Overview: unlike many other US cities, Boston is ideal for walking, with most of its harbour front, historic, shopping, theatre and entertainment districts either easily accessible on foot or linked by the ‘T’ light rail and subway system. Districts include Beacon Hill and downtown; the North End and Charlestown, which takes in the colourful Italian quarter; Central Bay area and historic Copley Square; Victorian South End; Chinatown; Boston Harbour and Islands; fashionable Cambridge and Harvard University.
Main attractions: to get an insight into Boston’s colourful past take the Freedom Trail – a three-mile walk featuring 16 historic sites from the city’s colonial and revolutionary period via a red-brick trail through North End to Charlestown. Other highlights include the Seaport District, Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum, Fanueuil Hall Marketplace and Quincy Market’s food hall, Museum Wharf, John F Kennedy Library and Museum (out of town at Columbia Point but worth a visit) and the Commonwealth Museum, among others.
Excursions: the Boston Duck Tour on an amphibian landing-craft which tours the historic area and then launches into the Charles River for a glimpse of the Back Bay area and across to Cambridge. Other Old Town Trolley Tours include seafood tastings and restaurant visits, while a Brew Pub Tour features three of the city’s micro-breweries.
Eating out: try the seafood at the harbour-front eateries and steaks at the brewery-run pubs and restaurants in downtown. On Sundays you can sample the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues Restaurant and Music Hall in Cambridge for around $25. The Hampshire House, a former Beacon Hill townhouse and home to the Cheers! pub in the famous TV series, also offers the gourmet Library Grill.
Nightlife: plenty of theatre and comedy clubs, while most nightclubs are located along Landsdowne Street near Kenmore Square and the Fenway. Also plenty of jazz, blues and rock and roll music cafes and clubs.
Shopping: Boston’s fashionable shopping malls are trying to compete with the booming discount factory outlets in outlying areas such as Worcester Common and Wrentham Village by offering discount ‘passports’ valid on a wide range of designer clothes and goods. With no sales tax on clothes, Boston is a tempting place for shoppers, and a major city draw is still Filene’s Basement department store. Founded in 1908, its automatic markdown system guarantees that every piece of merchandise is reduced in price from 25%-75% after about 14-28 days on display.
Airport transfers: Logan International Airport is only a few miles from downtown Boston and can be reached by water taxi, subway service, taxi and airport bus shuttle.
Getting there: Boston is served from Heathrow by British Airways and American Airlines thrice daily, and by Virgin Atlantic and United Airlines daily. Aer Lingus operates daily from Dublin with UK regional connections, as does KLM/Northwest Airlines over Amsterdam. Icelandair flies regularly from Heathrow and Glasgow via Reykjavik. Minimum flying time from London is 6hrs.