Paul Revere House
The Paul Revere House is the oldest building left in downtown Boston, and it survived by accident. Built around 1680 for a merchant named Robert Howard, it was already nearly a century old when Paul Revere bought it in 1770 and lived there with his family through the years that made him famous. The house stands at 19 North Square in the North End, a five-minute walk from Faneuil Hall and directly on the Freedom Trail, and the Freedom Trail Foundation's own visit page counts it among the trail's 16 sites across 2.5 miles. It is a small building, roughly the footprint of a modern two-car garage, and most visits run 20 to 30 minutes. What follows is what the house's own published pages and the National Park Service say about admission, hours, the rooms, and how to fit it into a day in the North End.
Short answer
Admission is $6.00 per adult, $5.50 for seniors aged 62 and over and college students, and $1.00 for ages 5 to 17, with children under 5 free. The outdoor Freedom Trail is free; admission is charged at this and several other historic interiors.
The Paul Revere House is the oldest building left in downtown Boston, and it survived by accident. Built around 1680 for a merchant named Robert Howard, it was already nearly a century old when Paul Revere bought it in 1770 and lived there with his family through the years that made him famous. The house stands at 19 North Square in the North End, a five-minute walk from Faneuil Hall and directly on the Freedom Trail, and the Freedom Trail Foundation's own visit page counts it among the trail's 16 sites across 2.5 miles. It is a small building, roughly the footprint of a modern two-car garage, and most visits run 20 to 30 minutes. What follows is what the house's own published pages and the National Park Service say about admission, hours, the rooms, and how to fit it into a day in the North End.
The house alone is inexpensive, especially for children. Planning several historic interiors as an adult? Explore the Boston 250 pass after comparing direct concessions; its five-site admission is separate from a guided walking tour. Check Boston 250 pass dates and eligibility
How Much Does It Cost To Visit The Paul Revere House?
Admission is $6.00 per adult, $5.50 for seniors aged 62 and over and college students, and $1.00 for ages 5 to 17, with children under 5 free. The outdoor Freedom Trail is free; admission is charged at this and several other historic interiors.
Those figures come from the National Park Service's published hours-and-fees page for Boston National Historical Park, which lists the Paul Revere House at $6.00 adult, $5.50 senior and student, and $1.00 for ages 5 to 17. The house's own hours-and-prices page carries the same $6.00 rate. That page also shows a second, lower admission block, but it sits directly under a line reading "is closed until further notice" and belongs to a different property, so the $6.00 adult rate is the one that applies. Many trail sites, including the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument, charge nothing, and the USS Constitution Museum runs on pay-what-you-wish donations rather than a fixed price.
For context, here is what each paid and free Freedom Trail stop costs, from the NPS fee page:
| Freedom Trail site | Adult admission | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Revere House | $6.00 | $1.00 ages 5-17, $5.50 senior/student |
| Old South Meeting House | $18.00 adult | Combined Old State entry and Ruckus! show |
| Old North Church | $10.00 Discovery Pass | $15.00 with Bell Chamber tour |
| Old State House | Combined ticket | $0.00 with an Old South ticket, and vice versa |
| USS Constitution | Free | US Navy-operated, boarding subject to Navy schedule |
| Bunker Hill Monument | Free | Climb open seasonally |
| Faneuil Hall and Great Hall | Free | National Park Service visitor center inside |
A family of two adults and two school-age children pays $14.00 here, which is less than a single adult ticket at some Boston museums. The NPS hours-and-fees page is the place to confirm rates before a visit, since it also lists the free sites in one table.
What Are The Paul Revere House Hours And Season?
The house opens daily from April 15–October 31, 10am–5:15pm. From November 1–April 14 it opens 10am–4:15pm, except Mondays in January, February and March. It closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Allow time for the small interior and possible queues.
The house operates year-round with shorter winter hours. Check its current calendar before a holiday trip; November and December visits are possible outside the listed holidays. Indoor museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts can also complement a cold-weather North End outing.
Timing within the day matters too. The house sits on a narrow lane off Hanover Street, and the North End's restaurant and pastry traffic builds through the afternoon. The rooms are small enough that a dozen visitors fill them, so a 10:00 am arrival often means walking straight in while a 2:00 pm arrival can mean a wait on North Square. The square itself is pleasant to wait in, with public art and places to pause; the equestrian Revere statue is farther north on Paul Revere Mall.
