Boston's Best Food Tours

Where the Boston Cream Came From: Donut Tours Along the Freedom Trail and Beyond

Quick history lesson before we start. Boston cream pie is the official state dessert of Massachusetts, and it inspired the official state donut, the Boston cream. So yes, you're in the right city for a donut tour.

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Financial District to the North End

Our Historic Downtown tour kicks off at Kane's Donuts in the Financial District, where your guide hands out the first honey dip and sets the scene. Then it's down to the waterfront and under the big arch at Rowes Wharf, with stories of the harbor that made Boston rich. You turn inland past the Old State House, where the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to the city, and land at Faneuil Hall. Look up. That golden grasshopper on the roof is a weathervane, and your guide will tell you why it's there.

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A short walk past Union Oyster House brings you into Boston Public Market. Red Apple Farm pours a cup of cider to go with a warm apple cider donut, and Union Square Donuts brings a rotating flavor, often a light, eggy cruller. The last leg crosses into the North End: narrow brick streets, Italian bakeries, and finally Bova's Bakery for a classic Boston cream. The site of the Great Molasses Flood is just around the corner. Ask about it. It's a better story than you'd think.

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Over the river, and after dark

Across the Charles, the Harvard Square donut tour wanders Cambridge, mixing campus history with a chef's rotating donut at the Charles Hotel, an everything bagel donut at Blackbird and hot, honey soaked loukoumades at Saloniki. In the fall, an evening haunted walking tour swaps sunshine for ghost stories, Greek doughnuts and Boston cream. And come December, downtown gets dressed up for the holidays and so does our route.

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Pick your Boston walk

• Historic Downtown Donut Tour: Freedom Trail history, harbor views and the North End in one morning. Start here if it's your first visit.

• Harvard Square Donut Tour: Cambridge instead of downtown, a good second food tour if you've already done the first.

• Historic Holiday Downtown Tour: The downtown route in December, with seasonal flavors and the city lit up.

• Haunted Donut Tour: Sweet Treats and Spooky Stories: An autumn evening walk for anyone who likes a shiver with their sugar.