How to explore Boston with kids
A local dad gives his top tips to keep kids happy and adults entertained.


Boston is a small city that punches well above its weight, and even though it has a long history that you definitely remember from middle school social studies classes, it's become an exciting destination in the last decade. And that's especially true for families with school-age kids.
As a Dad I can tell you: Boston is a highly walkable place (and one with a high concentration of playgrounds, too). It's got something for every member of your team, from its network of parks and historic trails to its family-friendly museums, to its ever-expanding food scene, and fun hotels with pools both indoors and out. Here are my favorite spots for when you're visiting with your crew.
1. Stay and swim

If you're looking at the higher end of Boston hotels, I love the city's two Four Seasons, especially for their big, glass-walled indoor pools, which kids can't get enough of because they feel like they're splashing around in an aquarium. Overlooking the Public Garden on the edge of the Back Bay and Beacon Hill neighborhoods, the Four Season Boston debuted a renovation of its public spaces, bar, and restaurant in 2023. All of it is wonderful for parents. The Four Seasons One Dalton, meanwhile, opened in 2019 in New England's tallest residential tower. Families can't go wrong in either location due to the spacious suites and the bells and whistles the staff breaks out for kids, like stuffies and mini robes. At the more wallet-friendly end, check out the kitsch-cool Verb hotel. Set in a low-slung mid-century roadside motel, it's got a rock-and-roll theme kids'll love and is close to Red Sox games at Fenway. The outdoor pool, open and heated year-round, is a bonus.
2. Get hands-on in the museums

Boston is known for its smarts, and that extends to its museums. My little kids have loved the hands-on ones from a very young age. In the Seaport, the Boston Children's Museum is like an indoor playground of sneaky learning disguised as fun. (Book tickets ahead of time, for sure, and don't miss the slides, splash pad, and pirate ship of Martin's Park, just behind the museum.) The Museum of Science, with its interactive displays devoted to physics, arctic exploration, engineering, and more, skews a little older. Its Theater of Electricity, which generates indoor lightning in a cavernous triple-height space, shouldn't be missed. The MIT Museum reopened in a brand-new building in the fall of 2022 in Cambridge, just over the Charles River from Boston proper. It manages to make highly conceptual science super approachable and deeply engaging. Kids get to play with learning AI robots, activate kinetic sculptures, and participate in ongoing research.
3. Wander through history

Marked by a red-brick line through much of the city's center and a bit beyond, the two-and-a-half-mile Freedom Trail helps you and your crew walk the history of America's fight for independence from Britain. Especially kid-friendly stops include the Paul Revere House and the USS Constitution, a 230-year-old battleship known as Old Ironsides. It's smart to book a tour led by guides in period costumes to help kids pay attention. The city's 1.6-mile Black Heritage Trail — organized by the National Parks Service, which created the self-guided audio tour that goes with it — takes you to ten stops related to the city's rich African-American history and role in the abolitionist movement, including an Underground Railroad safe house and the Abiel Smith School and African Meeting House, which together now house the city's Museum of African American History.
4. Scarf New England seafood with a view

The Barking Crab gives you the flavor and atmosphere of a fun, casual, but mostly no-frills Cape Cod seafood shack smack in the middle of the city. The no-reservations indoor/outdoor venue sits on the edge of Fort Point Channel, in the Seaport, with panoramic views of Boston Harbor and the Downtown skyline. Raw bar, lobster rolls, and fried seafood platters keep parents happy, with chicken fingers and plenty of fries for pickier little taste buds. Great for lunch or early dinner after a visit to the nearby Children's Museum. (If lines are too long, the massive waterfront branch of the local Legal Seafood chain is a 15-minute walk away; closer and more elevated, without the water view but just as fish forward is Row 34, where First Lady Dr. Jill Biden dined not long ago.)
5. Make like the "make way for ducklings" ducks

The beloved Robert McCloskey picture book sees Mr. and Mrs Mallard feathering their nest in Boston, waddling through Beacon Hill from the Charles River to the Public Garden. My flock and I enjoy doing the same. The Charles River Esplanade offers a series of great playgrounds, a pedestrian path for walking, biking, and scootering, and the opportunity to get out on the water with Community Boating. Stroll down Charles Street from the Esplanade, stopping into the top-floor children's section in the townhouse newly occupied by Beacon Hill Books & Cafe, or get coffee, hot chocolate, pastries, or a light lunch at the super-casual French-Mediterranean cafe Tatte. From there, cross Beacon Street into the Public Garden, where you'll be greeted by the famed larger-than-life bronze statue of McCloskey's Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings. Afterward, meander towards the Duck Pond for a ride around the water in a Swan Boat.
6. Sample local flavor

If your kids are anything like mine, your idea of an ideal eatery might be a single spot that satisfies all palates and gives little ones the opportunity to run around while parents chill. That's where Boston's food halls come in. Each of them—Time Out Market, near Fenway; High Street Place, downtown near South Station; Hub Hall, near North Station and TD Garden; and the Boston Public Market, near City Hall and the North End—gather under one roof some really delicious options from a bunch of top local chefs and restaurants. The Time Out outpost may be the family friendliest—its lofty space opens to a grassy area that turns into a skating rink in winter.
7. Play ball

Bostonians love their sports—and if you don't believe me, poke your head into any restaurant in town. No matter how nice the place, there's almost always a TV (or two or three) showing a game of some kind. The Patriots play football well outside of the city, but Fenway Park—the country's oldest baseball stadium still operating—is smack in the middle of town. Take in a game during the season (tickets start at a very gentle price) or a behind-the-scenes tour when the Sox aren't on the field. Hockey and basketball fans can see the Bruins and Celtics play at TD Garden.