What Do You Actually See Inside The Paul Revere House?
The house shows two eras at once: a restored 17th-century merchant home in the front rooms, with heavy timber framing, low ceilings, and original structural wood, and a rear section furnished to the Revere family's 1770s residency. Displays include Revere-era household objects, silver from the family's trade, and a small exhibit on the midnight ride, and the whole circuit takes most visitors 20 to 30 minutes.
The building's history is the reason the interior looks the way it does. Robert Howard, a wealthy merchant, had it built around 1680 as a two-story townhouse with a steep roof and overhanging second story, a style brought by Puritan settlers. By the time Revere bought it in 1770 it had already been through several owners and had spent time as a boarding house, and it went on being rented out and subdivided through the 19th century, at one point holding shops on the ground floor. Revere's great-grandson John Phillips Reynolds Jr. bought the building in December 1902 to save it from demolition. The Paul Revere Memorial Association, formed in 1905, purchased it from him in 1907 and opened it as a museum in 1908, which makes it one of the earliest historic-house museums in the United States. That long, unglamorous stretch as a rental property is why so much of the original timber survived: nobody had the money to modernize it.
What the rooms hold, as the museum's own materials describe them:
| Space | What is shown |
|---|---|
| Front rooms, first floor | Restored 17th-century merchant home, original timber framing |
| Revere-era chambers | Furnished to the 1770s, household objects of the period |
| Silver display | Pieces connected to the Revere family's silversmith trade |
| Ride exhibit | The April 18-19, 1775 midnight ride and Revere's account of it |
| Rear courtyard | Horseshoe nails and other artifacts found during restoration |
The midnight ride itself deserves a sentence of correction, because the famous version is mostly poetry. Revere did ride on the night of April 18, 1775, but he was one of several riders, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott among them, and his own written account, which the museum displays, is far less dramatic than Longfellow's 1861 poem. Revere was captured by a British patrol outside Lexington, questioned, and released without his horse. The poem was written 86 years after the event, when Revere had been dead for decades, and it is the poem, not the ride, that fixed the story in its popular form.
How Long Should You Spend At The Paul Revere House?
Most visitors spend 20 to 30 minutes inside the house itself, and a comfortable visit with the courtyard and the small museum shop runs about 45 minutes. The house is the smallest paid attraction on the Freedom Trail, so the practical planning question is not how long the house takes but how much North End time to budget around it, and a half-day covering the house, the Old North Church, and a pastry stop is realistic.
The compact size is a feature, not a flaw. Because the circuit is short, the house works as a first stop on a North End morning rather than a destination that consumes a half-day. A sensible route is the house at 10:00, the five-to-eight-minute walk up to the Old North Church, where the lanterns were hung, then Hanover Street for lunch. The church's Discovery Pass costs $10.00 for an adult, or $15.00 with the Bell Chamber tour, so a combined house-and-church visit runs $16.00 per adult, and the two buildings tell connected parts of the April 1775 story.
To taste the neighborhood around the house, book a North End food tour here.
Visitors with more time can extend the same walk. The Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market complex is roughly a ten-minute walk south, and the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument sit across the bridge in Charlestown, both free. That extension turns a North End morning into the classic Freedom Trail day, and the trail's red line physically connects all of it, so no route-finding is needed.
Check the 2.5-hour history walk if you want the guide’s story before entering the house independently. It passes the North End sites and ends near Copp’s Hill; house and church admission are separate, so allow time for their opening hours. Check Freedom Trail walk dates
Where Is The Paul Revere House And How Do You Get There?
The house stands at 19 North Square, in the North End, about a five-minute walk from Faneuil Hall and ten minutes from Haymarket station on the Green and Orange lines. The nearest MBTA subway stops are Haymarket and Aquarium on the Blue Line, and a one-way subway fare is $2.40, with unlimited transfers inside a two-hour window paying only the highest leg.
The MBTA's fare table shows the subway one-way fare at $2.40 and a 1-Day pass at $11.00, and since September 1, 2026 the transfer rules have changed in riders' favor: unlimited transfers between subway, bus, and ferry within a two-hour window, paying only the cost of the highest-priced leg, provided the same payment method is used throughout. Anyone arriving from Logan Airport can ride the Silver Line SL1 from the terminal curb free of charge and connect to the subway at South Station, as Massport's own airport page states. From South Station it is a short Red-to-Green transfer to the North End.
