New York & Boston School History Trip

Day 1

Flight to New York

Flight to New York:  You depart on your flight to New York, arriving later the same day.  On arrival you will be met by your private transport and transfer into the heart of Manhattan and your central hotel accommodation.  In the afternoon you can stroll through Central Park where you can see the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon, and also the iconic bridges. You make your way to Fifth Avenue where you can visit Saks and, across the road, the Rockefeller Centre.  You take a trip to the observation deck on the 70th floor, known as the Top of the Rock for stunning views across the city that never sleeps.

Dinner this evening is at Bubba Gump in Times Square.

Day 2

Statue of Liberty & United Nations Tour

Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island: This morning you take the Statue Line Cruise to see the Statue Liberty on Liberty Island. The statue was a gift from France and was unveiled in 1886.  Your tickets give you access to the pedestal at the foot of the statue, and you can also visit the new museum which recounts the history of the statue and the complexities of its construction.  You then continue by boat to Ellis Island which was where most of the 26 million immigrants to America arrived and were processed during the years 1880 to 1924.  This was the largest population migration in human history and the museum tells the story of these new Americans.

9/11 Sites: You return to New York for lunch at Katz’s Deli.  This is a legendary Downtown institution, famous for its pastrami, corned beef and Jewish deli classics. After lunch you visit the World Trade Centre memorial pools located at the exact site where the Twin Towers stood before the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

United Nations: In the afternoon you visit the Headquarters of the United Nations, situated by the East River and within walking distance of Grand Central Station, which you will also see. The informative tour is led by a UN staffer and gives you a detailed overview of the work of the UN, covering its three principal pillars:  Peace & Security, Human Rights and Development.  The tour includes visits to the Security Council and the General Assembly.

Dinner this evening is at Ellen’s Stardust Diner on Broadway.

Day 3

Fifth Avenue & Travel to Boston

Fifth Avenue: This morning you have free time for sightseeing and shopping on Fifth Avenue, the home to some of the most exclusive shops in New York including Saks, Tiffany’s and Versace. You can also spend time at Times Square and 42nd  Street.

Travel to Boston: After lunch you return to your hotel to collect luggage and board your private coach for the journey to Boston which takes approximately five hours.  On arrival you check in to your hotel.

Dinner this evening is at a city restaurant

Day 4

Boston - Freedom Trail & the Boston Tea Party

Freedom Trail: This morning you explore the Freedom Trail, a walking route through some of the most historic neighbourhoods of the city. The trail begins at Boston Common and makes its way through the city, passing various historic churches and monuments until it reaches Bunker Hill, the site of a pivotal battle during the American Revolutionary War.  One of the most historical places on the trail is the Paul Revere House, which was built around 1680, making it one of the oldest in the city.  We can visit inside the house and learn about his legendary midnight ride to alert the colonial militia of the approach of the British forces. We also visit the Granary Burying Ground where Revere is buried, along with many other notable Bostonians from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries including three signatories to the Declaration of Independence – John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Robert Paine.

Boston Tea Party Museum: You have free time at Faneuil Hall Marketplace where there are numerous options for lunch.  In the afternoon you visit the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum which features two replica ships of the type that would have featured in the famous events of 1773 when American patriots led by Samuel Adams dumped a cargo of tea overboard in protest against what they saw as unfair British taxes, an event which was effectively the opening salvo in the War of Independence. The Museum features actors dressed in period costume, which brings to life these pivotal events of the late eighteenth century.

Ghosts and Gravestones Tour: Dinner this evening is at a city restaurant. This evening Ghosts and Gravestones Tour, visiting some of the supposedly most haunted places in the city!  We board the Trolley of the Doomed with a ghoulish guide in search of grave robbers, notorious murders and spooky cemeteries.

Day 5

Boston - Harvard Campus Tour

Harvard University Campus Tour: This morning you travel to Cambridge and Harvard Yard for a guided walking tour of the University campus where you learn about the history of the college, the oldest in the country, and what it must be like to study here.

New England Aquarium: You visit the New England Aquarium, a state-of-the-art experience which features a tremendous variety of marine life.  The main tank has a myriad of colourful fish, but the stars of the show are probably the penguins.

There will be free time in the afternoon before you have to transfer to the airport for your homeward flight.

Day 6

Arrive Home

Your flight arrives back home today.