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    Beacon Hill and Back Bay
    King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

    United States

    Beacon Hill and Back Bay

    City

    Beacon Hill and Back Bay are the two classic residential neighborhoods just west of Boston Common: early 19th-century brick row houses on the hill, and the brownstones and boulevards of the Back Bay below it along the Charles River.

    by Felix Gillen

    1. Home
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    5. United States
    7. Boston
    9. Beacon Hill and Back Bay
    Beacon Hill and Back Bay are the two classic residential neighborhoods just west of Boston Common: early 19th-century brick row houses on the hill, and the brownstones and boulevards of the Back Bay below it along the Charles River. Come for the architecture, from the gold dome of the State House to Trinity Church and the library on Copley Square, and for an afternoon split between Charles Street and Newbury Street.It's a good 20-minute walk from the State House to Copley Square, best done through the Public Garden and down the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. One day covers both neighborhoods with two or three building tours. Newbury Street gets packed at rush hour and on weekends; Beacon Hill stays quieter.

    Sights in Beacon Hill and Back Bay

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Public Garden and Swan Boats
    Park

    1Public Garden and Swan Boats

    Founded in 1837 as a botanical garden, the Public Garden sits just west of Boston Common, with a lagoon, weeping willows and the "Make Way for Ducklings" bronzes based on Robert McCloskey's children's book. From mid-April to early September the Swan Boats, pedal-powered boats with a swan at the stern, make 10- to 15-minute loops around the lagoon (2026: adults $4.75, kids $3.25; tickets at the dock, cash or card). They don't run in rain, high wind or extreme heat. Closest T stop: Arlington (Green Line).
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    Massachusetts State House
    Attraction

    2Massachusetts State House

    Charles Bulfinch designed the State House at 24 Beacon Street, finished in 1798. Paul Revere's company sheathed the wooden dome in copper in 1802; it has been gilded since 1874, most recently in 1997 with 23-karat gold leaf. Free tours cover Doric Hall and the House and Senate chambers; check times on the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website. Boston Common is across the street, and Park Street station (Red and Green lines) is a five-minute walk.
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    Trinity Church
    Church

    3Trinity Church

    Henry Hobson Richardson built this Episcopal church on Copley Square between 1872 and 1877, and it became the model for what's now called Richardsonian Romanesque. Much of the richly colored interior painting is by John La Farge. In 2026 it's open for visits Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Wednesday through Saturday from January to March); admission is $10, free for kids under 14, with an audio or guided tour. Sundays are for worship. Closest T stop: Copley (Green Line).
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    Boston Public Library, Central Library
    Historic Landmark

    4Boston Public Library, Central Library

    The library's Renaissance-style McKim Building on Copley Square (700 Boylston Street) is free to walk into. Head up the grand staircase past the Puvis de Chavannes murals to Bates Hall, the long main reading room, then down to the quiet arcaded courtyard. The Sargent murals are on the top floor. Free art and architecture tours run regularly; check times at bpl.org. Copley (Green Line) is right outside.
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    African Meeting House and Black Heritage Trail
    Museum

    5African Meeting House and Black Heritage Trail

    The meeting house on Smith Court is considered the oldest surviving Black church building in the country and was a hub of the abolitionist movement. It's now part of the Museum of African American History (entrance at 46 Joy Street; admission with a talk in the meeting house $15, $8 for youth and seniors). It's also the starting point of the roughly 1.5-mile Black Heritage Trail across the north slope of Beacon Hill. During the 2026 season (May 23 to September 27), National Park Service rangers lead walks Wednesday through Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; otherwise use the NPS app.
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    Restaurants in Beacon Hill and Back Bay

    1

    Select Oyster Bar

    Michael Serpa's small oyster and seafood bar sits a few steps below street level in a townhouse at 50 Gloucester Street, just off Newbury Street. It has been in the Michelin Guide since the first Boston edition in 2025. Come for the raw bar and a glass of white wine; the few tables go fast at night, so reserve or grab a bar seat early.
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    2

    Mooncusser

    A seafood restaurant at 304 Stuart Street, on the line between Back Bay and Bay Village, with a menu built around the New England catch. It has been in the Michelin Guide since 2025. This is a place for a quiet, upscale dinner rather than a quick bite; reserve ahead. Closest T stops: Arlington (Green Line) and Back Bay (Orange Line).
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    3

    La Padrona

    A large Italian restaurant at 38 Trinity Place, a short walk from Copley Square. It has been in the Michelin Guide since the first Boston edition in 2025. Book ahead for weekend nights; it's an easy dinner after an afternoon at Trinity Church and the library.
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    Food and Drink

    Oysters at the raw bar

    Oysters at the raw bar

    In the Back Bay, pull up to a marble bar for raw oysters from Massachusetts and Maine with lemon and mignonette, and a glass of white wine.
    Brunch on Newbury Street

    Brunch on Newbury Street

    On weekends, patios and cafés between Arlington Street and Massachusetts Avenue fill up by 10 a.m.; without a reservation, expect a wait.

    History and Culture

    Until the late 1700s Beacon Hill was pastureland with three summits. After Charles Bulfinch put up the new State House there in 1798, the hill was cut down and built up with Federal-style row houses that drew Boston's wealthy families. The north slope, meanwhile, was home to the city's largest Black community, and the African Meeting House became an organizing center for abolitionists.The Back Bay really was a bay of the Charles River until the mid-1800s. Over several decades it was filled in and laid out on a grid modeled on Parisian boulevards, with Commonwealth Avenue as its grand promenade. Copley Square got Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library, two buildings that made architectural history.Today Beacon Hill is one of the priciest neighborhoods in the country, and Newbury Street is Boston's best-known shopping street. Every April the Boston Marathon finishes on Boylston Street.

