9 Best Sights in The Seaport, Boston

You know you'll have found the country's second-oldest children's museum when you find the giant Hood milk bottle structure. This museum has always been ahead of the curve with creative hands-on exhibits, cultural diversity, and problem-solving. Some of the most popular stops are also the simplest, like the bubble-making machinery and the two-story climbing maze. At the Japanese House, you're invited to take off your shoes and step inside a Kyoto silk merchant's home. Children can dig, climb, and build at the Construction Zone. In the toddler PlaySpace, children under three can run free in a safe environment. There's also a full schedule of special exhibits, festivals, and performances, and Children's Wharf out front is a beautiful place to walk or rest.

Stretching for 43 continuous miles, Boston Harborwalk is a walking trail that skirts the twists and turns of the coast from Charlestown down to the city of Quincy. In the Seaport District specifically, the Harborwalk journeys along Fort Point Channel, around Fan Pier, up Seaport Boulevard, and out and around the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. Along the way, pedestrians can see art exhibits, stationary viewfinders, open green spaces, and incredible Boston Harbor views. Marked signs point the way, and maps can be found online.

Harpoon Brewery holds Massachusetts's first-ever brewing permit, obtained in 1986 by three college friends who wanted to create a fresh beer culture in their hometown. Today, Harpoon's Boston brewery features 25-minute guided tours and tastings for beer lovers from around the globe. Harpoon's on-site beer hall pours a rotating lineup of limited-edition and pilot beers, non-brand beers, and ciders—try a flight of UFOs or Clown Shoes. It also serves handmade pretzels and pizza.

It's hard to say what's more cutting-edge: the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston's cantilevered building or the works that reside within. The events calendar is studded with changing, thematic exhibitions by the contemporary art world's brightest talents. Visitors will also see some curated pieces from the ICA's permanent collection, including some by Robert Mapplethorpe, Yayoi Kusama, and Louise Bourgeois. Live programming, from film festivals to talks to outdoor concerts, take place regularly. Don't miss the ICA Store on the ground level, where you can pick up an inventive trinket of your own.

Stop, rest awhile, and have some fun. That's the purpose of The Lawn on D, a free-to-all open green space that features a plethora of games like bocce, corn hole, Ping-Pong, and pickleball, and chairs for lounging. In warmer weather, you can often catch a live concert or film screening here, or a public art installation. A concession stand makes sure visitors are well fed. The only catch? You can't bring Fido.

Surrounded by water on three sides, Black Falcon Pier is a stop on Boston's Harborwalk that seekers of amazing views won't want to miss. There's not much to do out this way at the end of the Seaport District except gaze at the fishing vessels, barges, and cruise ships navigating the inner harbor. However, lots of visitors find themselves out this way as Black Falcon Pier is home to Flynn Cruiseport Boston, where major cruise ships dock daily with Boston as a port of call.

This historic district, which was designated by the City of Boston in 2009, features the city's largest, most cohesive grouping of late-19th- and early-20th-century industrial loft buildings. The Boston Wharf Company owned and developed the area from 1836 to 1882. Today, the small, walkable, revitalized area sits between the Fort Point Channel and the Seaport District and is home to working artist studios, bars and restaurants, and some small businesses.

Believe it or not, the public is welcomed in for a visit to this architectural wonder and federal house of justice. Galleries across the courthouse feature rotating exhibitions on a variety of themes, from maritime history to the judicial system. Don't miss Ellsworth Kelly's permanent installation The Boston Panels in the courthouse's rotunda. It's not uncommon to see a tall ship or a charter vessel docked outside, in season. Book a free tour through the website.

Opened in late 2024, this whimsical entrée into the Seaport District has locals and visitors alike licking their lips. Check out 14 immersive, interactive exhibitions across two floors inspired by the eponymous dessert, including a sprinkle pool, a carnival, and the Hall of Freezers. It should go without saying that there are samples of the real thing—as many as you can eat, in fact.