Best Museums in Boston

Boston is considered the cultural capital of the United States, largely thanks to its wide range of museums. In this post you'll find out which are the best.

Carlos Bleda

Carlos Bleda

9 min read

Best Museums in Boston

Boston | ©Mohan Nannapaneni

The city of Boston is the birthplace of the revolution against the British colonists that started the American War of Indecency and later the formation of the United States. A city with so much history needs to be able to show it to the world, which is why Boston has an immense range of museums that speak to the historical and cultural value of the city. Not only history museums, the offer is wide and varied.

The city is also home to some of the most important educational institutions in the world, such as Harvard University and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), which, in addition to having their own museums, also contribute to the city's status as a cradle of science and technology, with several related museums. All these elements make seeing its museums one of the best things to do in Boston.

1. Tea Party museum

Museum Exterior| ©Pentakrom
Museum Exterior| ©Pentakrom

The Tea Party was the historic event that shaped the history of Boston and the United States.

On 16 December 1773 a group of colonists threw overboard the tea cargo of three British ships moored in Boston harbour as an act of protest against Great Britain, an event that was the precedent for the American War of Independence.

This event marked the history of the city and a floating museum was built to simulate the dock and the British ships that were the scene of the mutiny. The Tea Party museum.

The particularity of this museum is that it is a historical recreation in itself and has characterised characters who guide the visit and tell you all about the history of this event, as well as exhibition rooms, a multimedia room, a tea room and the opportunity to climb aboard the ships.

The museum is located on the canal under the Congrees ST Bridge and can be visited from Thursday to Monday. Admission is around $30, which works out at around 28 euros per person.

Information of interest

  • Price: 28 euros for adults, 23 euros for children (approximate prices).
  • Opening hours: Thursday to Monday from 10:00 to 17:00
  • Location: Congress St Bridge

Buy your ticket for the Tea Party Museum

2. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Sculpture and exterior of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston| ©Nektarios Karefyllakis
Sculpture and exterior of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston| ©Nektarios Karefyllakis

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is one of the most important museums in the country. In fact, its art collection is the second largest in the United States, behind only the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

There are around 450,000 pieces on display in the museum, ranging from ancient Egyptian to contemporary works. The museum houses works by such outstanding artists as El Greco, Velázquez and Van Gogh, among many others. Its exhibition has earned it recognition as one of the most important art museums in the world.

The Museum of Fine Arts, as it is known in Boston, is located on Huntington Avenue and is open from Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5pm.

Tickets cost around 27 dollars, or 25.8 euros, for adults, and for children between the ages of 7 and 17, the price is around 10 dollars, or 9 euros. Children under the age of 7 are free.

Information of interest

  • Price: 25 euros for adults, 9 euros for children between 7 and 17 years old.
  • Opening hours: Thursday to Monday 10:00 to 17:00
  • Location: Huntington Avenue

Enjoy one of the finest collections of art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

3. Boston Museum of Science

Exterior of the Science Museum| ©Chris Rycroft
Exterior of the Science Museum| ©Chris Rycroft

Science lovers also have their place in Boston. The Boston Museum of Science is a paradise for science enthusiasts of all kinds, with more than 700 exhibits on a variety of subjects spread over three floors of the building.

Highlights include its famous Colossal Fossil, a 65-million-year-old triceratops skeleton, its butterfly garden, and the more than 100 animals that the museum houses as a zoo and that have been rescued from animal shelters.

The museum is located in what is known as Science Park, on the Charles River Dam Bridge. Unlike other museums in the city, the Science Museum is open every day of the week from 9am to 5pm.

Ticket prices are around 27 euros for adults and 23 euros for children aged 3 to 11.

Information of interest

  • Price: Around 27 euros for adults and 23 euros for children between 3 and 11 years old.
  • Opening hours: Open all week from 9am to 5pm.
  • Location: Charles River Dam Bridge

Visit the Boston Museum of Science

4. Boston Children's Museum

Entering the Museum| ©philipp_anna
Entering the Museum| ©philipp_anna

Children's museums are scattered throughout the world's capitals, and with Boston being one of the world's leading museums, there is no shortage of one in the city. In fact, the Boston Children's Museum is among the best of its kind in the world.

An entire museum dedicated to helping children understand the world around them through a myriad of activities and interactive exhibits. The museum is geared towards children under the age of 12, but everyone who visits the museum enjoys it like a child.

Needless to say, if you're travelling to Boston with children, it should be a must-see on your trip.

The museum is located on a riverside pier on Congress Street, next to the Tea Party Museum. You don't have to worry about the day you visit, as it is open every day of the week from 10:00 to 17:00, standard museum hours in Boston. On Fridays the opening hours are extended to 21:00.

The general admission price is 16 dollars, or about 15 euros at the exchange rate. Prices are always approximate.

Information of interest

  • Price: About 15 euros.
  • Opening hours: Every day from 10:00 to 17:00 and Fridays until 21:00.
  • Location: Congress street next to the Tea Party museum.

Discover the Children's Museum in Boston

5. Harvard Museum

Harvard Museum| ©cuikhoai
Harvard Museum| ©cuikhoai

The most prestigious university in the United States also has its own museum. Or rather, museums. Harvard University has two important museums on its campus that are among the most interesting in the city of Boston.

The first of these is its natural history museum, which has an extensive collection of animals, minerals, fossils and its famous glass flowers.

