The city of Benjamin Franklin with the old state house between all the big skyscrapers. Enjoy the atmosphere on the streets with Irish pubs, delicious Italian food and seafood. Make a stroll through the public garden where people meet each other by walking their dogs, from Corgi to Dalmatian, or come together to relax or enjoy a picknick, visit Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings. Outside the centre there is enough to do along the Charles River from running to kayaking and sailing. A city close to Plymouth where the Mayflower arrived and where it all began. For me a city where you get the feeling of Europe mixed with America.
Top 10 Must see and do in Boston:
- Freedom trail
- Beacon Hill
- Public Garden and Boston Common
- Walk along the Charles River
- Harvard
- Have lunch or dinner in little Italy
- Bunker Hill Monument with Sunset
- Museum of Science
- JFK Presidential Library
- Quincy Market
- Taste a lobster roll
Freedom Trail
To get to know the city history you must walk the Freedom trail, because it takes you along all the historic monuments and sights of Boston. On the map you can see the whole trail, but you can easily follow the red line on the street. Otherwise make a screenshot of the map and use it as back up. I know as European you don’t have wifi everywhere on the streets. Although it is possible to download offline maps of city via the app Google Maps. We started actually in the middle from the old State house towards Boston Common.
We continued with the blue trail into Beacon hill and saved the other part of the freedom trail for the evening. Beacon hill is a real cosmopolitan neighborhood, with 19th century brick houses, steep streets, small boutique shops at Charles Street and one of Boston’s most scenic neighborhoods.
Boston Common and Public Garden
Via Charles Street you can walk into the Public Garden. The entrance there will bring you to the bronze Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings on their way to the pond. In the summer it’s really nice to walk or cycle through the park or even just sit somewhere in the lawn or on a park bench and it’s nice to see that the park is a place where people come together.
Charles River
The Charles River surrounds the city centre of Boston and do you want to have a view of the skyline? You can cross the Longfellow Bridge and walk via Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Path towards the next bridge. You will see many runners making a nice run along the Charles River.
Harvard
When you are at the other side of the river it’s nice to visit Harvard campus. You can follow a guided tour given by students. Even JFK went to Harvard and graduated cum laude. Read my article ‘Travel through the life of the Kennedy’s‘ about the Kennedy’s to learn more about the family.
Little Italy
As soon as you enter little Italy you are surrounded with Italian restaurants. The smell of oregano and basil comes rights to you. Lunch or dinner here it’s always busy. making a reservation isn’t always possible so we just plunged into it and asked around to get ourselves a table.
Bunker Hill Monument
Although it doesn’t sound that good it really is worthwhile to visit. The monument is surrounded with a nice lawn where people are picknicking, reading or just enjoying the view on the street and the skyline of Boston. This is the end of the freedom trail and with a bit of steep streets we managed by bike, but you can easily walk the streets as well. Before or after you’ve visited the Bunker Hill monument don’t forget to pass by the USS Constitution, a wooden three-master, christened in 1797 owned by the United States navy. You can make historic cruises from the harbour of Boston.
JFK Presidential Library
We cycled towards the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library you have a magnificent view on the Thompson Island and beach along the coast towards Boston. In my article about the Kennedy’s I will tell you more.
Quincy Market
When you follow the freedom trail you come across Quincy Market. Quincy Market looks like an old warehouse where food was stored. It seems it always has been a market place. Nowadays it’s still a foodmarket with terraces around it and shops at North Market and South Market.
Lobster Roll
Have you ever eaten a Lobster Roll? According to the Boston Police you can get the best at James Hook. James Hook & Co. | Fresh Maine Lobster Delivery Online | Retail & Wholesale Seafood Boston (jameshooklobster.com)
Still on my to do list is the Museum of Science and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. My reason to see it isn’t that good maybe. It was after I’ve seen the movie ‘This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist?’ In the movie they show you parts of the garden of this museum. Which is still on my list to see.
Besides that I haven’t seen all of Boston. It is a city where I would like to come back to.