Take a "Revolutionary" tour of Boston

As the capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, Boston has long been regarded as one of the USA's premier cultural and historical cities. And whether or not you're a history buff, every tourist that visits Boston is made aware of its colonial history and its involvement in the American Revolutionary War. But why not make this historical aspect the focus of your city break in Boston? By exploring the city's main revolutionary sights, you'll definitely be able to get a more authentic feel for America's legacy of independence.

Start your journey at Boston Harbor, the site of the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party saw the American colonists destroy many crates of tea bricks on ships owned by the British East India Company in Boston Harbor, on December 16th 1773. The incident is widely held up by historians as a main trigger of the American Revolution; but one of its more immediate effects was in bringing about the Boston Port Act, which shut down the port until the East India Company was compensated for its loss.

Today, Boston Harbor has been transformed from a bustling commercial port to a leading ferry and leisure area of the city. You'll also be able to visit the Boston Tea Party Museum, located on the Fort Point Channel, which houses a full-scale replica of one of the ships involved in the event. Additionally, Boston Harbor is surrounded by a number of islands, many of which are part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Once you've visited Boston Harbour, take a trip down the Freedom Trail. Marked by a red brick path that runs through downtown Boston, the Freedom Trail takes visitors to sixteen significant historical sites in the city. These include some of Boston's best-known monuments to the American Revolutionary War such as the Bunker Hill Monument, which was erected to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the Revolution's most famous battles.

Paul Revere House is also part of Boston's Freedom Trail, and is the colonial home of the legendary Paul Revere. Revere is famous for his "midnight ride", in which he played the role of a messenger in the battles of Lexington and Concord before serving as an officer during the Revolutionary War, and his home is one of Boston's most visited monuments to the heroes of the American Revolution.

The compact nature of Boston city centre means that you'll be able to find many places to stay in downtown Boston that are just a stone's throw away from its main sights. For instance, locate a hotel in Boston that's in the heart of its historic district and you'll be able to see all of Boston's revolutionary heritage monuments in one weekend - so you won't even have to take a long vacation in order to pay homage to the city that played a crucial role in laying down the foundations of the modern United States.

Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist