Boston

Boston's defining experience is the Freedom Trail, a 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) walking route marked by a red-brick line in the pavement that links sixteen of the city's most important historic sites, telling the story of the American Revolution where it happened. Starting on Boston Common — the oldest public park in the United States — it leads past the gold-domed Massachusetts State House, the Granary Burying Ground (resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams), the Old South Meeting House where the Boston Tea Party was set in motion, the Old State House overlooking the site of the Boston Massacre, and the bustling Faneuil Hall, the “Cradle of Liberty”. It continues into the North End to the Paul Revere House (the city's oldest building) and the Old North Church of “one if by land, two if by sea” fame, then over the river to the Bunker Hill Monument and the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides”, the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat. Walkable in a day (self-guided or with costumed guides), the trail is a superb, vivid introduction to both Boston and the birth of the United States — history made tangible in the middle of a living city.

Much of Boston's charm lies in its distinctive, walkable neighbourhoods. Beacon Hill, rising behind the Common, is the city's most picturesque quarter — gas-lit lanes, brick sidewalks and Federal-style row houses, with the famously photogenic Acorn Street and the boutiques and cafés of Charles Street. Adjoining it, the Public Garden, America's first public botanical garden, is famous for its lagoon and the swan boats, beside the green expanse of Boston Common. The North End, the city's oldest neighbourhood, is its lively Little Italy, where narrow streets are lined with trattorias, bakeries and cafés (the rival cannoli of Mike's and Modern Pastry are a local institution) amid Freedom Trail history. The elegant Back Bay, built on filled land in the 19th century, has grand Victorian brownstones, the shops and galleries of Newbury Street, the soaring Trinity Church on Copley Square and the Boston Public Library, plus the views from the Prudential Center's Skywalk. The regenerated Seaport district and the harbourwalk show the city's contemporary, waterfront face. Each neighbourhood has its own character, and wandering between them is one of Boston's great pleasures.

Boston is a city of culture, learning and sport. Its museums are world-class: the Museum of Fine Arts, one of the largest and finest art collections in the country; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a Venetian-style palazzo of art set around a glorious courtyard garden (and famous for a notorious unsolved heist); the interactive Museum of Science; and, on the waterfront, the New England Aquarium and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Across the Charles River in Cambridge — easily reached by the historic “T” subway — lie two of the world's most famous universities: Harvard, with its storied Yard, museums and the lively Harvard Square, and MIT, with its striking modern architecture; their campuses and college-town atmosphere are attractions in themselves. And Boston is a passionate sports city, nowhere more so than at Fenway Park, the intimate, ivy-and-brick 1912 home of the Red Sox and the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, where catching a game (or a tour) is a quintessential Boston experience. Add the symphony, theatres and a deep literary heritage, and the city's cultural life more than matches its history.

Boston's relationship with the sea and its immigrant story are central to its character. The harbour, where the Tea Party took place, is now a place for sightseeing and whale-watching cruises out to the rich feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank, ferries to the Boston Harbor Islands, and the lively Seaport waterfront. The city is also a heartland of Irish America: waves of Irish immigration from the 19th century onward shaped Boston's politics, culture and identity (the Kennedys foremost among its dynasties), and the connection is felt in its neighbourhoods, pubs and the exuberant St Patrick's Day celebrations — a tie that makes the city especially resonant for Irish visitors. Boston is also the gateway to New England: Cape Cod's beaches and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket lie to the south-east; the witch-trial town of Salem and the Pilgrim landing site at Plymouth are short trips; and the mountains, coastlines and small towns of the wider region — ablaze with colour during the famous autumn “leaf-peeping” season — are all within reach. Compact, historic and full of life, Boston is both a great city break and the perfect start to a New England journey.