What feels like a million years ago, I went on a Duck Boat Tour with my mom when she came up to visit at the end of March. In fact, on that day we accepted the seller’s counter offer on the place that we just moved into. Crazy to think of how things are so different 2 months later. Anyway…
Going on a Duck Boat ride is one of the big things to do when in Boston. Well, after 8 years in Beantown I finally got my chance to do it. We had brunch at Max Brenners and then headed over to the Pru to take the tour from there. (The other options are to depart from the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium). The tour is 80 minutes long and zigs and zags it’s way through Boston, Cambridge, and Charlestown passing by close to 40 sights. And the coolest part is that it takes place on land and in the water as it uses DUKW’s from WWII.
Hey Mom! (email telling me to take this photo down in 3, 2, 1…)
Our tour guide M.C. History
We started off going down Boylston Street. Passed by Old South Church (my graduation ceremonies were held there.)
Old home to the New England Museum of Natural History (1863-1940’s)
Their version of Kilroy Was Here!
Boston Common on the right!
We passed by the State House, the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, and the Mary Dryer statue… whoa! I pass by her statue all the time and had no idea she was a martyr- hung because she was a Quaker, which was banned in the colony then.
A reflection of the old West End… doors and windows cast into the underside of the ramp from Storrow Drive to 1 North. You can see this if you take a drive on Red Auerbach Way.
splash!!!! Into the Charles River!
M.C. history let people take turns driving while we were on the water.
Longfellow bridge aka Salt and Pepper Bridge
Community sailing on the the Charles with the Citgo sign in the background.
See that tall rust building… I work there!
A 4-ton chunk of the Berlin Wall outside the North American Headquarters for EF, a travel, international language education, and cultural exchange company.
As we would our way thruough Charlestown, we passed by the Bunker Hill Monument and the USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides, the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat. I previously went on a tour of her- a cool must see.
Boston City Hall (background) is argued to be a major eyesore in Boston, even being included in the “The World’s Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments” list. (I don’t have an issue with the building so much as the plaza and adjacent T station) The steaming kettle is a leftover advertising tool for the Oriental Tea Company.
Zooming by the Mack Way for Ducklings statues in the Public Garden before was passed by Cheers, and hooked over to Newbury Street (NO Quack Zone), before our tour ended.
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I really enjoyed the Duck Boat Tour. Even through I’ve been in Boston for years and year I learned a lot about the great history of the city. It was really informative and a lot of fun. I would suggest this for people visiting the city. Shoot! I would even take it again!
The only thing that I found really annoying was that they don’t sell tickets to take the tour at the shed where they depart. I had to run like a maniac to the the kiosk in the mall (.4 mile round trip sprint) to get tickets for us, just to run back take the tour. Dumb!
The boat tour looks like a great way to tour the city. I haven’t been to Boston for years; will have to try this the next time I visit.
I’ve never been on one – Would love to take the kids sometime when they’re a bit older.
Kettle!