This Sugary Boston Tour Gets You Deeper Into Donut Territory Than You've Ever Been

From its namesake baked beans to New England's best chowder, Boston packs more than its fair share of signature culinary delights. Among the city's countless gastronomic attractions, Beantown ranks as one of the country's top donut destinations. Arguably the best (and tastiest) way to explore Boston's donut culture beyond the sugary surface is through a donut tour. Luckily for lovers of dessert and travel, Underground Donut Tours offers two super-sweet historic tours in the city — downtown and Harvard Square – that allow visitors to dive deep into Boston's diverse and decadent donut scene.

The mouthwatering tours run about two hours and pack in a healthy dose of donuts and history, complete with a generous sprinkling of insider tips and interesting pastry facts. Highlights of the downtown tour include stops at Kane's Donuts, a local institution that has been slinging doughy treats to Bostonians for over 70 years; cider donuts at Boston Public Market for a sweet taste of the city's agricultural history; and, of course, classic Boston cream donuts at one of the North End's iconic Italian bakeries. The icing on top? This isn't one of those ridiculously overpriced food tours that will set you back hundreds of bucks a pop. Tickets, which must be reserved in advance, start at $55 for kids and $65 for adults, quite reasonable for a multiple-hour guided tour with several premium sweet snacks included.

Let's be real, anyone with a sweet tooth hardly needs to be convinced of the merits of a donut tour, but Boston's donut culture is particularly worth exploring for several reasons. One key factor is the city's long history as a cultural melting pot. Various immigrant groups have brought diverse donut-adjacent fried dough desserts to Boston over hundreds of years. From Polish pączki to Italian zeppole and Greek loukoumades (which you can sample on the Harvard Square historic donut tour), the city's long history of immigration has definitively enriched its donut culture. And of course, you can't talk about Boston donuts without mentioning Boston cream, one of the best donuts ever created. The indulgent icon developed from the perfectionist Boston cream pie, and is now firmly established as the official Massachusetts state donut.

Boston boasts a long and sugar-packed donut history, but the New England city is also on the cutting edge of donut innovation. Boston's Underground Donut Tours showcase this pioneering spirit through stops at shops with unique, boundary-pushing flavors, and gluten-free and vegan options that leave no crumbs. Whether you're a pastry obsessive, history buff, or simply enjoy a good donut, these super-sweet food tours are a fascinating and flavorful way to explore Boston's food scene.