Massachusetts Attractions

Massachusetts has no shortage of fun things to do. From museums, to amusement parks to historic houses, there’s something for everyone in Massachusetts.

The following is a list of popular tourist attractions in Massachusetts:

Agawam:

Six Flags New England: an amusement park that features thrill rides, shows and activities

Agawam Axe House: an indoor axe throwing range that features 8 throwing lanes and a VIP lounge

Amesbury:

Lowell?s Boat Shop and Museum: a historic 18^th century boat shop and museum

Amesbury Carriage Museum: a museum that features a collection of 18^th and 19^th century carriages

Macy-Colby House: a historic 18^th century house

Amherst:

Emily Dickinson Museum: a historic house museum where poet Emily Dickinson lived

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art: a museum about artwork in children’s picture books

Beneski Museum of Natural History: a museum about fossils and minerals

Mead Art Museum: a fine art museum at Amherst College

Barnstable:

Coast Guard Heritage Museum: a museum dedicated to the history of the Coast Guard

Berkley:

Dighton Rock Museum: a small museum that houses the historic Dighton Rock, which is a boulder covered in mysterious petroglyphs

Beverly:

John Hale Farm: a historic 17^th century house where Reverend John Hale lived during the Salem Witch Trials

John Balch House: a historic 17^th century house that is considered one of the oldest wood-frame houses in America

John Cabot House: a historic 18^th century house

Brewster:

Cape Cod Museum of Natural History: a small museum about natural history and archeology

Crosby Mansion: a historic 19^th century mansion

Boston:

Dreamland Wax Museum: a wax museum featuring wax figures of celebrities and historical figures

The Mapparium: a three-story stained glass globe built in 1935

John F. Kennedy Library and Museum: a library and museum dedicated to John F. Kennedy

Boston Children’s Museum: a museum dedicated to educating children

Museum of Fine Arts: a fine art museum established in 1870

The Institute of Contemporary Art: an art museum featuring modern art

New England Aquarium: a public aquarium featuring 20,000 animals and fish

Museum of African American History: a history museum about African-Americans in Boston in the 19^th century

Museum of Science: a science museum and indoor zoo

Boston Tea Party Museum: a history museum about the Boston Tea Party

Old State House Museum: a history museum about the Old State House and the American Revolution in Boston

Commonwealth Museum: a free museum about the history of Massachusetts

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: an art museum featuring a collection of European, Asian and American art

Paul Revere House: a historic 17^th century house where Paul Revere lived during the American Revolution

Fenway Park: a historic baseball park and home of the Boston Red Sox

Warren Anatomical Museum: a historical medical museum that features medical specimens from Harvard Medical School

Brookline:

Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site: a historic 19^th century house where landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted lived

International Paper Museum: a museum dedicated to the history of papermaking

Larz Anderson Auto Museum: a car museum housed in a historic 19^th century carriage house

John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site: a historic early 20^th century house where John F. Kennedy was born and raised

Cambridge:

Cooper-Frost-Austin House: a historic 17^th century house that is the oldest house in Cambridge

Harvard Art Museums: a series of three art museums, the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler Museums, owned and operated by Harvard University

Hart Nautical Museum: a gallery in the MIT Museum at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Harvard Museum of Natural History: a natural history museum owned and operated by Harvard Museum of Natural History

Longfellow House ? Washington?s Headquarters National Historic Site: a historic 18^th century house

Carver:

Edaville Family Theme Park: an amusement park and heritage railroad

King Richard?s Faire: a renaissance fair held every fall

Chatham:

Marconi-RCA Wireless Museum: a historic short-wave radio station and museum

Chatham Railroad Museum: a historic 19^th century train station and locomotive museum

Concord:

Old Manse: a historic 18^th century mansion where Concord writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson lived during the 19^th century

Orchard House: a historic 17^th century house where Louisa May Alcott lived when she wrote Little Women in the 19^th century

Concord Museum: a museum about Concord’s history

Ralph Waldo Emerson House: a historic 19^th century house where Ralph Waldo Emerson lived

Danvers:

Rebecca Nurse Homestead: a historic 17^th century house where Rebecca Nurse lived during the Salem Witch Trials

Glen Magna Farms: a historic 19^th century country estate

Judge Samuel Holten House: a historic 17^th century house where Sarah Houlten lived during the Salem Witch Trials and where Judge Samuel Holten lived in the 18^th century

Dedham:

