While we hope you attend as many events as possible at the 125th Annual Meeting, make sure you take some time to get outside and take in the history and attractions of Boston. To help you plan ahead, check out these walking tours, which are also listed in the print version of the Program of the 125th Annual Meeting.

Are you familiar with Boston? What sites do you think attendees of the Annual Meeting should check out? Please post your suggestions in the comments section below.

Walking Tours and Walking Attractions

Adams National Historical Park, 135 Adams Street, Quincy (www.nps.gov/adams; 617-770-1175; open 9:00 A.M.–5:00 P.M. daily; $5 adults, free for 16 years of age and younger). Birthplace homes of Presidents John and John Quincy Adams; the Old House, home to four generations of the Adams family; and the Stone Library.

Boston Common, bound by Tremont, Beacon, Charles, Park, and Boylston Streets, and on MBTA’s Park Street Station. The starting point of the Freedom Trail, Boston Common is the oldest park in the country—created in 1634—and is almost 50 acres in size. Today, Boston Common is the anchor for the Emerald Necklace, a system of connected parks that winds through many of Boston’s neighborhoods.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 4 South Market Street, Boston (www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com; 617-523-1300; open Monday–Saturday 10:00 A.M.–9:00 P.M., Sunday 12:00–6:00 P.M.). The marketplace houses 49 shops, 44 pushcarts, 18 full service restaurants, and 35 food stalls in three restored 19th-century buildings.

Freedom Trail (www.thefreedomtrail.org; 617-357-8300). The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads visitors to 16 nationally significant historic sites. Ninety-minute tours depart several times daily from Faneuil Hall, $11 adults and $7 children 6-12. It surveys a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution. In advance to your trip, you can take a virtual tour on the web site.

Franklin Park Zoo, One Franklin Park Road, Boston (www.zoonewengland.org; 617-541-LION; open daily 10:00 A.M.–4:00 P.M., with last entry one-half hour before closing; $14 adults, $8 children 12–2, and free children younger than two). Seventy-two acre site in historic Franklin Park, featuring seven western lowland gorillas with one due to give birth fall 2010.

Historic New England (www.historicnewengland.org; 617- 227-3956). Historic New England is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization in the country. It offers a unique opportunity to experience the lives and stories of New Englanders through their homes and possessions. Visit the web site for the many possibilities. The Otis House Museum in downtown Boston is open for tours and special programs.

Newbury Street (www.newbury-st.com). The street runs east-west from the Public Garden to Massachusetts Avenue. Known as Boston’s “High Street,” Newbury is a great place to walk, shop, and dine. Businesses are housed in renovated brownstone buildings.

The Public Garden, 24 acres adjacent to Boston Common. Established in 1837 by a group of Proprietors, it is the first public botanical garden in the United States. Visitors can tour the Lagoon, Swan Boats, sculpture, fountains, flower beds, and notable trees. Rectangular in shape, it is bound on the south by Boylston Street, on the west by Arlington Street, and on the north by Beacon Street, where it faces Beacon Hill. On its east side, Charles Street divides the Public Garden from Boston Common. The greenway connecting the Public Garden with the rest of the Emerald Necklace is the strip of park that runs west down the center of Commonwealth Avenue.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.