City Guides: Things to do While Boating in Boston, Massachusetts
Whether you’re boating around Quincy Bay and Hingham Bay, heading to Fenway Park or checking out a boatload of American history, you’ll find a massive collection of historic attractions and fun things to do from a private boat slip rental in Boston. We’ve picked a few to get started. Let’s go!
New England Aquarium
Photo: New England Aquarium Facebook
Located on the waterfront, the New England Aquarium gets a top pick nod for its fun penguin habitat. You can visit more than 60 rockhopper and African penguins as they go about their day. The aquarium is also home to northern fur seals, green sea turtles, lionfish, jellyfish and poison dart frogs. Marine habitat exhibits include an Indo-Pacific coral reef, a four-story tank with Caribbean reef creatures, a 42,000-gallon harbor seal exhibit and animals of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
Simons Theatre features movies on great white sharks, natural predators, sea turtles and more on a six-story high projection screen with wrap-around sound. Grab a bite to eat at the snack bar or Harbor View Café, which has floor-to-ceiling windows for views of the harbor. Stop by the gift shop for a souvenir or two before heading back to private boat slips for rent.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Photo: Wikimedia
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is filled with contemporary, European, Asian, African and American art as well as the art of ancient Greece, Rome and the Byzantine Empire. Check out exhibits on photography, textiles, jewelry, musical instruments, drawings, Egyptian artifacts and impressionist, Dutch and Flemish paintings. The museum has a couple of restaurants and a wine bar as well as a bookstore and gift shop.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace
Photo: Faneuil Hall Facebook
For food and retail therapy, head to Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The indoor shopping market, sometimes simply called Quincy Market, is located within three historic marketplace buildings. Shop for apparel, art, antiques, toys, hats and more from stores, local vendors, kiosks and carts.
Try Boston baked beans, lobster rolls, clam chowder and more New England favorites at restaurants, kiosks and the Food Colonnade (which is found at the building called Quincy Market). There’s also a walk-through dinosaur adventure that kids of all ages will want to experience. Outdoors, enjoy jugglers, acrobatics and other street performers before returning to a boat dock rental.
Boston Common
Photo: Wikimedia
Founded in 1634, Boston Common is a public park (America’s oldest, by the way) located in downtown Boston. It’s America’s oldest park. The large green space has ball fields, a kids’ area (the tot lot) and the Frog Pond (ice skating in winter and a kids’ spray pool and carousel in summer). It’s a nice spot to just hang out after perusing Boston’s historic attractions. We think it’s perfect to visit from a private boat lift rental.
Paul Revere House
Photo: Wikimedia
When in Boston, it’s all about Paul Revere, right? Well, even if it’s not, the Paul Revere House is a must. Learn about silversmith Paul Revere: his life, his family and that famous April 18, 1775 midnight ride. The building (19 North Square) is his actual house. Built in 1680, it’s a National Historic Landmark and the oldest building in downtown Boston. House tours are self-guided, so stroll at your own pace.
The Revere House is part of Boston’s Freedom Trail, which covers 2.5 miles through American history. You can walk the trail on your own, take a free tour with the National Park Service or join a guided costumed tour with the Freedom Trail Foundation. Other historic buildings on the Revere block include the Pierce/Hichborn House (1711) and Lathrop Place.
Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum
Photo: Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum Facebook
Another must-do in Beantown is the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum multi-sensory experience. You can actually be a part of the 1773 event as live actors, interactive exhibits, historical interpreters and a full-scale replica of an 18th-century sailing ship await.
Enter the Meeting House where Samuel Adams is the host of this rebellious 1773 meeting. Throw tea into the water and explore Griffin’s Wharf, an open-air deck with replica ships on the same body of water where the historic event took place. Check out the Robinson Tea Chest, the only surviving tea chest from the event, or watch a film on Paul Revere and the beginning events of the Revolutionary War in the Minuteman Theater.
Tea addicts will want to relax with a cup of tea (as well as sandwiches, chowder, wine, “Dark and Stormys” or Boston’s Harpoon Brewery beer) in Abigail’s Tea Room. You can also taste five varieties of tea that were thrown overboard. Pick up a box of tea to enjoy later at home or at the boat slip for rent.
USS Constitution
Photo: USS Constitution Facebook
America’s Ship of State, the USS Constitution (or “Old Ironsides” as she’s commonly known), is the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy. And she’s right here in Boston and free to visit. The three-masted wooden-hulled frigate, decked out in stunning black with white details, was first launched in 1797. It’s located within Boston National Historical Park, which is part of Charlestown Navy Yard. Enter at the Navy Yard Visitors Center. The ship occasionally sails around the harbor. If you’re lucky enough to see that, consider us jealous!
Take time to explore the nearby USS Constitution Museum while you’re there. It offers a complete collection of Old Ironsides’ 200-year history, including battles, arms, navigation equipment, medical gear, tools and portraits. It’s one of our favorite Boston sites to visit from a private boat lift for rent.
We hope you’ve found a few new things to add to your Boston bucket list. The next time you’re visiting or hanging out at a private boat slip rental, check them out. Let us know your favorites!
