In the Cradle of American History : From Faneuil Hall to the Tea Party ship, Boston has attractions to please visitors of all ages.

One sunny Friday just before the Fourth of July, I couldn’t resist feeding the kids a taste of American history along with their fried shrimp, clam chowder and lobster rolls.

We were, after all, having lunch at Quincy Market, next to the “Cradle of Liberty,” as Faneuil Hall Marketplace has been known since Revolutionary War days. In Faneuil (pronounced fan-L) Hall’s upstairs meeting hall, I explained to my children, Revolutionary War leaders called the Sons of Liberty--Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, among them--had protested angrily and loudly against England’s King George I and his taxes, convincing scores of other colonists to join the fight for independence from Britain.

Within a 10-minute drive are several other places significant to the birth of our country: Paul Revere’s House, the oldest wooden building in Boston, where he lived with his wife and 16 children; Bunker Hill, where the colonists were told, “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!,” and the temporarily dry-docked USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides” because British cannon balls seemed to bounce off her hull during the War of 1812. Despite the dry-docking, you can still board her. The adjacent museum is worth a stop with its kid-friendly exhibits, including hammocks like 19th-Century sailors slept in (fun to try but not too comfortable to sleep in, Matt and Reggie decided).

We found local historian Charles Bahne’s “The Complete Guide to Boston’s Freedom Trail” to be a handy reference for information about Boston’s historic sites. It is available at Boston bookstores or for $5, including postage, from Newtowne Publishing, P.O. Box 1882, Cambridge, Mass. 02238.

Nine-year-old Matt and 7-year-old Reggie, I confess, were relatively bored by my history lesson, but totally enthralled by Faneuil Hall Marketplace--a lively complex of more than 125 shops, pushcarts, restaurants and food stalls selling everything from lobsters to baked beans to bagels to every variety of T-shirt, toy and souvenir.

Faneuil Hall has become Boston’s top tourist attraction--as well as one of the nation’s--drawing more than 14 million visitors annually, serving as a catalyst for the revitalization of Boston’s wharf and as a model for urban development projects elsewhere.

Wherever you go in Boston these days, history collides with the 1990s in an appealing, kid-friendly way.

Follow the red lines on the sidewalk that mark the three-mile Freedom Trail for a walking tour of historic buildings and sites. (Boston by Little Feet tours offers a guided walk along the trail especially geared to 6- to 12-year-olds, on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons. Cost is $5 per person; 617-367-2345.)

Ride the Swan Boats that have graced the Public Garden since 1877 (a bargain at $1.25 for adults, 75 cents for children).

The quality of being family-friendly has been elevated to an art form here. City tourism officials say it’s a top priority, and they back their statement with a new multimillion-dollar “Kids Love Boston” promotion of hotel deals and discounts aimed at families. There is even a well-done “Kids Love Boston” guidebook available for $3.95, or free with a hotel package. (For more information, call the Greater Boston Convention Bureau: 800-888-5515.)

Two other useful guides for fam ilies are published by the Globe Pequot Press: “Jerry Morris’ Boston Globe Guide to Boston” and “Bernice Chesler’s In and Out of Boston With (or Without) Children.”

For Fourth of July week, Wednesday through July 5, Boston is anticipating 1 million guests for its annual Harborfest. Visitors will have their pick of 120 activities, including a puppet parade, a kite festival and the Fourth of July eve Boston Pops concert and fireworks display that have become a tradition.

At the same time on Museum Wharf, the Boston Children’s Museum--one of the nation’s oldest and best--is launching its 80th birthday celebration, complete with activities from party games to outdoor science projects (adults $7, children $6; 617-426-8855).

“Our priority is to make Boston the No. 1 family-friendly city,” said Convention Bureau spokesman Larry Meehan.

In fact, Boston has launched one campaign suggesting it’s a better vacation spot than Disney World. “We’re much more of a real place,” sniffed Meehan, noting that even the city’s convention planners are touting their extensive children’s programming.

We tossed tea into the water--and pulled it up again--from the Boston Tea Party ship at the Congress Street Bridge, where guides in period costume retold the story about the night colonists dressed as Indians dumped 60 tons of tea, earning themselves a place in history as the most famous of colonial protesters.

We spent several hours watching whales on the New England Aquarium’s 250-passenger Voyager II ship ($23 for adults, $16 for children, no one under three feet tall permitted; 617-973-5281).

My children particularly enjoyed the sculpture in the Public Garden of the Mallard Family, made famous by Robert McCloskey’s classic children’s book, “Make Way for Ducklings.”

Later we screeched to a halt as just such a family of ducks waddled nonchalantly across one of Boston’s major streets . . . stopping traffic all around us. But no one honked. Boston, it’s clear, goes out of its way for families.

Taking the Kids invites reader questions and comments about family travel. Address them to: Taking the Kids, 2859 Central St., Box 119, Evanston, Ill. 60201.