The second is the university's oldest museum and is its museum of the arts. Its collection ranges from medieval times to contemporary art.

True to its university spirit, both museums are free for its students and for students from other universities around the world there is always a discount. General admission if you are not a student costs about 15 dollars, about 14.3 euros for the science museum and a little more, about 19 euros for the arts museum.

The latter is free for everyone on Saturdays. Both share the standard Boston museum hours, opening at 9:00 am and closing at 5:00 pm, and are open every day of the week.

Information of interest

  • Price: About 14 euros for the science museum and 19 euros for the arts museum (General admission and approximate amounts).
  • Hours: Every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  • Location: Harvard Campus in Cambridge.

6. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum| ©taigatrommelchen
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum| ©taigatrommelchen

Among the world's private art collections, Isabella Stewart's is undoubtedly one of the most impressive.

This philanthropist and collector began to assemble an impressive art collection in her Venetian-style palace in Boston until it was converted, after several renovations, into a museum open to the public.

The building itself is a work of art, and the gems inside are well worth the entrance fee. As a curiosity, in 1990 thieves disguised as policemen stole thirteen works of art, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Manet. A story that has even been taken to the big screen.

Although it lost a great deal in that robbery, considered the largest in the United States in terms of art, its collection is still impressive. To visit it, all you have to do is get your ticket, which costs around 19.1 euros (20 dollars), and go to Evans Street from Wednesday to Monday from 11:00 to 17:00.

If you're an art lover travelling to Boston, you can't afford not to enjoy Isabella Stewart's collection.

Information of interest

  • Price: About 20 dollars (approx. 19 euros at the exchange rate)
  • Opening hours: From Wednesday to Monday from 11:00 to 17:00
  • Location: Evans Way.

7. MIT Museum

MIT Museum| ©John Phelan
MIT Museum| ©John Phelan

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, is the other major educational institution in Boston, along with Harvard University. And of course, it also has its own museum.

Founded in 1971, this space is dedicated to technological advances and the history of the institution itself. It has the largest collection of holographic art in the world, as well as exhibitions on robotics, architecture, artificial intelligence, etc. It's a technology buff's dream.

The MIT Museum is located in Cambridge on Massachusetts Avenue across the Longfellow Bridge from downtown Boston.

In terms of admission and opening hours, the museum is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00 and general admission is $10 ('9.5) for adults and $5 ('4.8) for children under 18.

Information of interest

  • Price: 9.5 euros for adults and 4.8 euros for children under 18 (approximate prices).
  • Opening hours: Everyday from 10:00 to 17:00
  • Location: Massachusetts avenue.

8. John F. Kennedy Library

John F. Kennedy Library| ©Fcb981
John F. Kennedy Library| ©Fcb981

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. He was one of the best known and was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. That is why Boston, the state capital, is home to the presidential library and museum of the president.

The building, located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Columbia, south of Boston, houses the president's official papers and correspondence, as well as unpublished material and even papers written in Ernest Hemingway's own handwriting, which he gave to the president as a gift.

If you're a lover of American history, this museum contains a good bit of it that you'll want to see. You can visit from Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00. General admission tickets cost $18 (about 17.2 euros at the exchange rate).

Information of interest

  • Price: 17.2 euros approx.
  • Hours: Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
  • Location: University of Massachusetts Columbia Campus

9. Institute of Contemporary Art

Institute of Contemporary Art| ©Ron Perry
Institute of Contemporary Art| ©Ron Perry

To all the art museums in Boston, of which there are many, we must add the most modern of all dedicated to contemporary art. The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) was founded in 1936, although it has gone through more than 10 different locations.

The latest and final one is a modern building on one of the piers in the South Boston Seaport District and is one of the most interesting architectural works in the city.

The museum is open every day of the week except Mondays. It is always open from 10:00 to 17:00 except on Thursdays and Fridays when it is open until 21:00.

General admission is $20 (approx. 19 euros) and children under 18 are free. If you are a lover of modern art, this is your place in Boston.

Information of interest

  • Price: 19 euros approx, under 18 free.
  • Hours: 10:00 to 17:00 and Thursdays and Fridays until 21:00.
  • Location: Harbor Shore, on the waterfront in the South Boston Seaport District north of Boston.

Buy your Go Boston Card

10. Paul Revere House Museum

Paul Revere House Museum| ©Viator
Paul Revere House Museum| ©Viator

Paul Revere is one of the most illustrious figures in Boston's history and beloved in American history in general. He was the messenger who announced the arrival of the British at the beginning of the War of Independence and played a key role as a spy in that war.

Today, his birthplace still stands and is set up as a museum to tell his story. It is the oldest building in downtown Boston, dating back to 1680, and is one of the stops on the famous Freedom Trail.

If you're on this famous Boston sightseeing route, it's easy to visit. It is open daily from 10:00 to 15:00 and prices are very affordable. Adults only pay around 6 dollars (5.75 euros approx) and children between 5 and 17 only pay the symbolic amount of 1 dollar. The house is located in North Square and is an essential visit to learn about the history of the city.

Useful information

  • Price: General admission adults approx. 5.57 euros, children 1 dollar (approx. 0.9 euros).
  • Opening times: Every day of the week from 10:00 to 17:00
  • Location: North Square

Book a tour of Boston's Freedom Trail