Concord's many historic sites and buildings (map) provide worthy goals for lots of walks, drives and bike rides. There's also good shopping in Concord center and West Concord, and more than a dozen good places to dine.

For photos of Concord, see my Concord Photo Gallery.

Concord Trolley

The Concord Trolley is a free hop on-hop off bus connecting the MBTA Commuter Rail Concord Center station on Thoreau Street with the principal visitor destinations in town: Concord Visitor Center, Old North Bridge, Concord Museum & Emerson House, Orchard House & The Wayside, Meriam's Corner (Battle Road Trail) and Minute Man National Historical Park Visitor Center. Twice a day it also stops at the MBTA West Concord station. More...

Note that the trolley does not currently take you to Walden Pond, a 1.6-mile (2.6-km, 30- to 35-minute) walk along Walden Street from the station.

Concord Walking Tour

My 2-hour walking tour of Concord takes you from central Monument Square (map) on a leisurely walk through Concord for 5.2 miles (8.4 km), ending at Monument Square (map). More...

Monument Square

The center of Concord is a small rectangular park with the Colonial Inn at one end, the historic Wright Tavern at the other, and several historic churches, chief of which is the meetinghouse of the First Parish in Concord. More...

Minuteman National Historical Park

Gathered under this rubric are numerous historic sites important to Revolutionary War history, including Battle Road and Old North Bridge, as well as Concord's African-American and Abolitionist History Center. More...

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

A 10- to 15-minute walk northeast brings you to Authors Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, with the graves of many famous Concordians. More...

Authors Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, resting-place of Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and their families.

Historic Houses

Historic events and notable people fill Concord's past, and many of the houses in which events happened and people lived have been preserved.

Next to Old North Bridge is the Old Manse home to Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandparents and, for several years, to writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and his bride Sophia.

On the other side of Monument Square, along Lexington Road, are several other important houses. Ralph Waldo Emerson's House is across the street from the Concord Museum, and both are on the way to Orchard House, home to the Alcott family (including Bronson and Louisa May), and The Wayside, home to the Alcotts and the Hawthornes.

Walden Pond

Henry David Thoreau's writings and residence here made famous this beautiful glacial pond with an unusual geology and ecology less 2.5 miles (4 km) from Monument Square. You'll like it too. More...

Canoeing on the Concord River

The Concord River is a fine place for a day's paddling. Glide downriver to Old North Bridge, then paddle back up spotting birds, turtles and other denizens. You can even see where Concord's original Indian inhabitants had lived. More...

Concord Museum

A rich collection of colonial, revolutionary and early American artifacts, including Emerson's study (which used to be across the street in Emerson's house). More...

West Concord

Formerly Concord Junction, this village 2.7 miles (4.35 km) west of Concord center has a surprising number of fine food shops and eateries, as well as Concord's other train station. More...

The Wayside Inn

In neighboring Sudbury, this colonial-era inn featured in Longfellow's Tales from a Wayside Inn is still in operation, offering food, drink and lodging. On the grounds are a restored Grist Mill and the Martha-Mary Chapel, a typical New England meetinghouse (church building). More...

Nashoba Winery

Colonial Americans had trouble growing fine wine grapes, but they had no trouble growing fruit trees. This winery near Concord has revived the art of making tasty fruit wines from apples, pears, peaches, blueberries and other local orchard produce. In autumn, it's a good place to pick-your-own apples. More...

—by Tom Brosnahan

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