Things to do with kids in downtown Boston
Coming in from the suburbs, the easiest plan is to cluster your stops in one area and take the T: around the Common and Public Garden there are the swan boats, the Frog Pond, the duckling statues and the Central Library at Copley; on the waterfront, the aquarium, the Greenway carousel, Columbus Park and the ferry to Charlestown; in the Seaport, the Children's Museum plus Martin's Park.
The toddler version: Green Line to Arlington, climb the ducklings, ride the swan boats, splash in the Frog Pond, and retreat to the library at Copley if it rains. The big-kid version: the giant tank at the aquarium, then the $2.40 ferry to board the USS Constitution. To run around, the riverside Esplanade with sailboats, or Castle Island with planes overhead. In winter, Blink! at Faneuil Hall and skating at the Frog Pond make an evening.
- 16 places
- 9 free
- 16 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
16 places
Drive times from Downtown Boston
Charles River Esplanade and Charlesbank Playground
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Easiest is the Red Line to Charles/MGH and a 3-minute walk; by car use the MGH garage (expensive) or the temporary Esplanade spaces under Storrow Dr
Boston Common: Tadpole Playground and Frog Pond
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Green Line to Park St puts you right there; by car use the Boston Common underground garage (from about $20)
Public Garden Swan Boats
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Green Line to Arlington puts you right there; by car use the Boston Common underground garage
Boston Public Garden and the Make Way for Ducklings statues
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Green Line to Arlington puts you right there; by car use the Boston Common underground garage (from about $20)
Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium and a 2-minute walk; by car use the Harbor Garage or Parcel 7 garage (discounted with a Haymarket purchase)
Martin's Park accessible playground (Seaport)
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Red Line to South Station and a 10-minute walk; by car use the Farnsworth St garage by the Children's Museum or the Stillings St garage
Rose Kennedy Greenway carousel and fountains
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium or Orange/Green Line to Haymarket and a 3-minute walk; by car use the Parcel 7 garage
Ferry to Charlestown and the USS Constitution
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Board at Long Wharf (by the Blue Line Aquarium station); by car use the Harbor Garage or Parcel 7
New England Aquarium
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium puts you right there; by car use the Harbor Garage (aquarium discount, still about $20+)
Boston Children's Museum
5.0Boston · 5 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$ · Parking: Red Line to South Station and a 10-minute walk; by car use the Farnsworth St garage (museum discount)
Museum of Science
4.0Boston · 5 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Garage under the museum (about $25+); or Green Line to Science Park/West End, right at the door
Cambridge Public Library main branch children's room
5.0Cambridge · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Small garage under the library (time-limited, often full), street parking on Broadway; or Red Line to Harvard and a 10-minute walk
Boston Public Library Central Library children's library (Copley)
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Green Line to Copley puts you right there; by car use the Prudential or Copley Place garages (expensive)
Castle Island and Pleasure Bay loop
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Large free lot at the end of William J. Day Blvd, fills by midday on summer weekends
Harvard Museum of Natural History
4.0Cambridge · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Street parking on Oxford St or the Harvard campus visitor garage (weekend discount); or Red Line to Harvard and a 10-minute walk
USS Constitution Museum
4.0Boston · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Pay lot inside the Navy Yard (about $15 on weekends); better to take the MBTA F4 ferry from Long Wharf or the Orange Line to North Station and walk 15 minutes
💡 Good to know
- Downtown parking starts around $30 a day; the Green Line D or the Red Line is far easier, and kids under 12 ride free.
- Game days, the marathon and parades make downtown much busier; glance at the calendar before you go. The Parcel 7 garage at Haymarket is discounted with a Haymarket purchase.