Charlestown
Charlestown is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and the oldest settlement in modern-day Boston.
Charlestown is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and the oldest settlement in modern-day Boston. Also called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins the Mystic River and Boston Harbor waterways. Charlestown was laid out in 1629 by engineer Thomas Graves, one of its earliest settlers, during the reign of Charles I of England. It was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Charlestown
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1861 to advance "useful knowledge", the university has played a significant role in the development of many areas of technology and science.
2.8 km · private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, founded 1861 · Wikipedia - 02TD Garden
TD Garden is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located directly above the MBTA's North Station, and it replaced the original Boston Garden upon opening in 1995.
1 km · multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States · Wikipedia - 03Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world.
3.7 km · independent college of contemporary music in Boston, Massachusetts, United States · Wikipedia - 04Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth, meaning all adult residents of the state are entitled to borrowing and research privileges, and the library receives state funding.
1.8 km · library system in Boston, Massachusetts · Wikipedia - 05John Hancock Tower
The John Hancock Tower, colloquially known as the Hancock, is a 60-story, 790-foot skyscraper in the Back Bay neighborhood of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The pinnacle height is 852 feet.
3 km · skyscraper in Boston, United States · Wikipedia - 06Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the tenth-largest university in metropolitan Boston.
1.9 km · private university located in Boston, Massachusetts · Wikipedia - 07Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by 30 years.
1.1 km · indoor arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA between 1928-1997 · Wikipedia - 08Boston Common
The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States.
2.3 km · public park in Boston, Massachusetts, USA · Wikipedia - 09Faneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall is a historic building in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Opened in 1742, the building was designed by artist John Smibert as a marketplace and meeting hall.
1.8 km · historic building in Boston, Massachusetts, United States · Wikipedia - 10Prudential Tower
The Prudential Tower is an international style skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston in surface/roof height, behind the John Hancock Tower.
3.5 km · skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts, United States · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Getting to Charlestown
- Airports
- Boston Logan (BOS), 5 km · Rhode Island T. F. Green (PVD), 78 km · Bradley (BDL), 142 km
- Stations
- South Station, 2.7 km · North Station, 1 km
- Providence/Warwick → Charlestown41 km · quickest by road, 1h 6m · $4–5
- Portland → Charlestown4075 km · quickest by air, 8h 48m · $430–670
- Hartford → Charlestown97 km · quickest by road, 2h 18m · $9–13
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Charlestown
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Charlestown. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get aroundRenting a canoe, or other form of boat is a good way to see the true beauty of Rhode Island.
- Go nextTake a ferry there for the day to see the National Wildlife Refuge, take a tour, swim in the ocean, or just wander through the shops.
From Wikivoyage: Charlestown (Rhode Island), CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-02.
- 01259 km
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If you know how people move in Charlestown – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Charlestown
Charlestown is 2 km from Boston, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- North Endneighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States1.4 km
- East Bostonneighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States2.1 km
- Back Bayneighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts3 km
- Chinatownneighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States2.8 km
- Beacon Hillneighborhood in Boston1.9 km