Tour Description
Take a trip through the Back Bay neighborhood and learn where Back Bay started, how it evolved, and where it is today. Discover why and how the Bay was filled, and hear about the homes of its Victorian residents and their servants. Learn what made Back Bay such an engineering marvel in its time.
On this tour, explore why the filling of the bay was considered the most ambitious civil engineering achievement in nineteenth-century America, and uncover how it was a landmark event of urban planning in every sense of the term.
Tour Information
Public Tour Calendar
Private Tours
This tour can be booked online as a private tour with at least 2 weeks' advance notice. Make your booking today!
Wisdom Walks
This tour is also available in a slower-paced format designed for small groups of seniors. These tours are two hours long and include time for discussion and reflection. Thanks to support from Boston’s Age Strong Commission, BBF offers a limited number of these adapted tours free of charge to senior groups living in the City of Boston. Learn more about our Wisdom Walks tours or request this as a Wisdom Walks tour using the link below.
Starting Location
Meet your guide in the Public Garden in front of the George Washington statue facing Arlington Street.
Finding Your Guide: All guides carry an 8×11 sign that says “Boston By Foot Walking Tours.”
Nearest Accessible MBTA Station: Arlington (Green Line)
Ending Location
This tour ends in the general area of 191 Commonwealth Ave.
Nearest Accessible MBTA Station: Copley (Green Line)