    Nightlife

    1

    The Sevens Ale House

    A plain neighborhood pub at 77 Charles Street in Beacon Hill, with corner booths and Guinness and Bass on tap. Time Out counts it among Boston's best no-frills bars, and it makes a good break from sightseeing. Charles/MGH (Red Line) is five minutes away.
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    2

    Bukowski Tavern

    A cramped, loud beer bar at 50 Dalton Street behind the Prudential Center, with a long beer list, fair prices and food until late. Time Out says it's cash only, so come prepared. Handy after a game at nearby Fenway or a night on Boylston Street; Hynes Convention Center (Green Line).
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    Getting There and Around

    By TBeacon Hill: Park Street (Red and Green lines) for the State House and the south slope; Charles/MGH (Red Line) for Charles Street and the north slope with the African Meeting House.Back Bay: Arlington, Copley and Hynes Convention Center (Green Line) along Boylston Street; Back Bay station (Orange Line, Commuter Rail and Amtrak) on the southern edge.Walking is the way to get between the two: from the State House across the Common and the Public Garden to the Commonwealth Avenue Mall and on to Copley Square, about 1.2 miles. Beacon Hill sidewalks are narrow, often brick and steep; with a stroller, Charles Street is the easier route.Driving and parkingBeacon Hill is almost entirely resident permit parking, and visitor spaces have a two-hour limit. The Back Bay has meters and larger parking garages, such as those under the Prudential Center and Copley Place.By RVAn RV won't get you far here. Beacon Hill's lanes are too tight for big rigs and the Back Bay garages are too low. Storrow Drive along the river is closed to trucks, buses, moving vans and other oversized vehicles, according to the state's DCR, and some overpasses clear only 9 feet. Leave the RV outside the city and take the Commuter Rail, which stops at Back Bay (see the Boston page).

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    Nearby

    Boston

    Boston

    Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, was founded by English Puritans in 1630 and is one of the oldest cities in the country. The draw is that you can follow the story of the American Revolution along a single route: the Freedom Trail runs about 2.5 miles from Boston Common through the North End to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.Add to that brick neighborhoods like Beacon Hill and the Italian North End, the Museum of Fine Arts, the university city of Cambridge across the Charles River, and Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark still in use in Major League Baseball.Three neighborhoods have their own pages: the North End with the Paul Revere House and Old North Church, Beacon Hill and Back Bay between the State House and Copley Square, and Cambridge with Harvard Square and MIT.Boston is compact and easy to explore on foot; for longer hops, take the T. Salem, Concord and Plymouth make easy day trips, and Amtrak gets you to New York in about four hours.
    North End

    North End

    The North End is Boston's oldest residential neighborhood, a tightly packed wedge of streets between the harbor and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, just north of Faneuil Hall. People come for two things: the Paul Revere House and Old North Church, where the story of the 1775 midnight ride played out, and the Italian restaurants, bakeries and cafés lining Hanover and Salem streets.The whole neighborhood covers well under half a square mile, so you can walk it in an hour. Give it half a day if you want to tour a museum and the church and sit down for a meal. Between 6 and 8 p.m. and on summer weekends, restaurants and bakeries get packed, and many of the small places don't take reservations.
    Cambridge: Harvard Square and MIT

    Cambridge: Harvard Square and MIT

    Cambridge is the separate university city on the north bank of the Charles River, directly across from Boston and ten minutes away on the Red Line. Go for the Harvard and MIT museums, the bookstores and folk clubs around Harvard Square, and some of the best restaurants in Greater Boston between Central Square and Kendall Square.Harvard Square and MIT sit just under two miles apart, linked by Massachusetts Avenue and three Red Line stops. Two museums, a walk across campus and dinner make a full day. Hotels and restaurants get especially busy in the first weeks of September and around commencement in late May.
    Massachusetts

    Massachusetts

    Massachusetts is the Northeastern U.S. state where American history began multiple times: In 1620, the Mayflower Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, and on April 19, 1775, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired in Lexington and Concord. Travelers on the East Coast come here for Boston, the dune coast of Cape Cod, and the many historical sites packed into a small area.Distances are short: Salem, Concord, and Plymouth are easily reached from Boston as a day trip, while Cape Cod, with its long Atlantic beaches, is better suited for an overnight stay. In between lie small towns with white wooden churches, lobster shacks, and lighthouses.The 1692 Salem Witch Trials, the Pilgrim Colony, and the Revolution continue to shape the state's narrative. At the same time, Massachusetts, with Harvard and the greater Boston area, is one of the country's most important university and research centers.
    Harlem

    Harlem

    Harlem is the cultural capital of Black America. During the Great Migration, starting in the 1910s, tens of thousands of African Americans moved up from the South, and by 1930 they made up about 70 percent of the neighborhood. The Harlem Renaissance followed in the 1920s: Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston were writing, and Duke Ellington was playing the Cotton Club, which at the time admitted white audiences only.The main drag is 125th Street, home to the Apollo Theater, where Amateur Night has run since 1934, and since November 2025 to the new Studio Museum in Harlem building. Farther north are blocks of brownstones and churches, including Abyssinian Baptist Church, whose pastor Adam Clayton Powell Jr. became New York City's first Black member of Congress. In St. Nicholas Park stands Hamilton Grange, Alexander Hamilton's country house.Harlem isn't a museum district; it's a neighborhood people live in. Eat soul food, catch jazz at night and watch the neighborhood dress up for church on Sunday. If you'd like to attend a service, check the congregation's website for visitor guidelines first.It's liveliest on an Apollo Amateur Night or on a Sunday with gospel brunch. Give it at least half a day.

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