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The Freedom Trail begins at the Boston Common Information Kiosk, where you can obtain a free guide or rent a handheld self-guided audio tour complete with sound effects and anecdotes for $15, $12 for each additional adult and $10 for children. Free 90-minute, park ranger-guided tours depart from the Boston National Historical Park Visitors Center at the corner of State and Devonshire streets, Mon–Fri at 2 p.m., Sat & Sun at 10 & 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. First come, first serve. Arrive 30 minutes prior to tour. Call 617-242-5642 for more information. The number accompanying each site listed below refers to the site’s location as shown on Panorama’s map.
 

Boston Common (1)
Set aside in 1634 as a military training field and grazing pasture, the Common is the oldest public park in America. The park served as quarters for British as well as Colonial troops, and later housed Civil War regiments. The British Army set out for the start of the Revolutionary War from what is now Park Square.

The State House (2)
Beacon Street, top of Beacon Hill facing Boston Common, 617-727-3676. Open Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–4 p.m., except holidays. Guided tours Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m. The famous golden dome of the State House marks the government seat of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The cornerstone was laid by Samuel Adams, and the building stands on land bought from John Hancock. The red brick portion was designed by the legendary architect Charles Bulfinch.

Park Street Church (3)
Corner of Park and Tremont streets, 617-523-3383. Sunday services at 8:30 & 11 a.m. and 4 & 6 p.m. Morning services are traditional, evening services are contemporary. Built in 1809, this church was described by Henry James as “the most interesting mass of brick and mortar in America.”

Old Granary Burying Ground (4)
Tremont Street next to Park Street Church, 617-635-7389. Open daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. This historic cemetery, formerly the town granary, is the final resting place of John Hancock, Paul Revere, Robert Treat Paine, Samuel Adams, Peter Faneuil, and the victims of the Boston Massacre. A stone inscribed “Mary Goose” (a.k.a. Elizabeth Goose) allegedly marks the grave of Mother Goose.

King’s Chapel and Burying Ground (5)
Tremont and School streets, 617-227-2155. Services: Sun at 11 a.m., Wed at 12:15 p.m. Burying Ground open daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Tours: Mon and Thu–Sat 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Tue and Wed 1:30–4:30 p.m. Visitors are reminded that King’s Chapel is a house of worship. The chapel was established in 1687 as the first Anglican congregation in Boston. The second chapel, built in 1754, became the first Unitarian church in America after the Revolution.

Site of the first public school and Ben Franklin’s statue (6)
On School Street, marked by a column and commemorative plaque. On April 13, 1635, the town voted to establish the first public school in the country (the forerunner of the Boston Latin School). Nearby is Benjamin Franklin’s statue, built in 1856, the first portrait-statue erected in the United States.

Site of the Old Corner Bookstore (7)
School and Washington streets, 617-367-4000. Constructed as an apothecary in 1718, the ground floor was later used as a bookstore that became the center of literary Boston and the meeting place of such notables as Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau.

Old South Meeting House (8)
310 Washington St., 617-482-6439. Open daily 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission: $5; students & seniors $4; children (6–18) $1; children (under 6) free. This building housed many town meetings, the most famous of which triggered the Boston Tea Party. Permanent exhibit: Voices of Protest.