📍 Only the Best 10 in Boston, MA

Boston Common. Every Freedom Trail walk starts here, and it's worth knowing why: laid out in 1634, it's the oldest public park in the United States, and cattle grazed on it for two centuries before it became a park in the modern sense. Free, obviously, and open around the clock — the red brick line marking the trail literally begins at the Visitor Center on Tremont Street.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. One of the largest art museums in the country by gallery space, with a collection running from ancient Egypt through contemporary art and the single largest collection of Monets outside France. Thirty dollars at the door, but Wednesday evenings after 4pm drop to pay-what-you-wish most weeks — check the museum's own calendar since it isn't every Wednesday.

Day trip to Salem from Boston. The 1692 witch trials are what draws most people, and the Salem Witch Museum tells that story straight — but the House of the Seven Gables (yes, the one from the Hawthorne novel) and the working waterfront are worth the extra hour. The commuter rail from North Station runs about 35 minutes each way and costs roughly $15 round trip, cheaper and less stressful than parking downtown.

Boston Harbor Islands Ferry to Georges Island. Georges Island is the hub of the Boston Harbor Islands national park area, and Fort Warren on it once held Confederate prisoners during the Civil War — free water taxis shuttle between Georges and several smaller islands once you've paid the roughly $20 mainland ferry fare. Runs seasonally, late May through Columbus Day, from Long Wharf.

Cape Cod Central Railroad, Hyannis. A two-hour round trip along Cape Cod's Mid-Cape rail line, crossing the Cape Cod Canal and running through cranberry bogs and salt marsh that the highway completely bypasses — the dinner train version adds a full multi-course meal for roughly triple the base fare. Standard excursion tickets run around $30; about 80 minutes from Boston by car to reach the Hyannis station.