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Cliff Calderwood is a travel writer living in rural Massachusetts. He writes extensively about New England where he has lived for the last 27 years with his family and dogs.

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Boston Movie Tours Takes You Behind-the-Scenes

June 23rd, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

film clapboard ImageBoston has long been popular with Hollywood as a location for movies and TV shows. Most know that the TV show Cheers was based on a Boston Bar, and Good Will Hunting and The Departed were both filmed on the streets of the Hub.

Beantown has become a friendly city towards movie makers as the Governor and Mayor’s office both realize it provides free advertising and encourages more visitors - well, at least those that don’t believe Jack Nicholson is preparing to “blow them away” if they cross his path!

Capitalizing on a growing trend in major cities you can now take a Boston Movie Tour where you get to visit major movie and TV show locations throughout the city. The Boston Movie Tour company operates two tours that leave from the Boston Commons Visitor Center on Tremont Street and next to the Park Street MBTA stop.

The company offers a 90-minute walking tour and a 2.5 hours bus tour.

Boston Movie Mile Walking Tour:

This 90-minute walking tour covers about 1-mile through the backstreets of Boston’s famous Beacon Hill district, and you’ll get to see 30 filming locations which includes the bench where Robin Williams and Matt Damon had their famous chat in Good Will Hunting, locations used by Ally McBeal and Boston Legal, and Blown Away - a 1994 action movie that accidentally blew thousands of windows out in east Boston.

You’ll also get to see locations from A Civil Action, Amistad, The Verdict, Thomas Crown Affair, Spartan, What’s The Worst That Could Happen? and many more. The tour ends at the place where everybody knows your name - or Cheers, or its real name - The Bull & Finch Pub.

Even if you’re not a movie freak, the tour takes you to some of Boston’s historic buildings and residential areas like the Massachusetts State House and the Athenaeum, and the scenic streets of Beacon Hill. Tickets are priced at $20 and the tour is offered May through October weekends only at 2:00pm, except June - September when you can take it Friday - Monday at 2:00pm.

Theater-on-Wheels Movie Tour:

If you prefer your tours in comfort then you can opt for the longer bus tour which lasts for about 2.5 hours and visits many more Boston locations. Supplementary films are shown on overhanging TV screens on the luxury coach and an expert guide will narrate the trip and keep you entertained and fascinated by anecdotal stories.

While many of the same movies as on the walking tour are discussed you’ll get to visit more locations from the sets, and the coach will stop at strategic places so you can get out and stretch your legs and see the locations for yourself.

The tour offers a great orientation of the city for non-movie buffs as guides will point out places of interest in the city and neighborhoods. Tickets for this tour are priced at $35 and the tour is offered May - September at weekends at 11:00am, except June - August when you can take it Thursday - Sunday at 11:00am, and 2:30pm & 4:30pm on selected days.

Reservations for either tours are strongly recommended and can be made online at http://www.BostonMovieTours.net or by calling 866-668-4345. Tickets can also be purchased at the Boston Commons Visitor Center.

For lots more suggestions and ideas for things to do in Boston check out my Boston Vacation page by clicking here.

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Cliff Calderwood
Editor
New England Travel Online Magazine

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    Comment by Eddie on 10 August 2008:

    There’s so many movies being filmed in Boston right now. I read on the Boston Herald that some of the motion picture companies were looking to put studios in Boston, now that the harsh movie taxes have been softened. Its a shame they were filming movies such as Good Will Hunting & The Departed in New York!. Boston has it all — all 4 seasons, as well as the “old city” that could look like 17th century America, and even Europe. I was recently watching John Adams series in HBO and was very disappointed most of it was filmed in Philadelphia. I read on a blog on a site about apartments in Boston that many of the most luxurious of apartments in Boston are being rented up by the Hollywood executives, including a $30,000 penthouse at the Ritz Carlton. Right now I know there are multiple movies going on such as “The Box” with Cameron Diaz being filmed in the Ipswich area, and another Bruce Willis future flick being filmed in Downtown Boston.

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