We meet at the heart of the city — the exact site of Boston's founding — directly across from Faneuil Hall. While the group gathers, your guide introduces the neighborhoods you'll explore using original historical maps, giving you a clear picture of the city before it became the city. By the time we set off, you'll already understand something most visitors never do: why the American Revolution didn't JUST happen in Boston, but why it could ONLY have happened here.

Who were the Pilgrims? Who were the Puritans? What were they running from, and what were they running toward? At Boston's oldest burying ground, we uncover the people who first settled Massachusetts Bay and the convictions they carried with them.

The most famous names of the Revolution are buried here: Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams. But who were they, really, before history made them legends? Standing at their tombs, we introduce the Sons of Liberty: the organizers, the agitators, and the firebrands who turned popular frustration into coordinated resistance.

Some of the most beautiful architecture in the city is the background of a discussion about the historic obstacles to and inherent challenges of democracy

In front of a statue of Boston's most famous son, we explore the story of America's first public school — and what it tells us about a society that believed education and self-governance went hand in hand. Benjamin Franklin never led an army or signed a declaration on a battlefield, but the ideas he embodied helped make revolution thinkable.

Iconic brick pathway connecting 16 historic landmarks. Whereas most tours just blindly follow this path geographically from one direction to the other, we weave around the city visiting the sights in chronological order.

At the Old South Meeting House — one of colonial Boston's most important gathering places — we pause at the nearby Irish Famine Memorial to explore the fears and grievances that unified ordinary colonists. What does it actually feel like to live under the thumb of an empire, and what would drive ordinary people to risk everything to resist it?

One of the oldest commercial buildings in America, a quiet landmark with a surprisingly rich literary legacy.

The oldest surviving public building in America and the nerve center of colonial Massachusetts politics. This is where the debate between British authority and American rights played out in real time — in speeches, in arguments, and eventually in the street directly outside its doors.

March 5, 1770. Five colonists killed by British soldiers on this exact spot. Was it a massacre or a riot? Were the soldiers provoked? What did it mean — and who decided what it meant?

"The Cradle of Liberty." The place where ordinary Bostonians debated, argued, and eventually demanded their rights loud enough for a king to hear. We pause here for a break — and on days when the Great Hall is open, guests are welcome to step inside one of the most significant public spaces in American history.

A 15-minute pause in the heart of the marketplace. Rest your feet, grab a coffee or a snack, and use the facilities.

In America's oldest residential neighborhood, we explore the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston, which is home to the man who is both more and less than his legend.

Iconic photo opportunity

One if by land, two if by sea. The signal from the steeple of Old North Church set Paul Revere's ride in motion — and that ride set the war in motion. With the church as our backdrop, we tell the full story of the night of April 18, 1775, and why what happened in the next 24 hours made independence inevitable.

Boston's second-oldest burying ground, visible from the street as we make our way toward a terrace with beautiful waterfront views.

We do a complete recreation of the Battle of Bunker Hill - the battle that made a local rebellion a colonial war for independence.

The oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world. "Old Ironsides" was undefeated in battle. It was not part of the American Revolution, and we only see it from the other side of Boston Harbor, but we do provide an overview of its history and provide tips on how best to experience it.

We finish in the heart of "Little Italy" the historic North End only blocks from Boston's Best pizza, clam chowder, cannoli, seafood, and Italian. There are public restrooms, bicycles, public transportation and parking in close proximity, and we will be a less than ten-minute walk from our original meeting point.