• Boston's wharf teems with history and enriching activities.Boston's Skyline image by Ritu Jethani from Fotolia.com
  
  As one of the oldest waterfronts in the United States, the Boston wharf area is rich in history and culture. A walk along the docks in Boston's downtown and North End leads through picturesque Christopher Columbus Park to a number of buildings and hotels that have displays depicting the wharf as it was over 300 years ago. Visitors to the wharf can follow the self-guided Boston Harbor Walk or enjoy the area's attractions.
  
  

Boston Harbor Islands

• On the historic Long Wharf near Christopher Columbus Park, ferries depart for the Boston harbor islands of Spectacle and Georges. Just 15 minutes from the pier, Spectacle Island offers a natural relief from the bustling city with one of the few sandy, swimming beaches on all the islands. Spectacle also has several hiking trails, a "green" visitors center and a small marina for boaters. On Georges Island, tourists can take in the reputedly haunted, Civil War-era Fort Warren and perhaps catch a glimpse of the Lady in Black. Ranger-guided tours are available of the fort, or guests can wander the exhibits in the island's museum.
  
  

New England Aquarium

• Right next door to the Long Wharf, the New England Aquarium asks visitors to "live blue for a better planet." Sometimes known as the Center Wharf Aquarium, the facility features a rare exhibit of seadragons and educational displays on the Amazon rainforest, the Pacific Reef Community and the Gulf of Maine. The aquarium's biggest draw is the giant ocean tank filled with stingrays, eels and the museum's star sea turtle who's been with the aquarium since 1970. The aquarium also features a massive, interior penguin exhibit and the famous exterior Atlantic Harbor Seals exhibit that Hoover the talking seal once inhabited before passing away in 1985. Today, Hoover's grandson Chacoda lives in the exhibit where he's learning a few of his grandfather's phrases.
  
  

The Paul Revere House

• "On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five; Hardly a man is now alive; Who remembers that famous day and year." For tourists who remember this ride commemorated in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, a stop by Paul Revere's House may be in order. Rescued from demolition by Revere's great-grandson in 1902, the building opened to the public in 1908, making it one of the United State's oldest house museums. Aside from touring the famous abode, visitors can participate in one of the museum's many lectures and events like playing games from the 1700s. After touring the house, visitors can take a drive to retrace Paul Revere's famous midnight ride with directions provided by the museum.