Specialty Tours

For History Buffs

Historic New England (tel. 617/227-3956; www.historicnewengland.org) offers a fascinating tour that describes and illustrates life in the mansions and garrets of Beacon Hill in 1810. The 2-hour program, "Magnificent and Modest," costs $10 and starts at the Otis House Museum, 141 Cambridge St., at 11am on Saturdays from mid-May to October. The price includes a tour of the museum, and reservations are recommended.

For Architecture Buffs

The Boston Center for Adult Education (tel. 617/267-4430; www.bcae.org) offers guided walking tours led by academic experts. The focus might be as specific as Copley Square or as general as "the Anglophile's Boston." The center is the country's oldest continuing-ed institution, and tours ($22-$40 for nonmembers) are part of the regular course offerings. Surf ahead for descriptions and registration info.

Written in Stone

Nearly every block in central Boston contains a plaque commemorating some long-gone person, event, or even place ("on this site stood . . ."). Each one tells a little story, not just in its text but also in its context. A marker describing the Molasses Flood of 1919 (on Commercial St. near Hull St.) recalls the days when manufacturing and industry dominated an area that's now the residential North End and scenic waterfront. A plaque honoring the first Catholic Mass in Boston (on School St. near Borders, across the street from the Freedom Trail) doesn't seem like a big deal now, but in a Puritan city, toleration of "popery" couldn't have come easily. Look around as you walk around -- history is everywhere, just waiting for you to discover it.

For Art-History Majors

Galleries and museums are the focus of Boston Art Tours (tel. 617/732-3920; www.bostonarttours.com). Founder Marina Veronica is an art historian and educator who brings a contagious enthusiasm to her standard and customized tour offerings. Group tours include excursions for teens, families, and gay, straight, and Jewish singles. Call or surf ahead for rates, which start at $40 for adults, and reservations, which are required.

For Criminal-Justice Majors

Free guided tours of the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Way, show off the waterfront building's dramatic architecture and introduce visitors to the workings of the justice system. You may even see part of a trial. Docents from Discovering Justice (tel. 617/748-4185; www.discoveringjustice.org) lead the tours (45 min.), which are available to individuals and groups by appointment only Tuesday through Thursday from 9am to 4pm throughout the year (reserve 2 weeks in advance).

The courthouse is on Fan Pier, off Old Northern Avenue across the Fort Point Channel from the Coast Guard building at 408 Atlantic Ave. You can walk from downtown or take the Silver Line bus from South Station. To enter the heavily guarded courthouse, adults must show two forms of ID (one of which must have a photo), and everyone must surrender his or her cellphone. You don't have to take a tour to enter -- local office workers often visit the second-floor cafeteria, which has decent food and a breathtaking view.

Missing This Would Be a Crime -- A bailiff at the adjacent Suffolk County Courthouse tipped me off to the wonders of the John Adams Courthouse, one of the most beautiful buildings in Boston. Constructed between 1886 and 1894 and expanded in 1910, the courthouse recalls an era when public buildings were more like cathedrals. It is the suitably impressive home of the Supreme Judicial Court, or SJC, the highest court in the Massachusetts system and the oldest (1692) appellate court in the Western Hemisphere. The French Second Empire facade of the courthouse conceals an almost unbelievably elaborate interior dripping with frescoes, moldings, paintings, and sculptures, all surrounding the soaring central space, the Great Hall, which sits beneath a richly decorated vaulted ceiling. The galleries on either side of the lowest level hold exhibits relating to history and the courts.

Early in the 21st century, the courthouse underwent a complete restoration that transformed it into one of the city's most interesting destinations. The public is welcome to look around or to attend a court session if one is going on. The building is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm, and you and your bags must be inspected before entering. Head to the second floor and ask for a brochure from the helpful staff of the Public Information Office (tel. 617/557-1114; www.mass.gov/courts/jaceducation), or arrange in advance to take a tour with Discovering Justice (tel. 617/748-4185; www.discoveringjustice.org). The entrance is at 1 Pemberton Square, hidden in plain sight behind the curving Center Plaza complex on Cambridge Street, across from City Hall Plaza and the Government Center T stop.

For Pedal Pushers

A group bicycle tour with Urban AdvenTours ([tel 800/979-3370 [tickets] or 617/233-7595 [info]; www.urbanadventours.com) covers more in 2 1/2 to 3 hours than you could ever see on foot. The diverse offerings include an "insider's" overview as well as tours that focus on a particular neighborhood, art and architecture, and photography. You can also request a customized special-interest excursion. Prices begin at $50 per person and include bicycle and helmet rental. You get a break on the price if you supply your own bike or if you opt for the self-guided option, but I can't recommend that for out-of-towners -- the supervision of a guide who's experienced in Boston's terrifying traffic is well worth the money.

For Shutterbugs

The unusual offerings of PhotoWalks (tel. 617/851-2273; www.photowalks.com) combine narrated walking tours with photography tips. On a 2-hour stroll around Beacon Hill, the Public Garden, or the Freedom Trail, visitors learn to look at Boston from (literally) a different angle -- that of a creative photographer. Adults pay $30, students with ID $20, and youths 12 to 17 $15. Tours run several times a week from April through October, and by appointment during the winter. Call or surf ahead for reservations.

For Movie Fans

Boston Movie Tours (tel. 866/MOVIE-45; www.bostonmovietours.net) boast that they offer "behind-the-scenes trivia and insider gossip" about the city's incarnations on the silver and small screens. Guides focus on the local color in The Departed, Good Will Hunting, Mystic River, Legally Blonde, and, of course, Cheers, among other projects. The 90-minute walking tours ($20 adults, $17 seniors and students, $10 children 6-12) and 2 1/2-hour mini-coach or "Theater-on-Wheels" tours ($35 adults, $32 seniors and students, $25 children) operate Wednesday through Monday from April through October. Check start times and locations when you make reservations, which are strongly recommended.

For Horror-Movie Fans

Ghosts & Gravestones (tel. 617/269-3626; www.ghostsandgravestones.com) covers burial grounds and other shiver-inducing areas in a trolley and on foot, with a guide dressed as a gravedigger. The 2-hour tour starts at dusk on weekends in May, Wednesday to Monday from June through September, and nightly in October. It costs $30 for adults and $18 for children under 13. Reservations are required.

For Foodies

A neighborhood resident offers North End Market Tours (tel. 617/523-6032; www.northendmarkettours.com), 3 1/2-hour excursions that stop at many of the shops in the legendary Italian-American stronghold. Tours include product tastings, shopping and cooking tips, and plenty of local lore. They cost $50 (including tax) per person, which must be paid in advance.

Old Town Trolley (tel. 617/269-7010; www.historictours.com) offers the 3-hour Boston Chocolate Tour on weekends from January through mid-April. The $60 tour includes three restaurants noted for their chocolate desserts; reservations are required.