Access Massachusetts
The Boston skyline over the river from the Longfellow Bridge, an old lamp in the foreground
QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT LENGTH

The Journal

Visitor questions about Massachusetts, answered at length: getting in from Logan, the Vineyard ferry, walking the Freedom Trail, Patriots' Day, Rockport's Motif Number 1 and the truth about Plymouth Rock.

Photo: Ethan Long, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Each one a single question, answered in fullI

The articles

  1. 01How do you get from Logan Airport to downtown Boston?
    Getting Here

    How do you get from Logan Airport to downtown Boston?

    Logan sits in East Boston, across the harbor from downtown, so every route into the city crosses the water. The Silver Line bus to South Station, the Blue Line from Airport station, the Logan Express, the boats and the car through the Ted Williams Tunnel, and which suits where you are staying.

  2. 02How do you get to Martha's Vineyard, and do you need a car?
    Ferries & Islands

    How do you get to Martha's Vineyard, and do you need a car?

    Martha's Vineyard has no bridge: you arrive by ferry or small plane. Which harbor to sail from, the one ferry line that takes cars, why most visitors leave the car behind, and how to get round the island by bus, bicycle and on foot.

  3. 03How long does it take to walk the Freedom Trail?
    The Freedom Trail

    How long does it take to walk the Freedom Trail?

    The Freedom Trail is only two and a half miles long, but its sixteen stops can fill a day. How long the walk takes with and without the buildings, where to break it in two, which stops need the most time, and how to get back from Charlestown at the end.

  4. 04Is Plymouth Rock really where the Pilgrims landed?
    Plymouth

    Is Plymouth Rock really where the Pilgrims landed?

    Plymouth Rock is honored as the Pilgrims' landing place of December 1620, but neither of the colony's own chroniclers mentions it, and the claim was first made in 1741. How the legend began, how the rock was split, moved and rejoined, and what to see in Plymouth when you go.

  5. 05What happens on Patriots' Day in Massachusetts?
    Lexington, Concord and the Old North Bridge

    What happens on Patriots' Day in Massachusetts?

    Patriots' Day marks the first battles of the Revolution on April 19, 1775. On the third Monday in April, Lexington and Concord reenact them at dawn, riders retrace Paul Revere's ride, the Boston Marathon runs from Hopkinton to Boylston Street and the Red Sox play at home. How to see it, and how to plan around it.

  6. 06Why is Motif Number 1 the most painted building in America?
    Cape Ann: Rockport and Gloucester

    Why is Motif Number 1 the most painted building in America?

    A plain red fishing shack on Bradley Wharf in Rockport is called the most often-painted building in America. Why painters chose it, how it got its name, why the one you see is a replica built after the Blizzard of 1978, and how to see it and the rest of Cape Ann's painters' coast.

Written one at a timeII

Next on the list

  • The Freedom TrailWhere are Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock buried?
  • The Freedom TrailWhat happened at the Old South Meeting House before the Tea Party?
  • Boston Common and the Public GardenHow do the Swan Boats in the Public Garden work?
  • Boston Common and the Public GardenWhy is Make Way for Ducklings in the Public Garden?
  • Faneuil Hall and Quincy MarketWhy is Faneuil Hall called the Cradle of Liberty?
  • USS Constitution and Bunker HillHow did USS Constitution get the name Old Ironsides?
  • USS Constitution and Bunker HillWhy is the Bunker Hill Monument not on Bunker Hill?
  • Lexington, Concord and the Old North BridgeWhat was the shot heard round the world?
  • Walden PondWhat did Thoreau actually do at Walden Pond?
  • Harvard YardWhy do visitors rub the foot of the John Harvard statue?