The Innovation Trail

Proof that history is not just for the past! From anti-aging technology to gene-editing, the newest discoveries coming out of Cambridge are building on the historical inventions of things as diverse as woven fire hoses and the microwave oven. Guides from TripAdvisor's #1 attraction in Cambridge will do their best to blow your mind as we invite you to explore the history-makers working in Kendall Square right now. See which of today's cutting-edge discoveries will be in the history books of the future.

Walk past The Broad Institute, Google, Microsoft, Novartis, Akamai, and a myriad of other Info- and BioTech giants. Discover the bridge builders that shaped East Cambridge and watch inquiring minds at work unzipping the secrets of our genes, our brains, and occasionally terrifying leaps in the world of AI. Walk in the shadow of the confectioners who invented Junior Mints and the Fig Newton, and see where MIT students have played gigantic games of Tetris, parked emergency vehicles at incredible heights, and still found time to invent both Guitar Hero and a biomechatronic foot. Plug yourself into the history being made every day on our Innovations Tour of Kendall Square.

Highlights

  • Cambridge Sites Only, Including:
  • CIC (Cambridge Tech Hub)
  • Sloan School of Managment
  • Entrepreneur's Walk of Fame
  • Google Building
  • Kendall Firehouse
  • Broad Institute and Discovery Center
  • Akamai (Inventor of streaming video)
  • Technology Square (Draper Labs, Moderna)
  • McGovern Institute for Brain Research
  • Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
  • MIT Campus (Rad Lab, Media Lab, CSAIL)
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Details

  • 90 minute walking tour in Kendall Square
  • $20 per ticket
  • Public tours run year-round at 2pm on Saturdays
  • Starting May 18th, tours run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2pm
  • Tours meet in the lobby of the Cambridge Marriott in Kendall Square: 50 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142

Add-ons

  • We can make a variety of suggestions for during or after the tour! After the tour has concluded in Kendall Square, you can . . .
  • Visit the MIT Museum
  • If you're itching for more knowledge, pair this with one of our private tours: Tour of MIT, Tour of Harvard, or The Freedom Trail just to name a few!

We Can't...

  • Unfortunately, we cannot include any “insider” tours of the tech and biotech companies in Kendall Square. The companies and laboratories in Kendall Square are active, working, and often sanitized laboratories which would have difficulty functioning if they allowed tour companies inside. If you care to arrange something directly through the companies, we would be delighted to accompany you to and from the location within the timeframe of the tour, or as needed.
  • This tour is a walking tour, and not recommended as a path for a Step-On Tour.