Boston

Tourism

Boston has a combination of attractions that make it one of the nation's most popular tourist destinations. More than ten million people visit the city annually. In 1995 Boston attracted 970,000 foreign visitors, ranking tenth among the nation's cities in this category. Boston's most famous tourist attractions are its historic sites, many of which can be found on the Freedom Trail, covering some four kilometers (two-and-a-half miles) of downtown Boston. It begins at the Boston Common, a large park in the heart of the city, which also offers the legendary Swan Boat rides on an artificial pond. Among the historic sites included on the trail are the State House, the Park Street Church, the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the Bunker Hill Monument. The Black Heritage Trail, another popular walking tour, celebrates Boston's history as a center of the abolitionist movement and includes stops on the Underground Railroad and abolitionist meeting places. Other popular Boston tourist sites include the restored Faneuil Hall marketplace; the redeveloped waterfront; the 226-meter-high (740-foot-high) observation deck of the John Hancock Building, Boston's tallest structure; and Harvard Square in Cambridge.

Convention facilities in Boston include the John B. Hynes Veterans Convention Center, the World Trade Center, and the Bayside Exposition Center.