The Coolest, Weirdest, and All-Around-Best Museums in Boston
From world-renowned historical exhibits to an entire museum dedicated to ugly art.
It makes sense that the Boston area, home to seemingly one million (actually just 64) higher education institutions, is also chock full of another kind of learning institution—museums. Boston museums—some of which date back to the 1800s and some of which are just the size of a milk crate—are more than just a way to spend an afternoon. Like Boston itself, they're full of history, individual gateways into notable collections of cars, stolen art, or even just “bad art.” So spend more than an afternoon perusing some of the best museums in Boston.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the private collection of the 19th century art collector, is housed in her painstakingly designed home where she onced lived with her husband, Jack. The couple is well-known for their travels, during which they collected columns, windows, and doorways from Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance eras, before hiring architect Willard Sears to put them together into one home. A plethora of paintings are arranged throughout the home and gardens including a portrait of Isabella herself done by Dennis Miller Bunker, and Virgin and Child with Saints by Simone Martini, which dates back to 1320. The Gardner Museum is also known for its infamous March 30, 1990 art heist, where 13 works of art were stolen right off the walls. The empty frames remain on the walls where the paintings were once displayed.
The Museum of African American History, located on the edge of the city’s green expanse The Public Gardens, contains a collection of over 3,000 items. This museum began holding exhibitions and meetings in 1963, and is the current home to an exhibition entitled “The Emancipation Proclamation: A Pragmatic Compromise, which shares the story of the famous document and offers a glimpse into Boston’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation Jubilee events, organized by William Cooper Nell, a Black Bostonian, and held at Tremont Temple. A January 16, 1863 issue of The Liberator makes up a portion of this collection.
The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, nestled right behind the James P. Kelleher Rose Gardens in the Fenway neighborhood, always has something worth exploring, from a close up on the work of Dali to a selection of modern prints from Indigenous artist Wendy Red Star. A giant in the Boston museum scene, the MFA also offers community programming such as studio art classes and an apprenticeship program for teens called the Teen Arts Council. Walk among the halls to spot iconic painting such as Deer’s Skull with Pedernal by Georgia O’Keefe, Dance at Bougival by Pierre-August Renoir, and PostmanJoseph Roulin by Vincent Van Gogh.
Ever seen Galileo’s sector? Or Freud’s sketches and drawings used to develop his famous theories of the unconscious mind or the id, ego and superego? How about both of them in the same set of rooms? Experience the instruments that made important discoveries possible at this museum. Although the institution is usually geared towards scholarly research—the acquisition and study of scientific instruments, if it wasn’t obvious—it does open its doors to the public for a range of interesting events and exhibitions.
You’ve never seen tea quite like this before. The interactive museum, docked in the middle of the Fort Point Channel, is divided into several different experiential areas, including an area to view the Robinson Tea Chest, the only surviving tea chest from the 1773 event. After, sit down at Abigail’s Tea Room & Terrace for sandwiches, a salad, and a cup of one of the five historical teas thrown overboard at the Boston Tea Party.
Artist Martha Friend’s front yard offers something that nothing else on this list can: a museum you can’t fit inside. Weighing in at just 24 inches high, 36 inches wide, and 30 inches deep this museum is set deep in the cozy suburb of Somerville. The tiny project is funded in part by the Somerville Arts Council, and more closely resembles a little free library than a museum. Though, it does rotate exhibits every three months.
Despite its storied past, the museum was founded in 1936, the Institute of Contemporary Art is always looking to the future. You’ll find large rooms full of contemporary artists such as Barbara Kruger to Yayoi Kusama, and a section truly dedicated to the future: the ICA Watershed, a new gallery dedicated to the work of Boston-area youth. The museum is also home to an immersive gallery experience with XR (extended reality) technologies at the Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser and Fotene Demoulas Galleries. Stop by on a Thursday night for free entry.
In 2002 Russian artists turned a masonic lodge into a piece of art. The front porch and facade are easily spotted from the street, with two painted, sparkling roosters giving a quick hint as to what lies within. Inside the home, every stair and ceiling tile are painted with fresco-like illustrations in the style of “magical realism.” The artists themselves called this the museum of “Modern Renaissance” because they intended to create a visual representation of a world where “mythological creatures peacefully converse with flowers, and fairy-tale landscapes harmonically incorporate complicated geometrical ornaments;” a world that mirrored their own eccentric lives. Although the museum is more difficult to access—you can only visit via appointment or during the annual Somerville Open Studios—it’s more than worth the wait or the extra effort.
The Museum of Bad Art isn’t really about art that is technically “bad,” although some of it—including a study of the Mona Lisa that looks like it was taken down from the walls of a local middle school—kind of is. This museum is meant to question why a piece of art would be labeled “bad” if it can make viewers smile, if it connects with people, or if it simply wasn’t made by an established master of any medium. The museum exists inside of the Dorchester Brewing Company, one of the city’s best beer makers. Pick up a beer, or even better, a flight, and take some time to browse the works, including a portrait of former President John. F Kennedy mid-lick with an ice cream cone.
History buffs and Greta Gerwig fans will both find something to enjoy at the Gibson House Museum. The home has been perfectly preserved as it was circa 1954, but the house itself dates back to 1860 when Catherine Hammond Gibson had it built for her son on the second lot developed during creation of the Back Bay neighborhood. The museum was also the site of Jo March’s boarding house for the 2019 film adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel Little Women. A specialty tour catering to those interested in learning more about the filming process is available. Number 137 can be found right off Boston’s Public Gardens in the center of the city’s historic downtown.
Kids of all ages can enjoy what the Boston Children’s Museum has to offer. Check out the Fenway Farms, for ages 6-8, to learn about plants local to the Boston area and their seasonal changes. Or, bring kids to learn about culture and identity at the Japanese House located on the third floor. This exhibit, transported from Japan piece by piece, was a gift from Boston’s sister city, Kyoto, to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the two cities beginning their sisterly relationship in 1979. The museum itself rests right on the edge of Downtown Boston and the South Boston Waterfront, so it’s easy to continue the adventure in any direction.
This kunsthalle, or non-collecting museum, houses work from the student body of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Which means that every exhibit it premiers does not include any pieces from a central collection—every single item is new and unique, every single time. The current exhibition is entitled Displacement and includes cascading plants traversing across white walls in small, cube-shaped vases, a single-channel video installation, and a silk and wool tapestry of animals from across time, just to name a few works.
Located in the rolling green of Larz Anderson Park, the Larz Anderson Auto Museum is the 85-year-old home to “America’s Oldest Car Collection”—and looking great for its age. Stop by on a Sunday from May through October for the seasonal lawn show, when the doors to the Carriage House are opened and the general public is invited to view the Anderson family’s collection of classic cars. Head to the lower gallery to spot the family’s first collectible, an 1899 Winton 4-hp Runabout, then peruse the other 32 brand-new automobiles in the collection, which is now in the stewardship of the Veteran Motor Car Club of America.