Fairbanks House: a historic 17^th century house that is considered the oldest surviving timber-frame house in North America

Deerfield:

Historic Deerfield: a museum about the history of Deerfield

Indian House Children?s Museum: an interactive history museum for children

Memorial Hall Museum: a history museum established in 1880, making it one of New England’s oldest history museums

Dennis:

Cape Cod Museum of Art: an art museum that features artwork from Cape Cod artists

Duxbury:

Alden House Historic Site: a historic 17^th century house where Mayflower pilgrims John and Priscilla Alden lived

Gershom Bradford House: a historic 19^th century house where Captain Gershom Bradford lived

King Caesar House: a historic 19^th century Federal-style house

Essex:

Cogswell?s Grant: a historic 18^th century working farm and farmhouse

Essex Shipbuilding Museum: a maritime museum about the history of the local shipbuilding industry

Lafayette-Durfee House: a historic 18^th century house owned by the Durfee family and frequented by Marquis de Lafayatte

Fall River:

Maritime Museum: a maritime museum at Battleship Cove that features memorabilia, artifacts, and ship models

Falmouth:

Highfield Hall and Gardens: a historic 19^th century house and estate

Fitchburg:

Fitchburg Art Museum: an art museum featuring artwork by New England artists

Gloucester:

Hammond Castle: a castle built by American inventor John Hays Hammond out of pieces of historic European castles

Sargent House Museum: a historic 18^th century Federal-style mansion where feminist writer and philosopher Judith Sargent Murray lived

Cape Ann Museum: an art museum that features artwork by local artists

Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House: a historic turn-of-the-century mansion

Groton:

Bancroft?s Castle: a stone tower built in 1906 by General William Bancroft

Hancock:

Hancock Shaker Village: a former Shaker community and historic site

Harvard:

Fruitlands Museum: a history museum about the former Utopian community that existed in the 19^th century

Haverhill:

Winnekinni Castle: a historic 19^th century castle built by local chemist Dr. James R. Nichols in the 1870s

Buttonwoods Museum: a museum featuring historic furniture, ceramics, glassware, quilts, dolls and toys as well as Native American artifacts

John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead: a historic 17^th century farmhouse were poet John Greenleaf Whittier was later born and raised in the 19^th century

Holyoke:

International Volleyball Hall of Fame: a sports museum dedicated to the players, coaches, officials, and leaders who have made significant contributions to the game of volleyball

Children?s Museum at Holyoke: a children’s museum featuring art and exhibits related to science and daily life

Hyannis:

John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum: a historical museum dedicated to the legacy of John F. Kennedy

Cape Cod Central Railroad: a heritage railroad line

Ipswich:

Whipple House: a historic 17^th century house

Wolf Hollow: a wolf sanctuary where visitors can watch gray wolves in their natural environment

Castle Hill estate: a historic turn-of-the-century mansion on a sprawling country estate

Heard House Museum: a historic 18^th century house

Indian Orchard:

Titanic Museum: a maritime museum dedicated to the history of the RMS Titanic

Lenox:

Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio: a historic house museum and art studio of American Abstract Artists George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen

The Mount: a historic turn-of-the-century house where writer Edith Warton lived in the early 20^th century

Ventford Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum: a historic Jacobean-style mansion built in 1893

Leominster:

Frances H and Jonathan Drake House: a historic 19^th century house that served as a stop on the Underground Railroad

Lexington:

Buckman Tavern: a historic 18^th century tavern where the local militia gathered before the Battle of Lexington

Hancock-Clarke House: a historic 18^th century house where John Hancock and Samuel Adams were staying when Paul Revere arrived to warn them the regulars were coming

Munroe Tavern: a historic 18^th century tavern where British soldiers gathered after the Battle of Lexington

Lowell:

Whistler House Museum of Art: a historic 19^th century house house where artist James McNeil Whistler was born

American Textile History Museum: a museum dedicated to the history of the textile industry in America

National Streetcar Museum: a museum and heritage railway dedicated to the history of the streetcar

Lynn:

Grand Army of the Republic Museum: a history museum about the Grand Army of the Republic which was a veterans organization for Civil War veterans during the 19^th century

Marblehead:

Abbot Hall: a town hall and history museum dedicated local history

Marblehead Museum: a museum dedicated to local history

Jeremiah Lee Mansion: a historic 18^th century mansion built by Colonel Jeremiah Lee

Martha’s Vineyard:

Cottage Museum: a museum dedicated to the history of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association and its famous gingerbread cottages

Mashpee:

Old Indian Meetinghouse: a historic 17^th century meetinghouse for Native Americans who had converted to Christianity

Cape Cod Children?s Museum: a museum that features interactive play-&-learn exhibits designed for 6-month-olds to 8-year-olds.

Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum: a cultural museum housed in one of the oldest remaining homesteads in Mashpee and features a range of exhibits on the history of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians

Milton:

Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory & Science Center: a weather observatory tower and science center

Blue Hills Trailside Museum: an interpretive center for the Blue Hills Reservation

Eustis Estate Museum and Study: a historic late 19^th century mansion

Forbes House Museum: a historic early 19^th century mansion

Milton Art Museum: an art museum that features a collection of fine art, limited prints, sculpture, photography, and Asian art

Monson:

Keep Homestead Museum: a historic farmhouse that features one of the largest collections of antique and vintage buttons in the northeast

Nantucket:

Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum: a maritime museum dedicated to the history of shipwrecks off the Nantucket coast and in Nantucket Sound

Fire Hose Cart House: a history museum that features exhibits and artifacts of firefighting on Nantucket

Mitchell House: a historic 19^th century house where astronomer Maria Mitchell lived

African American Meetinghouse: a historic 19^th century meetinghouse for the African-American community in Boston

Hadwen House: a historic 19^th century mansion

New Bedford:

New Bedford Whaling Museum: a maritime museum dedicated to the history of the whaling industry

New Bedford Art Museum: an art museum featuring local artists

Fort Taber / Fort Rodman Military Museum: a history museum dedicated to the history of Fort Taber and Fort Rodman

Newbury:

Coffin House: a historic 17^th century house

Dole-Little House: a historic 18^th century house

Newburyport:

Custom House Maritime Museum: a maritime museum housed in a historic custom house

Cushing House Museum and Garden: a historic 19^th century mansion

Museum of Old Newbury: a history museum about local history

Newton:

Jackson Homestead and Museum: a historic 19^th century mansion that served as a stop on the Underground Railroad

North Oxford:

Clara Barton Birthplace Museum: a historic 19^th century house where founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, was born

North Adams:

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art: an art museum that features contemporary art

Norton:

Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame and Museum: a museum and hall of fame honoring notable golfers

Orleans:

French Cable Station Museum: a historic 19^th century cable station and museum that features displays of Atlantic undersea telegraphic cables, instruments, maps and memorabilia.

Peabody:

Elizabeth Cassidy Folk Art Museum: an art museum featuring local folk art

General Gideon Foster House: a historic 19^th century house

George Peabody House Museum: a historic 18^th century house where entrepreneur, philanthropist George Peabody was born and raised during the 19^th century

Nathaniel Felton Houses: a pair of historic 17^th century houses where Nathaniel Felton Sr and Jr lived during the Salem Witch Trials

Pittsfield:

Herman Melville’s Arrowhead: a historic 18^th century house where author Herman Melville lived during the 19^th century

Berkshire Museum: a museum about art, natural history and ancient civilization

Plymouth:

Plimouth Plantation: a living history museum about historic Plymouth colony

Plymouth Rock: a glacial erratic rock where the Mayflower pilgrims where reported to have landed in 1620

Pilgrim Hall Museum: a history museum about the pilgrims and Plymouth colony

1749 Courthouse and Museum: a historic 18^th century courthouse that is believed to be the oldest wooden courthouse in America

Harlow Old Fort House: a historic 17^th century house where Plymouth colonist Sergeant William Harlow lived

1809 Hedge House Museum: a historic early 19^th century house

Jabez Howland House: a historic 17^th century house where Plymouth colonists Jabez Howland House

Plimoth Grist Mill: a replica of Plymouth colony’s 17^th century grist mill

Mayflower House Museum: a historic 18^th century house operated by the Mayflower Society

Richard Sparrow House: a historic 17^th century house where Plymouth colonist Richard Sparrow lived and is considered the oldest surviving house in Plymouth

1749 Spooner House: a historic 18^th century house

National Monument to the Forefathers: a historic 19^th century monument dedicated to the Mayflower pilgrims

Pilgrim Mothers Monument: a monument dedicated to the female Mayflower pilgrims

Provincetown:

Provincetown Museum: a museum featuring exhibits on the region’s cultural & maritime history

Pilgrim Monument: a monument commemorating where the Pilgrims first landed in 1620

Rockport:

