Beginner's Guide to Boston

Boston Travel Guide Overview

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:25:10 +0000

Boston is one of the most unique and popular American cities, and its history, sports, education, and culture is hard to beat. Whether you want to walk the Freedom Trail, cheer the Red Sox at Fenway Park, or park your car at Harvard Yard, Boston is your destination.

Boston is especially popular during the summer and fall. Summertime is a great time to explore Boston on foot, and you will come across more than a few people walking the Freedom Trail. The fall brings beautiful New England foliage, although the best spots are a little ways out of the city.

Traveling in the off-season might save you some money on accommodations, but staying in Boston is rarely cheap. Farther out from the city the rooms are cheaper, so look into hotels in Cambridge and Somerville, which are only a short subway ride from downtown.

The wide variety of ethnic influences makes eating in Boston quite a treat. There is great Italian food in the North End and authentic Chinese food in Chinatown. The waterfront has outstanding seafood, and all throughout the city are small distinctive cafes, sandwich shops, and pizzerias.

Before you get to town, check out the official Boston tourism website, and then, after you arrive, visit one of the tourism information booths. The information stand at Boston Common, for example, offers maps of the city and staff that can answer almost any question.

Travel Tips

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:26:10 +0000

Boston’s Logan International Airport protrudes into Boston Harbor, on the east side of the city. On occasion, you might save money by flying into Manchester, New Hampshire, or Providence, Rhode Island. Manchester is about an hour north on I-93, and Providence is approximately an hour south on I-95.

If you don’t want to fly to Boston, you can also hop on a train or a bus. All trains and many buses come into South Station, from which you can jump on the subway.

Once you get to town, the best tip is not to drive. Boston drivers are notorious for impatience, speed, and unsignaled lane changes. In addition, the massive “Big Dig” construction project causes delays, and the city has an abundance of one-way and name-changing streets, both of which can cause nightmares for tourist drivers. Taxis can be expensive, but they are easy to find. Interstate 90 is the east/west thoroughfare, while I-93 cuts through the city north to south, and I-95 bypasses the city on its way from Providence to Portland, Maine.

Instead of driving, take the subway or take advantage of Boston’s reputation as “America’s Walking City.” With the exception of Cambridge, most of the big attractions are relatively close together, particularly the early American history sites. On the other hand, the subway (the “T”) has five lines, each denoted by a color, that intersect downtown. Subway rides are $1.25, regardless of whether you switch lines, and buses, which are helpful in the suburbs, cost ninety cents to ride.

Boston Areas

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:26:49 +0000

As with any city, Boston can overwhelm you until you get a feel for the layout of the city. Here is a brief introduction, essentially starting in the south and moving north.

· South Boston: South of the main touristy areas are largely ethnic neighborhoods such as Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, and Roxbury, as well as the Franklin Park Zoo and John F. Kennedy Library.

· Chinatown and Theater District: It’s no Broadway, but Boston does have a thriving theater scene, with a number of distinctive theaters and authentic Chinese food to boot.

· Downtown/Beacon Hill: West downtown includes Beacon Hill, which is home to Boston Common and Public Gardens. East downtown extends almost to the waterfront and contains the skyscrapers of the Financial District.

· Waterfront: Wharfs, the New England Aquarium, and several popular seafood restaurants line the waterfront, from which you can gaze at the Atlantic Ocean.

· Back Bay and Fenway: West of downtown, but still on the south side of the Charles River, lie the Back Bay and the Fens. The city expanded to this area in the 19^th Century, and it remains home to luxurious shopping and housing.

· Brighton/Brookline: Brighton and Brookline are home to Boston University and Boston College. The area has a college-town atmosphere, but there is not much here for tourists.

· North End: The North End, on the northeast edge of downtown Boston, is the Italian-American neighborhood, complete with ristorantes, pastry shops, and old men speaking Italian.

· Cambridge: Once you cross the Charles River, you move into Cambridge, which is actually a separate town. Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) perhaps give this town the highest IQ per capita in the world.

