The 10 best museums in Boston
Ten museums inside the city limits make this list, from the art collections on the Fenway to a Navy yard in Charlestown and a steam pumping station in Chestnut Hill. The list is for visitors with two or three days in Boston and for locals who have not been since a school field trip. Every entry gives the address, the current hours, what a ticket costs and the nearest MBTA stop.
The list favors places that can fill at least two hours and that sit near a T station. Adult tickets run from free at the Waterworks to $33 at the Museum of Science. Several of the ten have a free night or free admission for kids, noted in each entry.
How we chose
The ten are listed alphabetically, not ranked. Each one is inside the City of Boston, open year-round and reachable on the T, and each publishes its own hours and prices, which is where the details below come from. The mix is deliberate: two art museums, one contemporary art museum, two built for children and families, three that tell a piece of the city’s history, one on its sports teams and one on the engineering that brought the city its water. Museums in Cambridge and Salem are left for their own lists.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Boston Children’s Museum
Parents with kids under 10 are the audience at Boston Children’s Museum, which sits on the Fort Point Channel a short, flat walk from South Station. Exhibits are sorted by age, starting with a space for babies and toddlers up to 3 and running to rooms aimed at ages 5 to 10. The museum says advance tickets are highly recommended, and buying online means walking straight in. One thing to know before budgeting: adults and children pay the same price. Drivers should pull a paper ticket at the garage gate, because the museum does not validate app or QR code parking.
Hours: Wednesday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Tuesday. Opens at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month.
Address: 308 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210 (Fort Point)
Why they made the list
- Admission is $24 for adults and for children ages 1 to 15, and infants under 12 months are free.
- The Red Line and the Silver Line’s SL1, SL2 and SL3 routes all stop at South Station.
- Parking is validated at four garages, including the Stillings Street Garage and the Farnsworth Street Garage.
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Gibson House Museum
Three generations of one family and dozens of servants lived at 137 Beacon Street between 1859 and 1954, and the Gibson House Museum keeps the Back Bay rowhouse as a record of how both groups lived. The only way in is a guided tour. Tours last 45 minutes and move through four floors of the house. The museum has no elevator and no air conditioning, and the tour includes several flights of stairs, so plan accordingly. Active-service military families get in free year-round. Check the museum’s website for availability before heading over, since each tour has a set start time.
Hours: Guided tours Thursday through Sunday at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Thursday times can vary.
Address: 137 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116 (Back Bay, between Arlington and Berkeley streets)
Why they made the list
- Arlington station on the Green Line is about a nine-minute walk, by the museum’s estimate.
- The nearest Bluebikes dock is at Mugar Way and Beacon Street, two minutes away.
- Private group and class tours can be arranged by email at least two weeks ahead.
Institute of Contemporary Art
Anyone 18 or younger gets in free, every day, which makes the Institute of Contemporary Art one of the cheaper family outings in the Seaport. The building stands on the harbor’s edge, a short walk from two Silver Line stops. Thursday is the day to plan around. Admission is free for everyone from 5 to 9 p.m., though the museum requires advance tickets for those hours. On the first Friday of each month the galleries close at 5 p.m. for a ticketed event for visitors 21 and older. In summer the museum also runs the ICA Watershed, a free art space across the harbor in East Boston.
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (5 p.m. on the first Friday of the month). Closed Monday.
Address: 25 Harbor Shore Drive, Boston, MA 02210 (Seaport)
Why they made the list
- Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors 65 and older and $15 for students.
- The Silver Line Waterfront from South Station stops at Courthouse and World Trade Center, both a short walk away.
- Admission is free on six holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth and Labor Day.
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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Thieves robbed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the early hours of March 18, 1990, and the theft is still part of the visit. So is the building, which was modeled on a Venetian palazzo and wraps around a courtyard that gets new plant displays through the year. Tickets are timed, and the museum warns that they can sell out and may not be available at the door. Thursday nights from 5 to 9 p.m. are free, with tickets released two days ahead. Anyone named Isabella gets in free for life with a reservation made by phone at least 24 hours in advance.
Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Tuesday.
Address: 25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115 (Fenway)
Why they made the list
- Admission is $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and $15 for students, and visitors 17 and under are free.
- The Museum of Fine Arts is within walking distance, so the two fit in one day.
- Free days include Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day, with tickets opening two weeks ahead.
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Metropolitan Waterworks Museum
Admission is free at the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, a former pumping station across Beacon Street from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. The draw is the Great Engines Hall, which holds three historic steam-powered pumping engines. Walk-in visitors are welcome five days a week. Anyone who wants to get closer can book a Special Access Tour through the events calendar; those tours reach the basement pumps and the upper levels of the engines. The street address is Boston, though the neighborhood is Chestnut Hill. Parking is tight, with about 20 spaces set aside for museum visitors, so the Green Line is the easier way to arrive.
