My Guide to Boston, U.S
*All work including photos and writing on this page is my own, except the link to the Expedia video, freely available on Youtube.
Boston is everything you would imagine it to be, historic, yet youthful, European, yet American, intelligent with the most famous universities in the world of Harvard and M.I.T, yet there are colleges for those that don't make it there too. It is a walking city and with the Irish influence great for a pub crawl too. My whole family loved Boston, however it is a small city and a weekend here is probably enough, combining it with New York or a drive around the New England countryside would be a good idea. Boston has lots of cultural attractions to enjoy at your leisure too. Boston was founded by English Puritans who first named it Trimountaine, before finally naming it Boston, after Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Crime used to be a problem in Boston, but has fallen significantly since 1990 and is now much safer. I have only been to Boston twice, the most recent in August 2018, but I do like this city and will return!
The weather in Boston can be very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, with recent winters breaking all records. I would not recommend visiting Boston from October-March. We have been several times in July. It was hot then though.
Boston is everything you would imagine it to be, historic, yet youthful, European, yet American, intelligent with the most famous universities in the world of Harvard and M.I.T, yet there are colleges for those that don't make it there too. It is a walking city and with the Irish influence great for a pub crawl too. My whole family loved Boston, however it is a small city and a weekend here is probably enough, combining it with New York or a drive around the New England countryside would be a good idea. Boston has lots of cultural attractions to enjoy at your leisure too. Boston was founded by English Puritans who first named it Trimountaine, before finally naming it Boston, after Boston in Lincolnshire, England. Crime used to be a problem in Boston, but has fallen significantly since 1990 and is now much safer. I have only been to Boston twice, the most recent in August 2018, but I do like this city and will return!
The weather in Boston can be very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, with recent winters breaking all records. I would not recommend visiting Boston from October-March. We have been several times in July. It was hot then though.
Things to do in Boston
1) The Freedom Trail
This is a must see attraction in Boston and in my opinion the best thing to do here. We all loved it. You follow the red brick trail right through the city, stopping at all the historical and other interesting sites on the way. Just do it yourself and stop as long as you like on the way. You can stop of for lunch, ice cream and coffee on the way too as it passes by these places. 2) JFK Museum This is one of the many interesting museums in Boston, probably the best one if you only have a short time. 3) Boston Tea Party Museum This is very popular and of course the one thing that springs to mind when most of us think of Boston. Here you can learn about this historic event. 4) USS Constitution You can just have a look at this beautiful ship from the outside or pay to have a tour around it. It is still a Navy ship today and is seaworthy! 5) Faneuil Hall and Marketplace This is an historic building that is still in use as a market today. It isn't worth a special trip, but worth looking at if you are in that area. 6) Newbury Street (pictured below) Coming from Newbury, England, I was curious to see this area. It didn't disappoint. It is a lovely street for a walk, with cafes, restaurants, boutique shops and my daughter bought some books from a cute little bookshop. |
Food Seafood dominates the food here in Boston, as with the rest of New England. Clam Chowder, Boston Cream Pie ( A cake really), Lobster, Baked beans, and fish cakes are the main things to try here. For drinks the Irish influence really still prevails here with Irish Coffee being very popular as well as local Cider and wine. Beer and spirits are also very popular here. Popular restaurants: -Mario's Restaurant, Italian -North Street Grille, American -Ostra, Seafood -Mistral, French -The Q Restaurant, Chinese -Boston Sail Loft Restaurant, American/Seafood -Toro Boston, Spanish -Shabu-Zen, Japanese |
Places to visit from Boston
1) New York You can drive to New York in just under 4 hours so it is easy to combine your trip to Boston with a few days in new York.
2) Burlington, Vermont. In just over 3 hours you can also drive to Burlington in Vermont. This is a pretty town on the lake and in the Autumn this is a spectacular drive with the beautiful tree colours!!
2) Burlington, Vermont. In just over 3 hours you can also drive to Burlington in Vermont. This is a pretty town on the lake and in the Autumn this is a spectacular drive with the beautiful tree colours!!
3) Martha's Vineyard is about a 2 1/2 hour drive, a popular place in the summer, Nearby Cape Cod is also worth a visit!
4) Maine, such as the beautiful coastline and small towns along the coast up to Portland, Maine. Portland can be reached in under 2 hours, but stop off at the pretty coastal towns on the way.
5) Montreal, Canada This is a long 5 hour drive, but well worth. You could then fly home from here.
4) Maine, such as the beautiful coastline and small towns along the coast up to Portland, Maine. Portland can be reached in under 2 hours, but stop off at the pretty coastal towns on the way.
5) Montreal, Canada This is a long 5 hour drive, but well worth. You could then fly home from here.
Where to stay
Boston can be an expensive place to stay, especially in the city centre. If you don't mind staying outside a bit, we stayed in Cambridge/Arlington at the Homewood Suites very cheaply and were able to easily use public transport to near by Harvard square, where we had a look around Harvard and M.I.T, which are walking distance apart. The buses and T trains are very efficient and cheap, I would recommend public transport here.
Crime
Crime
Thankfully Gone are the days when Boston had high crime. Now it is safer with a falling crime rate, unlike most US cities at the moment. It is still though above the National average crime rate. It doesn't feature in the top 10 most dangerous cities now. It is not sensible to walk alone at night in this city though. The most dangerous areas to avoid are:
Roxbury, Dorchester, Central and South Boston,
North Boston and Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Allston, Fenway are the safest.
Roxbury, Dorchester, Central and South Boston,
North Boston and Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Allston, Fenway are the safest.
The Universities
Both Harvard and M.I.T are situated just outside of Boston city centre, easily reachable on public transport, to Harvard Square. You can take student led tours around the campuses, which we did at Harvard and found it very interesting.
For further information on Boston visit this tourist information website: Boston