The Paper House: a house constructed entirely out of newspaper

Old Castle: a historic 18^th century house

Salem:

Salem Wax Museum: a wax museum featuring life-size figures depicting scenes from local history

Salem Witch Museum: a history museum dedicated to the Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch House: a historic 17^th century house where Judge Jonathan Corwin lived during the Salem Witch Trials

The Witch Dungeon: a museum about the Salem Witch Trials that features a replica of the original Salem witch jail

House of Seven Gables: a historic 17^th century mansion that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel of the same name

Peabody Essex Museum: a museum that features historical and cultural art, including American, Asian, Oceanic, African art and Asian export art, and two large libraries with over 400,000 books and manuscripts

Pioneer Village: a history museum that features a replica of Salem Village in 1630

New England Pirate Museum: a museum dedicated to the history of pirates in New England

Crowninshield-Bentley House: a historic 18^th century house

Gardner-Pingree House: a historic 19^th century house

Gedney House: a historic 17^th century house that served as a tavern during the Salem Witch Trials

John Ward House: a historic 17^th century house that was one of the first colonial-era houses to opened as a house museum

Ropes Mansion: a historic 18^th century house where scenes from the 1993 film Hocus Pocus were filmed

Salisbury:

Joe’s Playland arcade: a 100-year-old seaside arcade featuring classic games like ski ball and pinball as well as modern video games

Carefree Arcade: a seaside arcade with classic and modern video games

Salisbury Historical Society Museum: a historic 19^th century house that features historical maps, flags, documents, furniture, and Civil War memorabilia.

Sandwich:

Sandwich Glass Museum: a glass museum in Sandwich, Massachusetts, featuring a collection of rare glass

Heritage Museums and Gardens: a public garden that features a collection of specialty gardens and water features

Hoxie House: a historic 17^th century house that is considered one of the oldest houses on Cape Cod and one of the oldest surviving houses in Massachusetts

Sheffield:

Colonel John Ashley House: a historic 18^th century house where a slaved named Elizabeth ?Mum Bett? Freeman worked before successfully suing the state for her freedom in 1781

Shrewsbury:

General Artemas Ward House: a historic 18^th century house where Revolutionary War general Artemas Ward lived

Somerville:

Museum of Bad Art: an art museum dedicated to art that is considered ?too bad to be ignored?

Southbridge:

Optical Heritage Museum: a museum that features a collection of microscopes, Lensometers, multifocal and antique spectacles

South Hadley:

Nash Dino Land: a quarry where you can view dinosaur tracks and other fossils

Springfield:

Doctor Seuss Museum: a museum dedicated to Springfield native Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: a sports museum and hall of fame dedicated

George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum: an art museum that features the collections of George Walter Vincent Smith

Titanic Museum: a small history museum dedicated to the history of the Titanic

Sturbridge:

Old Sturbridge Village: a living history museum which recreates life in rural New England during the 1790s through 1830s

Stockbridge:

Chesterwood Estate & Museum: a historic 19^th century house where American sculptor Daniel Chester French lived

Merwin House: a historic 19^th century house that features furnishings of the late 19th century, with period antiques and items collected during world travel

Mission House: a historic 18^th century house built by a Christian missionary to the local Mahicans

Naumkeag: a historic 19^th century 44-room mansion

Norman Rockwell Museum: an art museum dedicated to the art of Norman Rockwell

Waltham:

Charles River Museum of Industry: a history museum about the American Industrial Revolution

Girl Scout Museum: a history museum dedicated to the history of the Girl Scouts

Gore Place: a historic 19^th century country house

Watertown:

Edmund Fowle House and Museum: a historic 18^th century house that is considered to be the oldest surviving house in Watertown

Wenham:

Wenham Museum: a history museum that features a large collection of antiques

Weymouth:

Abigail Adams Birthplace: a historic 17^th century house where Abigail Adams was born in the 18^th century

Jason Holbrook Homestead: a historic 18^th century house that is now home to the Weymouth Historical Society

Worcester:

Worcester Art Museum: an art museum that features over 38,000 works of art

EcoTarium: a science and nature museum

Yarmouth:

Edward Gorey House: a house where author and illustrator Edward Gorey lived which now serves as a museum celebrating his life and work

For more info on Massachusetts, check out our Massachusetts travel guide.

Sources: ?200 Things to Do Throughout Massachusetts.? Boston.com, Aug 10. 2017, www.boston.com/travel/travel/2017/08/10/200-things-to-do-in-massachusetts