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Address: 2450 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02467 (Chestnut Hill)
Why they made the list
- Three Green Line stops are within a 10-minute walk: Chestnut Hill Avenue on the B branch, Cleveland Circle on the C and Reservoir on the D.
- The museum opened to the public in 2011, according to Boston University.
- An accessible ramp entrance is on the west side of the building, off the Beacon Street driveway.
Museum of African American History
Two brick buildings on the north slope of Beacon Hill make up the Boston campus of the Museum of African American History: the African Meeting House and the Abiel Smith School. Both date to the early 1800s, and both are stops on the Black Heritage Trail, which follows the history of Boston’s Black community in the 1800s. General admission runs Thursday through Sunday, because the museum sets aside Tuesday and Wednesday for field trips and private tours. Reserve a ticket for a specific date online. For a longer afternoon, National Park Service rangers lead free walking tours of the trail.
Hours: General admission Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Address: 46 Joy Street, Boston, MA 02114 (Beacon Hill)
Why they made the list
- The museum owns both the African Meeting House and the Abiel Smith School, according to the National Park Service.
- Admission is paid at the museum store inside the Abiel Smith School.
- The African Meeting House has a ramp and an elevator.
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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Late hours set this one apart. On Thursday and Friday the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston stays open until 10 p.m., five hours past the usual close, which makes an after-work visit possible. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Everyone needs a ticket, including children who get in free, so reserve one for each person in the group. Getting there without a car is simple: the Green Line’s E branch has a stop named for the museum on Huntington Avenue. Drivers reach the parking areas from Museum Road. The Gardner is a short walk away for anyone pairing the two.
Hours: Saturday through Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Tuesday.
Address: 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 (Fenway)
Why they made the list
- Adult admission is $30, youths ages 7 to 17 pay $14, and children 6 and under are free.
- Ruggles, on the Orange Line and the commuter rail, is the other nearby station.
- The 39 bus stops on Huntington Avenue at Ruggles Street.
- The museum closes on Patriots’ Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
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Museum of Science
Open every day at 9 a.m., an hour before most of the museums on this list, the Museum of Science sells its main ticket as Exhibit Halls admission. The planetarium, the Mugar Omni Theater and the 4-D films cost $6 extra each when added to that ticket, and the theaters keep running until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Timed tickets are no longer required, so visitors only choose a date. The garage fills on weekends and school vacation weeks; the museum suggests arriving before 10:30 a.m. or after 3 p.m.
Hours: Exhibit Halls open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closes at 2 p.m. on the day before Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Address: 1 Science Park, Boston, MA 02114
Why they made the list
- Exhibit Halls admission is $33 for adults, $29 for seniors 60 and older and $28 for children ages 3 to 11.
- Science Park station on the Green Line’s D and E branches is across O’Brien Highway from the entrance.
- A ticket for the planetarium or the Omni theater alone costs $10 for adults.
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The Sports Museum
This museum has no building of its own. The Sports Museum runs through TD Garden, mostly on Levels 5 and 6, with about a half-mile of exhibits on the Bruins, the Celtics and the region’s other teams. Visits are guided and take about an hour, starting at the museum’s information desk outside the Pro Shop at North Station. A tour normally ends in Boston Bruins Heritage Hall, the team’s own history exhibit. The catch is the calendar. Hours shift from day to day around games, concerts and holidays at the arena, so confirm the schedule before making the trip.
Hours: Check current hours before you go. The schedule changes daily with TD Garden events.
Address: TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston, MA 02114 (above North Station)
Why they made the list
- North Station, directly below the arena, is on the Green and Orange lines and the commuter rail.
- Views into the arena are part of the guided tour.
- Locker rooms and other behind-the-scenes areas are not included.
USS Constitution Museum
Admission works on the honor system at the USS Constitution Museum, in Building 22 of the Charlestown Navy Yard. The suggested standard donation is $15 a person, and the museum lists a reduced tier that runs from free to $10. The museum and the ship are separate operations. USS Constitution, launched in 1797, is an active-duty Navy vessel berthed across the pier, free to board and open fewer days than the museum. The Navy sets its own security rules, so check them before bringing a group. The museum has no street address; for GPS, use the Nautica Parking Garage.
Hours: Museum open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ship is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Address: Building 22, Charlestown Navy Yard, Charlestown, MA 02129. Nautica Parking Garage: 88 Constitution Road.
Why they made the list
- The museum was established in 1972, according to the National Park Service.
- Boarding the ship is free and first come, first served.
- The museum is a nonprofit that relies on donations to stay open.
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