My daughter will be visiting Boston and Montreal in the summer. I welcome any suggestions as to where to stay, where to eat, what to see, what to avoid, etc., in these beautiful cities. My daughter is passionate about American history and is looking forward to enjoying the history of Boston. She is going to Montreal simply because she loves Canada and has not yet seen that side of the country. Thank you for your help.
There's a lot of history here in Boston and the metro Boston area. In Boston proper, I'd recommend she do the Freedom Trail (
https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/) which visits sites associated with the Revolutionary War (and War of 1812 in the case of the USS Constitution). She could either do a paid walking tour of it, or walk it herself free. It's clearly marked with either a red line or red bricks on the sidewalk. It's been a while since I walked it, but I believe most/all of the sites on it have free entry (but ask for a donation). If there is an entrance fee, it's nominal. The last two stops on it (USS Constitution and Bunkerhill Monument) are actually in Charlestown.
There's also the Black Heritage Trail Tour through the Beacon Hill neighborhood. (
https://www.nps.gov/boaf/virtual-black-heritage-trail-tour.htm)
Boston isn't a very driveable city, so she'll want to utilize public transportation, the MBTA (aka The T).
https://www.mbta.com/ . If she is going to have a vehicle available, Minuteman National (
https://www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm) isn't a very far drive. The main NPS visitor center is in Lincoln, MA with sites in Lincoln and Concord (Old North Bridge - site of the "shot heard 'round the world"). Up Massachusetts Avenue before she'd get to Lincoln is Lexington Green. Adjacent to that is Buckman Tavern which is administered by the Lexington Historical Society (
https://www.lexingtonhistory.org/). The also administer a few other historic sites in Lexington. The Concord Museum (
https://concordmuseum.org/) has an April 19, 1775 exhibit. If I recall correctly, they have one of the lanterns hung in Old North Chruch on display there.
She may also be interested in Adams National Historic Park (homes of John and John Quincy Adams) -
https://www.nps.gov/adam/index.htm. The visitors Center is in Quincy. Pre-Covid, they would have a trolley to take you to the homes. I'm not sure if they still do that now. There is a nominal entrance fee.
I'd also recommend she check to the list of National Parks in Massachusetts (
https://www.nps.gov/state/ma/index.htm) she may find something there that I've missed.
