Boston [2025]

Aug 10, 2025
6 min read

Friends from Abu Dhabi were getting married in the Boston area, so we took advantage to visit this historic city for the first time. We explored the city over a few days, as well as P-town and Concord. We knew the history is extensive in New England, but we were still surprised by just how much we learned. Also, seeing so many of our friends from UAE again was awesome <3

Pre-trip Notes

Tickets: We'd found it recommended to purchase museum tickets ahead of time, especially the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (this seemed necessary, as the line was LONG on the day). So, we pre-purchased tickets to be on the safe side.
Boston-Provincetown Ferry: Had to book these in advance, too, as ferries book up often.

What We Did

Boston

Fort Independence: We were too late to tour the interior, but we walked all around it and thought it was really impressive! It's one of the oldest continuously fortified sites of English origin in the US.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: It is an amazing museum, and loved seeing several master pieces that were unfamiliar to us. Several works of art by the "classics", but also quite a bit from American painters (Sargent, Copley, Stuart, etc.)

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: This one was super interesting. We're glad we booked in advance, as there was quite a wait if you didn't have a ticket. Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) was a wealthy woman who travelled and bought copious amounts of art while she was abroad. Works include those by Titan, Botticelli, Vermeer, and Rembrandt (to name only a few). Then, in the 1990s the museum was subject to the largest art heist in history. Pieces that were stolen are symbolized by empty frames left on the wall. It was also really interesting to read about Isabella's friendship with Okakura Kakuzō. He was a big influence in her appreciation of East Asian art and that the way she'd describe him was considered somewhat a harmful stereotype (quiet, feminine, calm, etc.). The museum itself is beautiful, especially the courtyard in the center. There are several rooms dedicated to works from around the world. This was easily a favorite of our trip!
Freedom Trail: Walking the path of American Independence. Starting at the visitor center (Boston Common), we loaded up the audio guide on our phones and followed the single-brick path. We went into as many of the sites and museums as we could, but honestly ended up taking way longer than we expected. After seeing famous revolutionary figures' graves, important churches, government buildings, and much more, there were two sites in particular that really spoke to us. 1) The Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial - We both teared up at this one, as it details the noble story of the all-black volunteer regiment in the Civil War. 2) Boston's Old State House & Old South Meeting House Museums - This museum initially asks the attendee "Do you think of the Boston Tea Party as patriotic?" (suggesting to some people it was terrorism). After sharing many of the founding fathers' views on the event (they were non-plussed), we later learned the narrative of the BTP was re-written in a more patriotic light several years later. Then at the end, another question was asked: Do you think the BTP was different from the January 6, 2021 insurrection? We found the motivation and goals behind these kinds of acts are critical when comparing, as there were other examples of political violence that very clearly were meant to harm more than progress a platform.

Fenway Park: We initially walked here just to get some pictures from the outside, but we ended up getting tickets for later that night versus the Royals. Being the oldest baseball park in the US, the feel of it was very nostalgic. It was a great game, the Red Sox won after knocking out several home runs!

Provincetown

Race Point Beach: We walked along the main road off of which we turned to get to Race Point. There are no side walks, so it wasn't the safest (especially after discovering several small empty liquor bottles off of the road. We had intended on making it to the lighthouse, but walking in sand was much slower than expected. We think you normally have to pay to get in, but they let us in for free because we walked in (and maybe because of the time of day?). The walk was refreshing, and we saw several seals floating and watching us from the water just offshore!

Salem

The Satanic Temple: It was unfortunately closed when we visited, but it's open for visits if interested!
Salem Witch Museum: The reenactment bit was a bit corny to start, but we really liked the museum at the end. After learning about how women were incorrectly accused of and killed for, all based on a young child's claim, the museum culminated in summarizing other "Witch Hunts" in history. Over and over, when there is fear, a group is scapegoated/persecuted. Examples included: Japan -> Pearl Harbor -> Japanese Americans, Infection -> AIDS -> Gay community, Communism -> HUAC/Joe McCarthy -> Black listed citizens, Drugs -> Opioid Epidemic -> Venezuela, Violence in the US -> Trump -> Immigrants...the list goes on.
Phillips School: Nick had us stop by for a picture of the school featured in Hocus Pocus!
The House of the Seven Gables: We didn't go inside, since we didn't think it was worth the cost. The house was Nathaniel Hawthorne's inspiration for the book he wrote with the same name, exploring guilt, witchcraft, and retribution.
Charter Street Cemetery Welcome Center: Did not go inside, but we did walk around the cemetery which contains the remains of many of the people involved in the trials.

Groton

Hiking: The bride-to-be took us on nice hike around her hometown. There are many well-manicured trails, and along the way we visited the Bancroft castle (built in 1906)! We also went on our own hike the day of the wedding with a couple of friends. The Groton Town Forest Loop Trail.

Concord

North Bridge Visitor Center: We stopped at the visitor center first, then made our way across the bridge to see the Minute Man Statue and the Memorial Grave of British soldiers. It's hard to imagine the "Shot heard round the world" could happen in a place so seemingly tranquil amongst the beautiful prairie countryside.
Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House: We toured the house in which Louisa May Alcott and her sisters grew up, as well as the school house her father built next door. In this house Louisa May did her writing, including Little Women. Each of us ladies got our own copies to commemorate the visit <3
Walden Pond: Closes when it's "too busy," so we didn't get a chance to walk around it. But, from what we could see, it looked beautiful. Made especially famous for inspiring Henry David Thoreau, which we also found out that he went home to have laundry and meals regularly made for him by his mother through adulthood :P
The Concord Bookshop: We had some time to spare before lunch, so we stopped into this quaint shop for some books!

Food