These areas are the main touristed areas, but Boston extends to the North, South, and West. Metro North includes Somerville, Medford, and Charlestown, while south of Boston are Quincy and Brockton, and to the west lie Newton, Watertown, and Belmont.

Historical Boston

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:27:35 +0000

If you want to experience early American history, go to Boston; several of the most famous American Revolution sites make up the Freedom Trail. Conveniently marked with red paint, the Freedom Trail is seemingly the summer home of families, school groups, and costumed patriots alike. Some of its big spots include:

· Boston Common and Public Garden: The British militia camped on Boston Common, but today it is a public park. The public gardens contains beautiful flowers, a swan pond, and the Make Way for Ducklings statues.

· Old State House/Fanueil Hall/Old South Meeting House: Each of these buildings held some of the famous debates and speeches in which colonists (including John and Samuel Adams) debated the Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, taxation without representation, and more.

· Old Granary Burying Ground: Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, the five victims of the Boston Massacre, and others are buried here.

· Paul Revere House and Old North Church: While Longfellow’s poem isn’t entirely accurate, Paul Revere did live here and the church lanterns did warn colonists of British movements.

· Bunker Hill: The north end of the Freedom Trail contains the Bunker Hill monument, where the first major battle of the American Revolution was fought. Nearby is the U.S.S. Constitution, the first great American warship.

Fortunately, if you want non-revolutionary history, Boston can still be your town. The John F. Kennedy birthplace and library are both in the city, and Harvard University in Cambridge has been home to some of the great minds in American history.

Culture, Shopping, and Sports

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:28:19 +0000

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.

In the Area

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:29:00 +0000

If you have a car and want to explore the area, there are lots of great areas within an afternoon’s drive.

Within one hour: Head south to Plimoth Plantation or drive north to Salem or Lowell. West of the city are Lexington and Concord, the sites of the first shots of the American Revolution. Concord also contains the homes of Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond.

The Beaches: Cape Cod is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in America, and north of the city, Cape Ann has the rocky beaches of Rockport and Glocester.

Within four hours: Boston is within a morning’s drive of seven states. New York City is approximately four hours away, while Portland, Maine, is just two hours north of the city. You can also explore the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont or drive south into Connecticut or Rhode Island.

Party in the Greens

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:35:09 +0000

Another St. Patty's Day down the tube in Beantown; another year's drunken revelry washed away by a deluge of green vomit.

In South Boston, made popular by the representation of Good Will Hunting - the Boston boy genius (Yeah, right) - police followed up on a warning against public drinking by busting heads and bringing in at least 30 people for being obviously smashed at the parade, and forcing dozens of others to pour out their lime-tinted beers. Talk about harshing your buzz.

The parade this year featured the usual bagpipers and marching bands, but also a special appearance by the Dropkick Murphys - Boston's loveable punk delegates.

The only real hiccup in an otherwise fine bacchanalian day (aside from getting beaten by the Fuzz) was the bitter cold. One resident was quoted concerning the freezing temperature as "Colder than Christmas!" before devolving into a string of expletives unfit for publication and then receiving a righteous baton to the crotch from Officer O'Malley.

Boston Fatties

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 18:53:53 +0000

According to a new Boston Herald article, one in five adults in the Bay State are obese and the number of adults with diabetes is dangerously on the rise.

The percentage of adults considered "dangerously obese" jumped up from 10% to 18% over the past fifteen years, and the number of diabetes cases increases 5% a year over the past decade, according to an annual Department of Public Health survey.

Once considered an adult-onset disease, Type II diabetes is now showing up in teenagers, said Dr. Mitchell Gitkind, medical director at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center’s Weight Center in Worcester. It's conceivable that as average weights increase, adults could start having heart disease or attacks as young as their 30s.

Obesity has been linked to myriad health problems including high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which in turn cause heart attacks. Diabetes is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

My suggestion for Bostonians and other Massachusetts-dwellers would be to ease off to hoagies and lime-green beer and run around the bloody block once in a while.