DISTANCE: 13 miles (20.5km) from Boston to Lexington; driving tour: 11 miles (18km)
TIME: A full day
START: National Heritage Museum, Lexington
END: Walden Pond, Concord
POINTS TO NOTE: By car you can visit all the sites in a day. Spend the night in Concord if you would like to linger at any of the museums or historic houses or hike the Battle Road Trail. Many places are closed Sunday morning and from November to March. If using public transportation, take bus 62 or 76 from Boston’s Alewife T Station to Lexington center. From spring through fall, you can take the Liberty Ride tour between Lexington and Concord (for more information, click here). Otherwise, try Yellow Cab (tel: 781-862-4600). Commuter trains from Concord Depot take about 40 minutes to reach Boston’s North Station. Salem (for more information, click here) is 23 miles (37km) east of Lexington.
Lexington
To reach the start of this tour, drive out of Boston on Route 2. Turn right at exit 57 onto Route 4-225. As you approach the center of Lexington there are two sites of historical interest on the left.
The clapboard Buckman Tavern
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library
Begin at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library 1 [map] (tel: 781-861-6559; www.srmml.org; Wed–Sat 10am–4pm; free), in a contemporary building entered on Marrett Road, which tells the story of freemasonry and fraternalism in American history.
Soon after is the 1635 Munroe Tavern 2 [map] (1332 Massachusetts Avenue; tel: 781-862-0295; www.lexingtonhistory.org; Apr–May Sat–Sun 10am–4pm, self- and guided tours), which served as headquarters for the Redcoats and as a hospital on their retreat from Concord.
Detail of the Minuteman statue on Battle Green
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Battle Green
Drive into the center and park. At one corner of the town common – a tiny triangular park known as Battle Green 3 [map] – stands the Minuteman Statue, honoring the 77 patriots who faced down the British here, igniting the American Revolution of 1775. They were called ‘Minutemen’ because they pledged to be ready to fight at a minute’s notice.
Opposite on Bedford Street is Buckman Tavern 4 [map] (1 Bedford Street; tel: 781-862-5598; www.lexingtonhistory.org; Mar–Nov daily 9.30am–4pm, tours every half-hour), a clapboard building that has been restored to its original late 17th-century appearance. After the first battle of the Revolution, wounded Minutemen were brought here for medical attention.
Lexington Visitor Center (1875 Massachusetts Avenue; tel: 781-862-1450; www.lexingtonma.gov; Apr–Nov daily 9am–5pm, Dec–Mar daily 10am–4pm) is opposite Battle Green next to Buckman Tavern.
Hancock-Clarke House
A short walk northeast from Battle Green is Hancock-Clarke House 5 [map] (36 Hancock Street; tel: 781-861-0928; www.lexingtonhistory.org; Apr–May Sat–Sun 10am–4pm). Built in 1738, this house is where, on the night of April 18, 1771, Paul Revere woke John Hancock and Samuel Adams with the warning that the British Army were coming.
Before leaving Lexington you could get some refreshments at Via Lago, see 1 [map].
The Colonial Inn
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Battle Road
From Battle Green, drive east on Massachusetts Avenue to join Route 2A which shadows Battle Road 6 [map], along which the British, harried by the Minutemen, marched towards Concord. This whole area is preserved in the Minuteman National Historical Park, through which runs an easy 5-mile (8km) walking trail (see dotted line on map). Stop off at the Minuteman Visitor Center 7 [map] (tel: 978-369-6993; www.nps.gov/mima; Apr–Oct Daily 9am–5pm; free) to see an excellent multimedia presentation about the start of the Revolution.
Concord
The handsome small town of Concord is where the second engagement of the Revolution took place. During the first half of the 19th century a handful of renowned literati also lived here.
Literary homes
On the way into Concord is The Wayside 8 [map] (455 Lexington Road; tel: 978-318-7826; www.nps.gov/mima; guided tours mid-June–Oct Mon Thu–Sat 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm). Louisa May Alcott and her family lived here, as did Nathaniel Hawthorne in later years. Most of the furnishings, though, date from the residence of Margaret Sidney, the author of the Five Little Peppers.
