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Several city tours depart from the Visitor Information Center on Boston Common (see Information Kiosks), including Old Town Trolley Tours, which offers narrated sightseeing in old-fashioned trolley buses, as well as theme tours (beer, ghosts, chocolate, etc). These trolley tours permit re-boarding all day, making them easy transit to major sites.

Boston Harbor Cruises depart from Long Wharf and offer a variety of tours. “Boston by Sea” is a scripted dramatic history of the harbor aboard a cruise boat from Rowes Wharf, sponsored by the Boston History Collaborative. Tours of the Charles River depart from the Esplanade on traditional small cruise boats or by gondola.

Boston Duck Tours, especially popular with families (see Boston Duck Tours), use open-air amphibious vehicles that tour the streets and navigate the Charles River.

Enthusiastic volunteers share their love of the city on guided walks. Tour options include Heart of the Freedom Trail, Victorian Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, North End, and Boston Underground.

Boston National Historic Park rangers run daily tours of the Freedom Trail (see The Freedom Trail), Black Heritage Trail (see Beacon Hill), and Charlestown Navy Yard (see Charlestown Navy Yard). Rangers at Fairsted, Frederick Law Olmsted’s National Historic site, run tours of the home and offices as well as portions of the Emerald Necklace (see Boston Common & Public Garden).

Department of Conservation and Recreation rangers lead walking tours along the river and give occasional tours of the Charles River Locks and Dam (see Charles River Locks & Dam).

Pedestrian advocacy group WalkBoston sponsors tours and walking events.

The New England Aquarium operates whale watches with trained marine biologists. Ships carrying approximately 200–400 passengers make the 3.5–5 hour roundtrip to the Stellwagen Bank whale feeding grounds. Tours run from late May to October.

Tours through Chinatown and the North End focus on cuisine. Mein Dish tours Chinatown on weekends visiting food markets, a herbalist, and other shops and ending with a dim sum lunch. L’Arte Di Cucinare runs culinary tours of the North End (see Paul Revere House).

Narrated bicycle tours start on Boston Common and include the Freedom Trail (see The Freedom Trail), Harvard Square, the Emerald Necklace (see Boston Common & Public Garden), and South Boston (see Boston South). Two-hour tours run Monday through Saturday, with four-hour tours on Sunday.