This is not to be confused the USS Constitution Museum. That's a separate thing that will cost you a few dollars and not get you on the boat itself. The Boston National Historic Park is free, has its own mini museum/gift shop and will get you on the boat with a tour for free. Plus, you can get your National Park passport stamp here. You have to walk through a security checkpoint so keep that in mind as I saw a guy with a pocketknife not be allowed in. The USS Constitution is still a ship in the Navy Fleet, so the tour was led by a real Navy enlisted man. Sadly, my ladyfriend is claustrophobic so we didn't do the actual tour, we just walked around on the top deck. She is a party pooper but it was still cool to be on a ship built originally in the 1700s. read more

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Highly recommend this visit! This is one of the best 18th century warships in Boston Harbor. The ship is in excellent condition. The crew is first rate and very helpful, it likely does not hurt that they are all active duty Navy folks and take pride in their work. touring the ship. Would absolutely recommend touring the ship. Even my teenager boy loved it. read more

Boston National Historical Park - Parks Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This is one of those sites that is a combination of multiple sites. They have a brick line running through the whole city if you want to walk the route but the entire route is about 5 miles and I'm not so sure it's worth seeing everything. Yes you can go to Paul Revere's house and see how he lived during the revolution. Yes most of the building is original but nothing in it is original. Yes you can go see the old north church. It is mostly original but the steeple where they placed the two lanterns is completely off limits to the public. The several old meeting houses are also mostly original but again nothing to see inside. The old state meeting house is a great place for photo ops because you can stand in the very spot of the boston masscre. Skip the tour inside. Nothing to see. I do recommend a couple of areas and I would want to give myself a couple of days to do this route. The bunker hill memorial is spectacular and well worth seeing. You absolutely should check out the USS constitution. You absolutely should pay your respects at the Granary Burying grounds where a lot of revolutionaries are buried including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. You should also see the memorial to the 5 who died at the boston massacre including the loan African American who died Crispus Attucks. Overall it's a mixed bag. 4 stars. read more

The USS Constitutions is definitely a must-see for anyone who is interested in history and naval warfare. I was lucky on this particular visit because the sailor (yes, an actual current day Navy) on duty was kind enough not only to explain about how the canon works and how many sailors were needed to carry out the firing sequence, he actually demoed the process with the assistance of the group of tourists I was with. We listened to his command and followed the procedure. It was a heck of fun and we got away with an actual experience on how the canon was used in warfare. Summer 2018 read more

Boston National Historical Park - Interesting fact posted on USS Constitutions - Parks Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

If you haven't been, it's historical, has a lot of fun interactive activities and it's free. The only disappoint was that the Constitution herself was currently off limits because it was being reconditioned. They also have free tours/walks from the shipyard to the Bunker Hill Monument, on the hour and completely free. I haven't had the chance to listen to the other Park Rangers but our Ranger, Dave Hannagan was the best! He was knowledgeable, had visuals and charts of the location and how the area looked before and was funny. The best part though was his passion. He clearly had a reverence for the sacrifices made by both British and American and what it was that they fought for. My wife, who has no real desire or passion for history was impressed with him and what he had to say. I would take the tour again, not just because it was free but because the worth of the tour is not reflective of the price. read more

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Today we took in the sites of Boston National Historical Park and the Freedom Trail. If that doesn't make you proud to be an American I don't know what would. The sites in Boston tie everything together from what we learned at the Minute Man National Historical Park and the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Relearning the history and actions leading up to the Revolutionary War has been interesting. read more

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Consisting of two locations, one at the Charlestown Navy Yard and the other at 15 State Street, the National Park provides tours, lectures, exhibits, and demonstrations (Musket firing in the summer!) for people to partake in for free. You can wander around the USS Cassin Young (A WWII Destroyer), climb up the 293 steps to the top of Bunker Hill Monument (When it is open), listen to an oration in the Hall, or take a tour of part of the Freedom Trail with a Ranger. Great for kids, adults, seniors, students, locals, and tourists alike! read more

Boston National Historical Park - USS Cassin Young - Parks Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The Rangers of Boston National Historic Park did an outstanding job giving historic talks while engaging the audience. They are personable, creative and insightful. While I was in Boston, I visited the Charlestown Navy Yard where I was able to tour the USS Cassin Young. Our Tour Guide who was a National Park Ranger did an excellent job explaining the role USS Cassin Young played during WWII. Afterwards, I walked up to Bunker Hill where Park Rangers were giving musket demonstrations. I have visited many National Parks in my life. However, Boston National Historic Park is truly a hidden treasure. read more

Dang, I totally didn't know about this until after my trip, so hope others can benefit from this tip. Check out Carrie R. & Jocelyn G. reviews! I got to do the USS Constitution tour, but missed the USS Cassin Young tour. I enjoyed the USS Cassin Young boat better because you can see more things on the ship. I didn't know about the FREE Freedom Trail 90-min ranger lead walk until seeing the website. Well, hope others can attend & review it. I hope to go back to Boston to do it better. Website: http://www.nps.gov/bost/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm read more

