Boston Guide

This is my third city guide. My first was all about New York and second was all about Washington DC. We travelled to Boston in late July 2015, right in the middle of summer. We stayed 3 nights and if I had my time again I would increase it to 4 nights.

Accommodation

We stayed in an AirBNB townhouse in South Boston. The townhouse was located about a 20 minute bus ride from Boston’s CBD.

It was a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom loft style house.

It had an enormous marble kitchen, timber floors and rear deck which looked out onto a multitude of neighbouring backyards and gardens.

It was two short blocks from the seaside and sandy beach.

Transport

Right outside the house was a local bus stop with buses running every 20 minutes into the CBD. From there we would catch whichever subway took us in the direction we needed.

We did a bit of research before we left home and found the buses and subway easy to navigate. We walked a heap and the city was easy to transverse.

We purchased a CharlieCard from the local 7-Eleven and loaded it with enough credit for the 4 days of travel.

Sights you must see

1.  Harvard Square and Harvard University, 18 Brattle St, Cambridge – the streets overflow with bookstores, boutiques, coffee shops, record shops, street performers, an information centre and street dwellers, it's a fun place to hang out, walk the Harvard grounds to feel the ambience

2.  North End, Hanover St – Boston’s Little Italy district, walk Hanover Street and get your fill of pizza, pasta and Italian pastries, Paul Revere’s House can be found in a back street – 19 North Square (built in 1680)

3.  Boston CBD – Old State House and Boston Massacre site (dating to 1713, Boston’s oldest surviving building), Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall (enormous food hall and markets)

4.  Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon St – Richardsonian Romanesque style church, best photographed reflected in the modern mirror façade of the John Hancock Tower

5.  Copley Square, 560 Boylston St – this square is surrounded by exquisite architecture in Back Bay, see the neo-Renaissance Boston Public Library, finish line of the famous Boston Marathon and New Old South Church (puddingstone Venetian Gothic Church)

6.  Boston Common – Victorian flowerbeds, verdant grasses, willow trees shading a tranquil lagoon, swan pedal-powered boats, a wonderful place to sit and people watch, starting point of the Freedom Trail (2.4 miles of red paved path that winds through the city via the points of interest)

7.  Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St – majestic building with a striking golden dome

8.  Beacon Street, Beacon Hill – distinctive architecture and neighbourhood charm, Boston’s most prestigious address, narrow cobblestone streets lit with gas lanterns

9.  Charlestown – visit the USS Constitution (sails yearly on 4th of July – unfortunately it was under major restoration when we were there) and its Museum, Bunker Hill Monument (via the Freedom Trail) 220ft obelisk

Supermarkets/Pharmacy

1.  We found a couple of local supermarkets which provided us with all that we needed

Dining Out

1. Maria’s Pastry, 46 Cross St – run by three generations of the Merola family, we ate cannoli and crostoli here

2. Mike’s Pastry, 300 Hanover St – contains 19 different types of cannoli, Mr P recommends the ricotta filled one

3. Quattro, 264 Hanover St – Italian food done beautifully

4. Parish Café, 361 Boylston St – Boston’s most famous chefs have created their take on salads and sandwiches, creative and yummy, feels more like a pub than a café

5. Quincy Market, Congress & North Sts – this food hall offers a variety of places under the one roof, 20 restaurants and 40 food stalls to choose from, choose from chowder, bagels, Indian, Greek, baked goods and ice cream, heaps of seats to enjoy it

6. Max Brenner, 745 Boylston St – we discovered that Max Brenner does more than just dessert in Boston, we had a lovely dinner in this restaurant

7. Russell House Tavern, 14 John F Kennedy St – had a great lunch right in the middle of Harvard Square, great gastropub with classy food with hints of Southern goodness

Shopping

1.  Harvard Co-op Store, Cambridge – all of the family were mesmerised at the enormity of the Harvard Store, there are souvenirs, memorabilia, hats and apparel that has to be seen to be believed, I have never seen the kids happier than when they were shopping here, they love to wear their Harvard stuff on University days

2. Master P purchased an Armani watch in one of Boston’s department stores and had a smile from ear to ear.

Look up you’ll be surprised what you see

This is a city that is clearly all about America's forefathers.  It is scattered with old buildings, monuments, statues and plaques commemorating its historic past.

Weather

The weather was quite mild when we were there. There were some cloudy days and we found ourselves moving out of our shorts and into jeans and carrying a light cardigan. It was a nice change after the oppressive Washington DC heatwave that we experienced a few days earlier.

Until next time xx