Getting around the North End itself is entirely a walking matter. The streets are narrow, mostly one-way, and poorly suited to driving, and parking in the neighborhood is scarce and expensive. The practical advice is to take the subway, walk, and skip the car entirely for this part of the city. The one-day Boston itinerary pattern works without a vehicle from start to finish.
| Approach | Time to the house | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Walk from Faneuil Hall | About 5 minutes | Along the Freedom Trail red line |
| Green or Orange Line to Haymarket | About 10 minutes | Shortest transit walk |
| Blue Line to Aquarium | About 12 minutes | Waterfront route past the Greenway |
| Silver Line SL1 from Logan | Free from the curb | Connect to subway at South Station |
| Car | Not recommended | Narrow streets, scarce parking |
Is The Paul Revere House Worth It With Kids?
Yes, and it is one of the better-value family stops in Boston, because a child aged 5 to 17 pays $1.00 and under-5s enter free, so a family of four pays $14.00 total. The house is small and the visit is short, which suits young attention spans, though the rooms have narrow doorways and uneven floors. A Visitor Center elevator provides access to the house’s upper level; ask staff for assistance.
Youth admission is only $1. Eligible EBT and ConnectorCare holders also pay $1; active-duty military with CAC, qualifying teachers, North End residents and listed museum members have free options. Check documentation requirements before paying. The house is a short stop rather than a half-day museum; the New England Aquarium, Boston Common and Public Garden or Franklin Park Zoo can fill a longer family day.
One honest note on the ride story: children who know the Longfellow poem will find the museum's version different, and that difference is itself the lesson. Revere's own account, displayed in the house, describes a night of coordination with other riders and an interrogation by a British patrol, not a lone hero galloping uninterrupted to Concord. The house presents the documented version alongside the legend, which gives school-age kids something real to chew on. Everything else covered here is indexed on Boston Travel Guide.
What Else Should You See Near The Paul Revere House?
The North End packs more Revolutionary-era history into a few blocks than anywhere else in Boston: the Old North Church is about five to eight minutes away, with Copp’s Hill a few minutes beyond, and the Freedom Trail continues south to Faneuil Hall or north across the bridge to the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill, both free. Hanover Street's Italian bakeries and restaurants sit between all of it, so the neighborhood works as a single morning or afternoon.
The walkable cluster around the house, with the walking times the street grid actually delivers:
| Nearby site | Walk | Admission |
|---|---|---|
| Old North Church | 5–8 minutes | $10.00 Discovery Pass adult |
| Copp's Hill Burying Ground | 8–12 minutes | Free |
| Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market | 10 minutes | Free, Great Hall included |
| USS Constitution | 25–30 minutes | Free |
| Bunker Hill Monument | 30–35 minutes | Free |
| Boston Harbor waterfront | 12 minutes | Greenway and wharves, free |
The marked trail connects the sites. A shorter roughly 2.5-hour guided walk runs from Boston Common to the North End, while a four-hour route reaches Charlestown. Both explain exterior history; house admission is separate. Compare the actual route and walking demands before booking.
Further reading: Freedom Trail.
For visitors assembling the day themselves, the free stops do most of the work. The USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat, boards visitors subject to the Navy's schedule, and the Bunker Hill Monument's climb is seasonal. Add the Granary Burying Ground on the trail's southern stretch, where Revere himself is buried, and a full day of Revolutionary Boston costs $16.00 per adult in paid admissions: the house, the Old North Church, and nothing else.
When Is The Best Time To Visit The Paul Revere House?
The best time is a weekday morning between mid-April and late October, arriving at or near the 10:00 am opening, when the house is quiet, the North End is still calm, and the whole Freedom Trail cluster can be covered before the afternoon crowds. July is the busiest month in Boston, with an average high of 82.1 °F, and summer weekends bring the longest queues at every trail site.
NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for the Boston station put July at an 82.1 °F average high, the warmest month of the year, and show no wet season and no dry season at all: every month's precipitation sits between 3.21 and 4.30 inches, so there is no month worth avoiding for rain alone. October, near the end of the longer opening hours, averages a 62.1 °F high and pairs the visit with fall color, making late September and October arguably the sweet spot. The winter schedule starts November 1, with earlier closing and selected Monday and holiday closures.
School-vacation weeks are the exception to the weekday rule. Mid-February and April school vacation bring New England families to the trail in numbers, and the house's small rooms fill fastest then. The house's own hours page is the source to check for any single-day closures, which the Association occasionally posts for maintenance or events.
