Historic Site Featured
Harvard Yard
Historic heart of Harvard University, America's oldest institution of higher education.
Harvard Square
45 minutes - 1 hour
Free (campus tours available)
All Attractions
Historic Sites
Walk through 400 years of history at Cambridge's historic sites — from George Washington's headquarters to Harvard Yard. Revolutionary War landmarks and colonial architecture.
7 attractions in Cambridge
Cambridge was founded in 1630, one year before Boston. George Washington took command of the Continental Army on Cambridge Common in 1775. Harvard was established in 1636, making it the oldest institution of higher education in America. Every block in Cambridge tells a story.
Insider Tip: Start at the Old Burying Ground on Garden Street — headstones date to the 1600s, and you can find graves of Harvard's first presidents and Revolutionary War soldiers.
Historic Site
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters
National Historic Site where Washington planned the Siege of Boston and Longfellow wrote his poetry.
Mid-Cambridge
1 - 1.5 hours (including gardens)
Free (National Park Site)
Historic Site
Cambridge Common
Where George Washington took command of the Continental Army — a park steeped in Revolution.
Harvard Square
30 minutes - 1 hour
Free
Historic Site
Old Burying Ground
Cambridge's oldest cemetery (1635) — final resting place of Revolutionary War soldiers and Harvard presidents.
Harvard Square
20 - 40 minutes
Free
Historic Site
Christ Church Cambridge
Peter Harrison's 1761 Anglican church — used as Continental Army barracks during the Revolution.
Harvard Square
20 - 30 minutes
Free
Historic Site
Fort Washington Park
Remains of a Revolutionary War fort — one of the earthworks defending Cambridge from the British.
Mid-Cambridge
15 - 30 minutes
Free
Historic Site
Brattle Street / Tory Row
Cambridge's most elegant street — Georgian mansions where Loyalist families lived before the Revolution.
Harvard Square
30 minutes - 1 hour (walking)
Free
Frequently Asked Questions
George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge Common (1775). Harvard was founded here (1636). The first American printing press operated in Cambridge. Longfellow wrote major works at his Brattle Street home. The electronic computer was born at MIT.