Skip to main content navigation

Fierce and Feminine: Great Women of Boston

Meet some of the great women in Boston history who made the city and the nation what they are today

Painting of a woman in ballet pose

Tour Description

From the 1600s to the mid-1900s, women's groundbreaking contributions to Boston were often under-recognized – or even overlooked. On this walking tour, learn who some of these Bostonians were and what greatness they achieved against the backdrop of the city's downtown neighborhood. Their own backgrounds were mixed. Some came from wealth that they put to various uses; some were self-made women; and some were wives and mothers whose identities didn't stop at that point. Their passions and professions ranged widely from creative survival in the Puritan era when women were limited in ways to earn a living to medicine, nutrition, education, art, literature, philanthropy, gender rights, and reforms of the 20th century. Overall, this tour acknowledges the giant steps these women took in making Boston and America what they are today.

Tour Information

tour duration
DURATION

90 minutes

tour distance
DISTANCE

0.94 mile

tour terrain level 1
TERRAIN

mostly flat surfaces and little to no inclines

Public Tour Calendar

Private Tours

This tour can be scheduled as a private tour with advance notice. Call 617.367.2345 or use our private tour webform to learn more.

Starting Location

Meet your guide at the corner of Tremont & Court Streets, in front of the entrance to the Government Center MBTA station.

Finding Your Guide: All guides carry an 8×11 sign that says “Boston By Foot Walking Tours.”

Nearest Accessible MBTA Station: Government Center (Blue & Green Lines)

Ending Location

This tour ends in the general area of Boston Common.

Nearest Accessible MBTA Station: Park Street (Green & Red Lines)

“Our tour guide was fabulous. She was informative, interesting, and very knowledgeable. Despite the rain she went out of her way to make sure that we were comfortable all along the way.”
— Roslindale, MA