Boston
Boston trip planning tool
Pick your month and your pace to get a recommended stay and a shape for the days.
-
When are you going?
Light crowds and prices. Cold temperatures.
November fit for Boston
Value in November80/100 OK sightseeing without the queues
Longer is better on every axis
A day here in November
-
Morning 09:00–12:00
Outdoors, before the heat and the coaches
Freedom Trail · Boston Public Garden · John Hancock Tower
-
Midday 12:30–16:00
Indoors, while the sun is high
New England Aquarium · Wilbur Theatre · Old North Church
-
Evening 16:30–19:30
Streets and squares in the late light
Faneuil Hall · Quincy Market
-
-
What's your travel pace?
-
Your recommended stay
4 days
Balanced pace
Why this duration?
- Covers the 6 headline sights
Best destinations by month
September to mid-October is the best time to be in Boston, and it is not close. The summer humidity has gone, the students are back so the city is fully alive, and the light is good. It is also when foliage season begins to fill rooms, so book.
Late May to June is the other window: warm without the July humidity, long evenings, everything open. Avoid graduation weekends in May, when hotels across Boston and Cambridge fill at once.
July and August are warm and humid — July averages 74.1°F (23.4°C) — with about 13 days a year above 90°F. The compensation is that the students are away, so the city is emptier than at any other warm time.
April is variable and dominated by Patriots' Day and the Marathon. The week before is a genuine value window; the weekend itself is not.
November to March is cold: January averages 29.9°F (−1.2°C), with about 25 days below freezing and occasional heavy snow. Late January and February are the cheapest and emptiest weeks of the year, and the museums, the library and the bars are all indoors.
Boston gets over 2,600 hours of sunshine a year, so "cold" rarely means "grey".