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in Lifestyle · January 10, 2018

Cheap Things To Do in Boston

Boston is a great city for a variety reason, but I also think it’s great because there is so much to do and there’s so much history. But whether you’re visiting the city or you live near it, it can be difficult to find things to do that aren’t super expensive. To help you sort through your options, I’ve pulled together a list of free or cheap things to do in Boston. The cheap list is broken down by price per ticket, and I’ve listed the costs for adults, students, and children. I hope you have a great time in my city, regardless of what you decide to do!

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Coming to Boston but don't want to spend a ton of money? Check out these free or cheap things to do in Boston. You'll have a great time!

Free Things To Do in Boston

Boston Public Garden & Common – These two large parks are next to each other and they’re gorgeous. The Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in the nation, and the Common is oldest city park in the nation.

Freedom Trail – This is a 2.5 mile trek through Boston that goes to various historical sites in the city. It is free to walk this on your own, but there are tours that require purchasing tickets.

New England Holocaust Memorial – This is a beautiful memorial, and if you have the time to swing by it, I suggest you do.

Boston Public Library – I love the library! It’s a gorgeous building, and tours of it are free. I’ve done the art and architecture tour, and I strongly recommend it.

Cheap Things To Do in Boston

Under $25

Skate on the Boston Common Frog Pond: $12 for adult skate rentals + $4 for renting a locker + $6 adult admissions = $22 per person – This seems like a really fun winter activity! (I am not exactly able to skate.) And if you already have your own skates, this would only be $10 per person.

Museum of Fine Arts: $25 for adults, $23 for students, free for students from participating universities – I looooove the MFA. They have such a gorgeous collection, including exhibits about New England history and impressionist art, my favorite section. Plus, wheelchairs and rollators are free, which makes it even better in my book.

Museum of Science: $20 for adults, $15 for ages 13-19, $10 for ages 4-12, free for under age 3 – The Museum of Science was always my favorite place to visit when I came to Boston when I was growing up. There are so many different exhibits, so there is sure to be something that your family will enjoy.

Fenway Park Tours: $20 for adults, $14 for children – If you like the Red Sox, you have to go on a Fenway tour at some point in time. We did this for my birthday one year and it was awesome.

Under $20

Prudential Center Skywalk: $19 for adults, $15 for students, $12 for people under 12 – This is the best view of the city because it’s the only sky-high, 360 degree vantage point.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: $15 for adults, $5 for students, free for people under 18, free if your name is Isabella (I’m serious), free if it’s your birthday – While I’ve never been, my mom and sister rave about it.

Institute of Contemporary Art: $15 for adults, $10 for students, free for students – This museum “strives to share the pleasures of reflection, inspiration, provocation, and imagination that contemporary art offers through public access to art, artists, and the creative process.”

Planning a trip to Boston or just trying to find something new to do? Check out these 23 cheap or free things to do in Boston.

Under $15

JFK Library & Museum: $14 for adults, $12 for students, $10 for people 13-17, free for children 12 and under – Not only does this museum show the life and impact of John F. Kennedy, but it also has a collection of historical materials related to mid-20th century politics.

Museum of African American History: $10 for adults, $8 for students, free for people under 18 – This museum is “dedicated to preserving, conserving and accurately interpreting the contributions of African Americans in New England from the colonial period through the 19th century.” It has the African Meeting House (the oldest black church in America) and the Abiel Smith School (the oldest public school created entirely for educating black children).

Old State House: $10 for adults, $8.50 for students, and free for people under 18 – This is “the birthplace of the American Revolution in Boston”. They two tours available, the tour of the Old State House and the Boston Massacre tour.

USS Constitution: suggested donation of $5-$10 for adults, $3-$5 for children, and $20-$25 for families – Want to see a ship that was launched in 1797 and is still in the water? It was commissioned by George Washington himself. The museum teaches the Navy’s role in war and peace.

Under $10

Old South Meeting House: $6 for adults, $5 for students, $1 for children 5-17, free for children under 5 – If you’re not familiar with this by name, I have a question for you: You know the Boston Tea Party? This is where it started.

Paul Revere House: $5 for adults, $4.5 for students, and $1 for children – Learn all about Paul Revere and his midnight ride!

Historic Old North Church: suggested $3 donation – Speaking of Paul Revere’s ride, this is the place where the lamp was that told him whether the British would come by land or sea. It’s a cool place to check out!

Swan Boats: $3.50 for adults, $2 for children up to 15, free for children under 2 – A classic Boston thing to do, especially if you have kids. This is done in the Boston Public Garden.

Price Depends

Faneuil Hall & Quincy Market – This is a great area for shopping and food. Faneuil Hall was built in 1742 and was a marketplace and meeting house. There are some shops on the first floor, a meeting room on the second floor, and a museum on the third floor. Quincy Market has sooooo many food options that it’s a great bet if you have multiple people who all like different types of food. There are also restaurants in Quincy Market, and shops in the North and South Market.

