Boston: Salem Witch Trials & Freedom Trail Self-Guided Tour – Boston, Massachusetts

EXPERIENCE

Start by downloading the Action Tour Guide app, which will function as your personal tour guide, audio tour, and map all in one. Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together!

Once downloaded, you can begin your tour either in Salem or in Boston.

In Boston, you ll start either at Bunker Hill or in the heart of Boston Common, dating back to 1634! Hear about the Stamp Act riots of 1765 as you begin your walk along the Freedom Trail.

Keep moving past the historic Massachusetts State House with its golden dome laid by Paul Revere s Copper Company! You ll also hear about America s first time capsule here, going back to 1795!

Learn more about why the British taxed the colonies before the Revolutionary War and then take in the Park Street Church with its stately steeple. Then move onto the Granary Burying Ground and pay tribute to the prominent and courageous figures buried there, such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Paul Revere.

Up next is King s Chapel, Boston s first Anglican church, which features a bell which Paul Revere cast! You ll then see the Boston Latin School with its statue of one of its most prominent students, Benjamin Franklin!

You ll pass the Old South Meeting House, where the famed Boston Tea Party began. Then, keep striding toward the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians!

In addition, see the stately Faneuil Hall, where colonial Bostonians met to discuss their future and acrimonious debates over the Stamp Act and Tea Act took place!

Learn more about the events of the Revolutionary War, including the Second Continental Congress, as well as Paul Revere s historic ride. You ll see the Old North Church, site of the famed one if by land, two if by sea signal.

Conclude your Boston journey at the Bunker Hill Monument, commemorating a pivotal Revolutionary War battle.

In Salem, you ll start at the Salem Visitor Center. Learn about the infamous witch trials at the 1692 Memorial. Reflect on the 19 who perished in an atmosphere of suspicion and madness.

Pay visits to an array of historical sites such as the Old Burying Point Cemetery, where the chief judge in the witch trials is buried.

See the Old Town Hall, used in the movie Hocus Pocus! Also learn about the town s famed son, writer Nathaniel Hawthorne! The tour concludes at the House of the Seven Gables, which was the inspiration for one of Hawthorne s most famed works.

HIGHLIGHTS

Unearth the hysteria and brutality of the Salem Witch Trials
Discover haunted cemeteries and historic architecture in Salem
Learn about the conflicts that sparked the American Revolution
See the famous USS Constitution up close
Revisit Paul Revere s famous Midnight Ride

Discover more exciting & fun things to do in Boston