Down the road is delightful Orchard House 9 [map] (tel: 978-369-4118; www.louisamayalcott.org; Nov–Mar Mon–Fri 11am–3pm, Sat 10am–4.30pm Sun 1–4.30pm, Apr–Oct Mon–Sat 10am–4.30pm, Sun 1–4.30pm), the Alcott family home from 1858 to 1877, where Louisa May wrote Little Women and her father, Bronson, founded his school of philosophy.
Firing a musket
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Concord Museum to Sleepy Hollow
Where Lexington Road meets the Cambridge Turnpike (Route 2) is the splendid Concord Museum ) [map] (tel: 978-369-9763; www.concordmuseum.org; Apr–Dec Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun noon–5pm, June–Aug Sun 9am–5pm, Jan–Mar Mon–Sat 11am–4pm Sun 1–4pm). It contains one of the two lanterns that were hung in Boston’s Old North Church to warn patriots that the Redcoats were leaving for Concord and Lexington. Here, too, you can see Ralph Waldo Emerson’s study, which was transferred from the wooden Emerson House across the road. There are also artifacts associated with the author Henry Thoreau, including the writing desk from his Walden Pond abode.
Around 0.25 mile (400m) farther northwest is Monument Square ! [map], the heart of Concord. On the square’s east side is The Colonial Inn, see 2 [map].
Park your car, and from the square stroll east along Bedford Street (Route 62) to reach Sleepy Hollow Cemetery @ [map]. In an idyllic setting in the northeast corner of the cemetery lies Authors’ Ridge, the resting place of Hawthorne, the Alcotts, Emerson and Thoreau.
Old Manse
Return to Monument Square and drive north for about a mile (1.5km) on Monument Street to arrive at the Old Manse £ [map] (tel: 978-369-3909; www.thetrustees.org; mid-Mar–mid-May Sat–Sun noon–5pm, mid-May–Oct Tue–Sun noon–5pm, Nov–Dec Sat–Sun noon–5pm), set in immaculate grounds (free to visit). It was from this 1770 building that the Rev. William Emerson watched the battle in 1775 for the nearby Old North Bridge. It was later the residence of his grandson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and then the Hawthornes.
Walden Pond
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Old North Bridge
From the Old Manse, walk to the replica Old North Bridge $ [map] across the Concord River. On the other side stands the Minuteman statue, rifle in one hand, ploughshare in the other. Emerson’s immortal words ‘The shot heard ’round the world’ are inscribed on the plinth. On a hill overlooking the bridge is the North Bridge Visitor Center (tel: 978-369-6993; Apr–early Nov daily 9am–5pm).
Return to the center of Concord to find Main Streets Market and Café, see 3 [map]. If you are traveling by public transportation, Concord Depot MBTA commuter rail station is a short walk west on Thoreau Street. If driving, you could make a detour to Walden Pond % [map]. Drive south out of Concord along Walden Street, which crosses Route 2, for 1.5 miles (2.5km) to find Walden Pond (parking charge), which inspired Thoreau’s memoir Walden (1854). It takes about an hour to circle the relatively small pond on foot. The best time to visit is in the fall. During summer the pond is a popular swimming spot. A cairn of stones stands alongside the site where the writer lived in a cabin between 1845 and 1847.
Food and drink
1 Via Lago
1845 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington; tel: 781-861-6174; www.vialagocatering.com; Mon–Wed 7am–9pm, Thu–Sat 7am–9.30pm; $
Freshly made sandwiches, light meals, and other snacks are available from this convivial café within sight of Battle Green.
48 Monument Square, Concord; tel: 978-369-9200; www.concordscolonialinn.com; daily 7am–9pm; $$
Dating back to 1716, this is as traditional as it gets in Concord. Meals are available throughout the day, but book at least 48 hours in advance for their formal high tea, served Sat–Sun 3–4pm.
3 Main Streets Market and Café
42 Main Street, Concord; tel: 978-369-9948; www.mainstreetsmarketandcafe.com; Mon–Thu 6.30am–10.30pm, Fri–Sat until 11.30pm, Sun until 9pm; $
A bustling self-serve hangout during the day, or grab a delicious cake and coffee to enjoy down at Walden Pond. There is live music here most evenings.