North End – If you like Italian food, you have to go to the North End. There are a ton of Italian restaurants, big and small, and I’ve never gone to a bad one.

Mike’s Pastry – You haven’t gone to Boston if you haven’t gone to Mike’s. They have amazing desserts, especially cannoli (their website’s title is literally “Home of the Cannoli”).

Cheers Boston – The famous bar where everyone knows your name!

What are your favorite things to do in Boston?

Like this post? Check out:

 Best Places To Go in Boston, What To Do in Boston This Fall, A Weekend in Boston

Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

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Having decades-long health problems sometimes mean Having decades-long health problems sometimes means coming across something in your health history that you completely forgot about⁣
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What I Bring To the Doctor _______ Video: a pa What I Bring To the Doctor 

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Video: a pan of an exam room. White text reads “What I Bring To the Doctor ” and the “1. Planner/notebook
2. List of current medications 
3. Notes on my biggest concerns and questions 
4. My kindle for wait time” 
The intro to Maroon 5’s Priceless plays. 

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1️⃣ She’s married!! ⁣
2️⃣ She married the best person in the world for her!!!!!⁣
3️⃣ I got dressed up! ⁣
4️⃣ The reality of doing fun things with chronic illness and pain is that then you have to recover from the fun things. It took … a while. One million percent worth it, but this is why I don’t do big events on a regular basis. ⁣
5️⃣ And then I had to be a person again for an appointment!⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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3️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. she's in the same red dress but now also wears a jean jacket and holds a cane and mask.⁣
4️⃣ Kate takes a selfie while giving a thumbs up. She looks tired. She's now wearing a pink flowery dress. ⁣
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On the one hand, you should always believe what pe On the one hand, you should always believe what people tell you about their bodies.⁣
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On the other hand, I’ve had so much ridiculous and unconnected health things happen that I do understand why people might not believe me.⁣
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Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how systemic autoimmune arthritis can be. But something else that surprised me was how much pain can be caused by small things.⁣
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In this picture, I was getting ready to have an MRI on my knee. It has been bothering me a fair amount the last 6+ months, so I'm trying to do something about that. ⁣
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Unsurprisingly, some of the tissue is damaged, but it's not bad. What's probably causing it to bother me so much is a teeny tiny cyst. ⁣
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Baker's cysts are a type of cyst in the knee that are generally caused by arthritis. But having a cyst in my knee means that it's causing pressure on that damaged tissue. ⁣
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The body is a weird thing, and one of these weird things is developing tiny cysts that cause a lot of pain. ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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1️⃣ Spring has sprung … ⁣
2️⃣ … Which means I am overheating! ⁣
3️⃣ A quick view of NYC on my travels ⁣
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1️⃣ A flowering tree on a street ⁣
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If I met my newly diagnosed self for coffee ... ⁣
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I tell her how things would get worse before they got better. ⁣
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I'd tell her to stop eating gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and eggs immediately (although that would have been a lot harder in 2010, more than it even is now). ⁣
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I'd tell her that she still needs to keep advocating for herself. ⁣
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I'd tell her that having a diagnosis unfortunately doesn't mean everything automatically falls into place. ⁣
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I'd tell her that she'll develop many more illnesses but her quality of life will actually get significantly better. ⁣
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I'd tell her that she would eventually have to get her right foot fixed, although she does expect that.⁣
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I'd tell her that using a cane is not a sign of failure, but a tool to make life better.⁣
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(I did a sort of tongue-in-cheek post about this a while ago and thought I'd post a more serious one).⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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The thing that surprised me the most about autoimm The thing that surprised me the most about autoimmune arthritis is how systemic it is. ⁣
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Like with most things, it's one thing to know the fact and it's something else to experience it. ⁣
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Yes, my joints are affected (a lot). ⁣
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But I've had enough serious infections thats I have to see an immunologist because we need to be aware of my antibodies and I sometimes need help recovering from illnesses. ⁣
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And, yes, I see pulmonology because of my asthma, but we also have to keep an eye out on developing rheumatoid nodules in my lungs. (So far so good!)⁣
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Not to mention that, when I developed POTS, the hospital admitted me to run every heart test to make sure that, at 26, I wasn't experiencing heart failure. ⁣
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Plus, when I developed endometriosis, I also went through a number of GI tests because one theory was that I had ulcerative colitis. ⁣
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Anyway, RA is so much more than "just" joints. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have to kill my immune system every 3 months like I am in this picture.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate takes a selfie in an infusion chair. She is a brunette white woman wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt, blue mask, and round tortoiseshell glasses.⁣⁣
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