What Do Guides Get Wrong About The Paul Revere House?
Three errors recur: printing a $5.00 adult rate that belongs to a closed property rather than the real $6.00 admission, describing the house as free because most Freedom Trail sites are free, and repeating the Longfellow poem's lone-rider story as history. The house is one of several charging interiors on the trail, the rate is $6.00, and Revere's own account describes a coordinated effort with multiple riders and an interrogation by a British patrol.
The $5.00 figure deserves its own warning because it circulates. The house's own hours-and-prices page renders two admission blocks, and the $5.00 one sits under a line reading "is closed until further notice," almost certainly belonging to the neighboring Pierce-Hichborn House rather than the Revere House. The National Park Service independently lists the Revere House at $6.00, and that is the rate that applies. A reader who budgets $5.00 and arrives with exact change has been misinformed by a page that copied the wrong block.
Calling the house free confuses the free outdoor Freedom Trail with admission to individual historic interiors. The Revere House charges admission, as do Old North, King’s Chapel and the combined Old State/Old South museums. The museum also corrects the lone-rider legend with the documented account.
Can You Visit The Paul Revere House On A Guided Tour?
Several Freedom Trail tours pass the house, but the recommended walks do not include its admission. Visit the house independently during opening hours, with staff available to explain the site. Choose a shorter downtown-to-North-End walk or a longer Charlestown route for wider historical context.
The guided options break down by depth and time budget:
| Guided format | Approximate time | Main boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown and North End walk | 2.5 hours | Ends near Copp’s Hill; house entry separate |
| Full trail to Charlestown | 4 hours | Sustained walking; ship/climb not guaranteed |
| Ghosts and Gravestones | 2 hours | Trolley plus substantial walking; not house admission |
Independent walking along the marked Freedom Trail is free. Tip-based guided walks are another format, with gratuities expected; check the actual route and current booking conditions rather than assuming free museum entry.
Check the four-hour Revolutionary Story walk for a longer route into Charlestown. It requires sustained walking and includes the Bunker Hill and USS Constitution area, without guaranteed museum entry, ship boarding or monument climbing. Check the full Freedom Trail route and dates
Common Questions About The Paul Revere House
how much is the paul revere house?
Admission is $6.00 per adult, $5.50 for seniors aged 62 and over and college students, and $1.00 for ages 5 to 17, with children under 5 free. Those are the rates published by the National Park Service for Boston National Historical Park. Several Freedom Trail interiors charge admission.
is the paul revere house on the freedom trail?
Yes, it is one of the trail's 16 sites and sits directly on the 2.5-mile red-lined route in the North End. The trail connects it to the Old North Church about five to eight minutes north and Faneuil Hall about ten minutes south. Many trail stops, including the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill Monument, are free.
when is the paul revere house open?
April 15–October 31 hours are daily 10am–5:15pm. Winter hours are 10am–4:15pm, with Mondays closed in January–March and listed holiday closures. Check the current calendar; arriving at opening does not guarantee no queue.
how long does it take to visit the paul revere house?
Most visitors spend 20 to 30 minutes inside, and a comfortable visit with the courtyard and shop runs about 45 minutes. The house is the smallest paid stop on the Freedom Trail. Budget the surrounding North End time, including the Old North Church and Hanover Street, as a half-day.
did paul revere actually live in the paul revere house?
Yes, he bought the house in 1770 and lived there with his family through the Revolutionary period, including the night of April 18, 1775. The building itself dates to around 1680, built for merchant Robert Howard, making it the oldest surviving home in downtown Boston. It opened as a museum in 1908.
is the paul revere house worth visiting?
For $6.00 and 30 minutes, it is one of the best-value historic stops in Boston, especially paired with the Old North Church about five to eight minutes away. The interiors are small and the visit is short, so visitors expecting a large museum will be disappointed. As a piece of the Freedom Trail's story, it is the anchor of the North End stretch.
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Boston 250 Five Historic Sites Pass
Self-guided entry to Paul Revere House, Old North Church, Old State House, Old South Meeting House and King’s Chapel. For adults aged 18+; valid seven days following the selected date. Check each site’s hours and access: Old State House has stairs. The provider advises children, military personnel, groups of 10+, MA teachers, MBTA employees, listed museum members and EBT/WIC holders to use their direct discounts instead. No walking guide or transport.
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