One of the best ways to experience the historic city of Boston is to walk its famous Freedom Trail. The 2.5-mile trek winds its way throughout the city and highlights some of Boston’s most noteworthy sites.

I traveled to almost all of the locations listed below and enjoyed an informational walking tour that I took at my own pace. From start to finish, the Boston Freedom Trail sites are marked by a red brick pathway and include:

• Boston Common— Travelers might get derailed from the path right from the start, as Boston Common offers a wide expanse of open green area where residents can be found lounging, playing frisbee and even protesting.

• Massachusetts State House— This copper-covered building sits regally atop Beacon Hill and is called the “new” state house despite being built in 1798. Apparently Boston’s “new” is everyone else’s “ancient.”

• Park Street Church— Park Street Church, located on Brimstone Corner, used to house grain before the American Revolution. Some believe that the street may have received its name because pastors preached "fire and brimstone," or signs of God's wrath, to their congregations or because sulfur was stored in the basement of the church.

• Granary Burying Ground—John Hancock and Samuel Adams are included in the 5,000 people buried in Granary Burying Ground. Creepy Fact of the Day: Each grave contains about 20 bodies because many could only afford one headstone per family.

• King's Chapel and Burying Ground— The King's Chapel is kept up beautifully, and you can almost hear colonists’ voices of long ago echoing in the wooden pews. Entering the chapel and the grounds is free, but donations are accepted.

• Former site of the Old Corner Bookstore— Only a placard remains of the Old Corner Bookstore, which published famous works like The Scarlett Letter and Walden. The building currently houses a jewelry store.

• Old South Meeting House— The Old South Meeting House is the legendary site where the Boston Tea Party began. Watch tea party reenactments (there is a $5 entrance fee); inside peruse the gift shop (for free).

• Old State House— The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence happened under the white arched balcony of the Old State House, Boston’s oldest surviving public building. And, every Independence Day residents flock to the site to hear it read again.

• Site of the Boston Massacre— Just a few steps away from the Old State House is a square of bricks with a star in the middle that represents the Boston Massacre site. Despite what the name conjures up, only five colonists died during the “massacre.”

• Faneuil Hall— Also known as the “Cradle of Liberty,” Faneuil Hall remains a bustling center of government for Boston.  It’s used as a place for official debates and hosts political TV shows like the “The O’Reilly Factor.”

• Paul Revere House— Sadly my daytime walk didn’t quite make it to the home of the midnight rider. I’m not sure how this modest house held all 16 of Paul Revere’s children, but you can judge for yourself, as the house has been converted into a museum.

• Old North Church—Revere is also connected to the Old North Church—he was one of its bell ringers. The church is also the place where lanterns signaled "one if by land, and two, if by sea,” if the British were invading.

• Copp's Hill Burying Ground— A few of the famous residents of Copp’s Hill Burying Ground include Cotton Mather, who was instrumental in the Salem Witch Trials and Robert Newman, who hung the lanterns (mentioned above) in the Old North Church.

• Bunker Hill Monument— At 221-feet tall, the Bunker Hill Monument has its visitors breathing heavily as they climb 294 steps to the top. The monument represents the first significant battle of the Revolution fought in 1775.

• U.S.S. Constitution— The U.S.S. Constitution holds the world record as the oldest commissioned warship afloat. The ship, or “Old Ironsides,” was commissioned by George Washington and got her name by defeating five British frigates in the War of 1812.

The eye-opening history and the perfect weather came together to offer the best of the city— Boston’s Freedom Trail.