Culture, Shopping, and Sports

While Boston is perhaps best known for its history, it has quite a lot of present-day appeal as well.

 

Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) is one of the top art museums in the country, and the Museum of Science, Children’s Museum, and New England Aquarium are also among the nation’s best. In the Back Bay, the Symphony Hall is home to two of the best orchestras in the world: the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops.

 

Just east of the MFA is the Prudential Center, the second tallest building in town, and the home of a small mall. More exquisite shopping is on nearby Newbury Street, and Downtown Crossing contains a bevy of shoppers and stores, including Filene’s Basement, one of the country’s first department stores. Cambridge’s Harvard Square has great bookstores, and adjacent to Fanueil Hall is Quincy Market, a fun area with street performers, an ethnic food court, and outdoor vendors. 

 

Finally, can you think of Boston without thinking of sports? The Red Sox, are free of the curse and play in historic Fenway Park. The Patriots play football in Foxboro, thirty minutes southwest of the city, and the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics both play downtown in the TD Banknorth Garden. Each April, the Boston Marathon brings thousands of the world’s best runners to the streets, and in the fall, the top rowers in the world face off in the Head of the Charles Regatta.