Historical Park, visitors are given an in-depth history lesson of Lowell. A trolley tour takes guests through this historic district where they'll see remains of city canals and learn about water power that powered mills; they'll even see where underground turbine systems were situated so water from each mill could be diverted down an intricate drop to spin wheels; your guide will explain how these mills used to operate while still offering glimpses into old machinery!
Salem
Salem, Massachusetts is an easily navigable small city best known (or infamous) for the 1692 Witch Trials which saw 20 individuals hanged for practicing witchcraft. But beyond these infamous events lies much more to offer this coastal community above Boston; such as its fascinating maritime past and world-class museum of art and culture; not to mention literary figure Nathaniel Hawthorne himself who made Salem home during 19th century author Nathaniel Hawthorne's time writing!
An hour-long trolley tour from Armory Park outside the Salem Visitor Center is an ideal way to gain your bearings in this vibrant coastal port city, passing most major landmarks along its two loops and offering flexible ticketing so that you can customize your experience according to individual stops.
Old Burying Point Cemetery--locally known as Charter Street Cemetery--is one of Salem's oldest burial grounds, dating back to before 1640. Notable gravesites here include Doraty Cromwell who was accused in the Salem witch trials; other gravesites here include John Hawthorne and Bartholomew Gedney judges who oversaw them respectively.
Pedrick Store House was constructed in 1770 as part of Derby Wharf. During the Revolutionary War it served as a warehouse, and after was used by privateers as storage before returning their stolen goods back to England. Also nearby is Friendship of Salem - now an interpretive museum where you can climb aboard to learn about its historic role.
Bewitched fans won't want to miss Elizabeth Montgomery's bronze statue of Samantha from Bewitched; this statue serves as a nice nod to this fictional witch who charmed TV audiences during its run from 1964-1972. You may also enjoy visiting the House of the Seven Gables or Turner-Ingersoll Mansion built for wealthy merchant John Turner and inhabited by three generations of his family before later being purchased by relatives of Nathaniel Hawthorne whose novel inspired by this home was named The Seven Gables (1851).
Plimoth Patuxet
Henry Hornblower founded this Smithsonian-affiliated museum in 1947 by transporting guests back to 1627 Plymouth Colony. Visitors experience first-hand life during this living history museum's 17th-century English Village and Wampanoag Homesite through historical role players who recreate everyday activities for guests to witness first-hand.
Visitors to Plentiful Cafe can get involved with tasks like cooking, weaving and sewing before joining Captain Standish for a militia drill led by museum staff. After which you can settle down for an authentic Wampanoag/Pilgrim feast at Plentiful Cafe!
Food is the cornerstone of history, and at the Museum it embodies this concept through its cuisine. Visitors can visit the Plimoth Grist Mill to understand how grain was ground in 17th-century America.
The museum's historic property reveals a wide array of cultural landscapes, from archeological remains of Wampanoag and English colonist settlements to built features like garden parterres, stone tea houses and earthen ramps. Reclaimed landscape elements from Elm River Farm mansion still remain present despite being reused elsewhere on site.
Visitors to this museum are able to board a full-scale replica of the Mayflower, Mayflower II, as well as visit its reconstructed Plimoth Grist Mill and Historic Patuxet Homesite and 17th-century English Village for an immersive experience that tells the tale of how Indigenous and European peoples created a new world through both cooperation and conflict along these shores of change.
The Plymouth Museums provide visitors with powerful personal experiences that delve deep into the lives and traditions of Wampanoag people and their European neighbors, who lived peacefully along its waterfront in Plymouth during the 1600s. Here, in autumn 1621, ancient traditions of gratitude across Indigenous and European cultures united into modern tradition we observe every November. For more information about Plymouth Museums please visit their website (plymouthmuseums.org), they're open seven days a week for visitors, admission tickets can be purchased either online or at their Visitor Center locations
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