In the center of historic Boston, near the wharf where you can board a ferry to the North End, sit two buildings that you should visit while you are there. The first is Faneuil Hall and the second is Quincy Market, both are part of the historic area known as the Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall is a colonial era structure that is operated by the National Park Service. It served as a central gathering place for the people of Boston and many revolutionary meetings were held on the second floor while the first floor served as a market and the upper floor as the armory.

These days the upper floor is still like it was in the 1700’s, you can tour it and hear an NPS interpreter give some of the history of what happened there. The first floor serves as the visitor center and you can get lots of information here about the Freedom Trail and the historical landmarks of Boston. The upper floor is now the armory museum.

Quincy Market

In the 1800’s when the market activities of Boston exceeded the capacity of Faneuil Hall’s lower floor a new building across the square was constructed. That building became Quincy Market and it is a great place to go for lunch.

The whole area around Fanuiel Hall and Quincy Market is still a market with people selling just about everything. The main floor of Quincy Market though is basically a food court. There is almost every kind of food imaginable there, it is rather like being at a food truck rally, but the shops are stalls instead of trucks and they always stay in the same place.

Quincy Market is a great place to get food, but it does tend to be very crowded. The aisle between the shops is too narrow for the number of people who are looking for food, so we found it hard to get back to a place once you passed it, but I did eventually make it back to the hot dog stand I was looking for. There is limited seating on the main floor and the upper floor, but we ate outside because that is where we found a place to sit down. Bathrooms are located on the bottom floor.

Outside

The area around Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market is still an active market, so you can stroll around and go into shops of all kinds. We always find looking around markets to be a fun way to pass some time and look for magnets or Christmas ornaments.

The square between Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market is often occupied by street performs, so it is fun to take a moment to watch them. We were visiting in late summer, so I don’t know what it is like here in the winter, but it was pretty happening place when it was hot outside.

Sum Up

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are part of the must see tour of Boston. They are important historically and give you a chance to get food and shop. It is free to visit, so your only costs are what you choose to eat and buy while you are there.