This ship was built around 1800-ish and is the oldest ship that still sails! We spent a long time talking with the Navy man who gave the tour, and exploring the ship. This was one of our first 6 Navy vessels created by G. Washington to protect us from pirates. Since it was made of old growth timber, canonballs actually bounced off it, thus the nickname "Old Ironsides". Talk about some history, this town is full of it. Then we headed across the pier to the Cassin Young destroyer, circa 1940s-ish. This ship was in WW2, and got hit twice by Kamizazes but didn't sink. It was named after a Navy guy who saved a whole crew at the Pearl Harbor attack. I could almost feel the spirit of the crew as we walked around the various levels of the ship. Great way to spend a day, then head into the city for some nightlife. Definite "must see" for any visitors to the area. read more

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Two attractions can be found at the Charlestown Navy Yard: USS Constitution -- boarding Old Ironsides was very interesting and I recommend it to anyone! Since your tour will be given by a Navy sailor, I imagine it will vary with each individual guide. Our guide was clearly very proud to be serving aboard this ship, an attitude which boosted our enjoyment of his tour. (P.S. The amount of security present was a bit disheartening. As with most "heightened" security measures, I found it to be more fear-inducing to the general public than deterrent to potential evil-doers.) USS Cassin Young -- I didn't expect much from this tour. I was never one of those kids who knew all about every single WWII battle and could discuss the strengths and weaknesses of every single WWII plane and boat. But I am so glad I took the time to see this destroyer. Absolutely fascinating. Eerie and spooky and fascinating! In my opinion, it was even more interesting than the Constitution. Both are MUST SEES when you're in the area. The best part? Admission is free. read more

Boo, We took the Hop on Hop off Trolly Tour which was AWESOME and we stopped here at this museum. The ships were off limits so we thought maybe the museum would be ok. ..nope. really nothing to see there if you can't get on the ship or even get near it. Oh well... read more

Tours are educational, entertaining, historically accurate and best of all? FREE. I'm a big supporter of the National Parks - and now more than ever THEY need OUR support. Only way to see the USS Constitution is with tours through the US Navy, separate entity than the NPS. If you're downtown and see people in costume - run in the other direction. They're overpriced, rude when they find out they aren't getting a tip, and they're history is abominable. read more

Definitely a great place to come visit to learn more about the U.S. Navy. We made it just in time for the U.S.S Constitution tour and I loved it! I learned so many things about this great ship and our tour guide was VERY informative and possessed a great charismatic personality that was very engaging. I wished I caught his name. I'm glad that I made sure my friends knew I wanted to explore this piece of history because it was one of the stop highlights of the Freedom trail. I wished we had more time though. I will definitely be back here the next time I'm in Boston to take the tour again and to visit the other ship and the museum! A must do in Boston! read more

This place has it all! After you visit the Constitution, make sure to visit the museum and take the kids! It has all sorts of hands on activities and a neat gift shop loaded with all sorts of memorabilia and touristy things. Then take a walk around this old historic Navy Yard and you will see buildings that date back to WW II and history at your fingertips. You can even tour the old Destroyer here. We visited here for Sail Boston and the park is closed off to cars so you don't have to worry about dodging traffic. The Park Rangers are helpful and the Navy is still active here. This is a treat for kids of all ages! read more

Fantastic park to visit! There are 2 ships that you can board and receive a free tour (donations welcome). We toured the USS Constitution which was awesome, but missed the tour for the USS Cassin Young. Great photo opportunities at this park. There is also a museum on the property which is free to enter. Another plus of the park are multiple clean restrooms. read more

The park rangers are really great! The Constitution is a beautiful ship, and makes for some great photos. I really liked the exhibits in the visitor's center. I learned a lot and the photographs and activities were all interesting. They dealt more with the shipyard than the ships and I found that really refreshing. I would rather learn about forging chains and twisting rope than summary statistics of battles. read more

I took the Freedom trail tour from Fanuiel Hall to the Paul Revere house and Old North Church in the afternoon in November not really expecting much more than a ranger reading a few plaques as we walked by. I was completely blown away. The ranger who conducted our tour was animated and excited about his subject matter, he was knowledgeable about the area, and he was personable and passionate the entire time. From encouraging a shy youngster to help with his presentation to working the crowd like an experienced performer, he made my day. I'm a bit of an enthusiast, and I was already well informed about the historical events discussed, but the rangers did a superb job of breathing new life into the old buildings. I highly recommend the tour to anyone and everyone. Great job all around. read more

We always bring friends here when they're visiting. Honestly, these are the best tours of the Freedom Trail you will find - and they're free! If your in the Quincy Market area make sure you go to the 2nd floor of Faneuil Hall: no matter what time period of history you like, it's in there. So much history, and so affordable. DEFINITELY go there! read more

Did the walking tour on the Freedom trail with a ranger - it was fabulous, and free. I love how park rangers can answer any question they get. read more

The park service has done it again. This is a neat place to walk around, see a couple of old warships, sit down for a picnic, learn about history, and it can all be done for free if you'd like. read more