Boston City Guide

Boston is one of the oldest cites in the USA and a destination of much historical importance. This lively city, which is home to one of the most renowned educational communities in the world, is a city that offers beautiful architecture, verdant green parks, the Charles River and many museums, galleries and colonial churches that offer a whole host of sight-seeing opportunities. Trips to Boston vacations are best for weekend getaways.

Boston hosts more than 50 colleges and universities. Its community of Cambridge lies across the Charles River and is the largest college town in the world that hosts the famed Harvard University, universally acknowledged as the premier educational institution in the world.

Boston is also home to several ‘firsts’ since the city is home to the first public library, the first public school and the first subway system in the US. The city is also associated with the Boston Tea Party, an event of much importance in the history of the USA.

While many cities are defined by their iconic skylines, Boston is distinguished by its vibrant, diverse neighborhoods, which contribute greatly to the charm of the city. Most of the major hotel chains have a presence in Boston and the Boston areas of downtown and Back Bay (a neighborhood runs along the Charles River on the opposite side of Cambridge that is famous for its brownstone 19th century Victorian homes) have the highest concentrations of hotels that cater to all budgets and tastes. There is a high possibility that you would find an attractive hotel deal for your Boston vacations from this area.

Other popular neighborhood of Boston that finds favor with visitors includes the Waterfront area of Boston that lies below the North End and hosts the Rowes Wharf Complex. The neighborhood also offers luxury shopping, townhomes and offices and the New England Aquarium.

Yet another popular choice is the Fenway Kenmore Square Neighborhood; located near major Universities like Northeastern and Boston University. It hosts a large concentration of students and fairly inexpensive food, clubs and bars along with several discount hotels and various other cultural attractions.

The Freedom Trail is one of Boston’s most well known attractions and extends over a stretch of 2.5 miles from downtown to the North End to Charlestown and the Bunker Hill Monument in the heart of the city. This trail that follows a line of red bricks, links 16 of Boston’s most historic sites that include attractions like Paul Revere House, the Old North Church, the Old State House, the USS Constitution, Bunker Hill Monument and the Quincy Market/ Faneuil Hall attraction, which once functioned as the meeting place for revolutionaries and is today a bustling marketplace offering many dining options.

The Beaver II is popularly known as the ‘Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum.’ It was one of the three ships stormed by the patriots in 1773 as they rebelled against the rule of the British colonists since the laws imposed taxes on tea. The museum aboard the ship catalogues this historic event and educates visitors about an event known as the Boston Tea Party wherein revolutionaries disguised as Mohawk Indians accessed the ships that were loaded with tea and emptied the crates into the Boston harbor. You may want to be here during Boston trips to feel the frenzy this place once experienced.

Harvard University is the most renowned center of learning in the world and was established in 1636. This university is known for its excellent faculties that have produced many world famous, award winning economists, biologists, poets and graduates like President John F Kennedy and many others. Famous names associated with Harvard who didn’t quite finish their term at Harvard, include Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the social networking site Facebook, actor Matt Damon and the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates. You surely don’t want to miss the famed Harvard during your Boston vacations.

The University also has within its old-world environs several museums like the Harvard Art Museums, which include the Fogg Art Museum, the Bush-Reisinger, the Arthur Sackler Museums and the science museums, which include the Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Boston’s New England Aquarium features some of the world’s most amazing marine creatures like the giant pacific octopus, sand tiger shark, green sea turtles and North Atlantic Right whales. It should be considered a must-visit place for families on trips to Boston.

The aquarium also has other attractions like the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which runs from April through October.

Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts is its oldest, largest and best known art institution that has a permanent collection of 22,000 artworks and exhibits the works of artists from all corners of the globe and all styles, genres and time periods.

Fenway Park is the home of Boston’s beloved baseball team. The Boston Red Sox is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium in the USA, which is still in use. The stadium with its quirky features like The Triangle, Pesky's Pole, and the famous Green Monster left-field wall should be considered a must-see on any baseball fan’s itinerary for Boston.

Boston is located on USA’s East Coast and has a continental climate that is characterized by tremendous temperature swings. Winters in Boston are particularly cold, windy, wet and snowy. Boston gets quite a lot of snowfall every winter. Summers in Boston are usually warm and humid.

The best time to plan vacations to Boston is in the late spring or early fall when the weather is conducive to exploring the city on foot. Early fall is an extremely popular time to visit Boston as it gives visitors a chance to take in the colorful foliage, which is a huge attraction of the fall season in New England.

Getting to Boston is fairly easy since the city is well served by top airlines; both international and national. With Fare Buzz, you can book cheap air flight tickets as easily as 1-2-3. Once you reach Boston and want to experience the roads and places on your own, do avail of the Boston Car rental deals with us. You would save time and money.

Boston's public transport system is quite extensive and consists of a subway system, buses, trolley buses, ferries and the commuter rail. The subway system in Boston is known as the ‘T’ and it is the best and most reasonable way to traverse the city.

Both the bus and subway systems in Boston operate from 5am to 12.30 am but there are some bus services, which do run until the wee hours especially on the weekends. Boston’s transport system also includes taxis but these are plentiful in the city and are quite expensive when compared to the subway and bus services.

Shopping in Boston is quite an experience for the city offers a variety of shopping options at it many retail shopping hubs. Popular locales include the upscale boutiques and stores of Newbury street that host outposts of big name brands like Rag and Bone, Armanic, Scoop NYC,J Crew along with trendy cafes and antique stores. Other notable shopping destinations in Boston include the Shops at Prudential Centre in the Back Bay, a mall that offers more 75 stores and restaurants, including the region’s only Saks Fifth Avenue store. Also located within the mall is an attraction known as the Skywalk which offers a panoramic 360 degree view of the city from 700 feet above the ground.

Other Boston shopping options worth perusing are the outdoor stalls at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace and the many stores located along gas lamp lined Charles Street. More shopping options are in store at the mall at Copley Place, the city-center Downtown Crossing enclave and across the Charles River at Harvard Square and the Cambridgeside Galleria. Boston also offers much outlet shopping at locales like the Kittery Outlets, the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets and at the upscale stores of the Natick Collection.

It is useful to know while shopping in Boston that the state of Massachusetts charges no sales tax on clothing valued under $175 and only levies 6.25% sales tax on all other goods.

The cosmopolitan university town of Boston is equipped with numerous restaurants offering a variety of local and international eats. Fine dining restaurants, sandwich cafes, delis, Boston offers them all and more. Highly ranked Boston restaurants and eateries currently include spots like Volle Nolle (sandwiches), Flour Bakery and Café, Island Creek Oyster Bar, Ariana (Afghan food), Neptune Oyster, Whisk and Craigie on Main(both New American), Taqueria Jasilco (Mexican) and Menton (French/Italian).

Boston is home to a lively nightlife scene that features pubs, sports bars, comedy clubs, cocktail lounges and nightclubs. However, it is worth noting that bars and clubs in this college town are required by law shut shop at 2am.

Highly-ranked night-spots in Boston currently include haunts like Drink (a lounge located in Boston’s waterfront district), Havana Club (a dance club located on Central Square), Wallys Café (a jazz club on Massachusetts Avenue), Rise (a dance club in the Back Bay), Mr. Dooley’s (an Irish pub in the financial district) and Eastern Standard Kitchen (a cocktail lounge located on Commonwealth Avenue).