We are by no means experts of the Boston area. But as tourists of the new-residents sort, we've explored a bit and have some favorites. Below are some of the posts where we mention some of the interesting things we've seen. (Disclaimer: the posts weren't written as guides or formal reviews, and you sometimes have to scroll a little to get to the part about the place.) And if you're coming to visit us, feel free to use the list as a jumping-off point—there's not much here we wouldn't mind seeing again!
DOWNTOWN
Public Garden 1 + 2 + 3 | Boston Common | Frog Pond | Omni-Parker House (original Boston Cream Pie) | Freedom Trail 1 + 2 | Holocaust Memorial | Boston Pops Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular 2010 + 2011 + 2012 + 2014 | Esplanade | Boston vs. NYC Food Truck Throwdown
BEACON HILL
CLINK. @ the Liberty Hotel | The Liberty Hotel
NORTH END + CHARLESTOWN
North End | Bunker Hill Memorial | Haymarket | Old Town Trolley Tours (picks up along the Freedom Trail and beyond) | Mike's Pastry | US Figure Skating Nationals @ TD Garden + Worlds Figure Skating @ TD Garden | The Science Behind Pixar @ the Museum of Science
WATERFRONT
sunset harbor cruise 1 + 2 | Chart House | Institute of Contemporary Art 1 + 2 | Red Bull Cliff Diving @ the ICA (August) | The Barking Crab 1 + 2 | New England Aquarium 1 + 2 | Boston Harbor Islands 1 (Spectacle) + 2 (Spectacle + George's) | Harpoon Brewery 1 + 2 | Lawn on D
CHINATOWN + THEATER DISTRICT
Dumpling Cafe | W Hotel | Wang Theatre
CAMBRIDGE + SOMERVILLE
Head of the Charles Regatta (mid-October) | Blue Ribbon Bar-B-Q (in Arlington) | Harvard 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 | Sweet (cupcakes) @ Harvard Square | candlepin bowling @ Davis Square | Cambridge Science Festival (mid-April) | MIT Museum | MIT | Cambridge Common | Toscanini's ice cream | Taza Chocolate Factory | The Sinclair @ Harvard Square 1 + 2 + 3 | Harvard Museum of Natural History
FENWAY + BACK BAY
Museum of Fine Arts 1 + 2 + 3 | Sweet Cheeks Q | Fenway Park 1 (tour) + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 (tour) | Boston Symphony Orchestra @ Symphony Hall | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 1 + 2 | Boston Public Library @ Copley Square
SOUTH END
The Butcher Shop | SoWa Open Market (May-October + special events) 1 + 2 | Stir | local shops
BROOKLINE + ALLSTON-BRIGHTON
Coolidge Corner Theatre | FuGaKyu 1 + 2 | Eagle's Deli | Boston College football game | Boston Marathon (April) 2010 + 2011 + 2013 | The Regal Beagle | Zaftigs | Orinoco | Paris Creperie | Dorado | Lineage | Roxy's Grilled Cheese | Mei Mei | Great Scott
JAMAICA PLAIN
Arnold Arboretum
JUST OUTSIDE BOSTON (i.e. not on the T)
Lumiere (in Newton) | JnJ Turo Turo (in Quincy) 1 + 2 + 3 | Salem Ferry + The House of Seven Gables (in Salem) | Plum Island | Deutsche Bank Championship (in Norton on Labor Day weekend) | Color Me Rad 5K 1 + 2 + 3 | Cape Cod | World's End (in Hingham) | Crane Estate (in Ipswich) | Martha's Vineyard
Click here for all the post from backyard tourists: Boston.
- free/discounted museum passes available at the BPL using your library card. Thanks to Renee for the tip! Additionally, some museums have specific days that are free to the public (some are also free on certain holidays).
- Massachusetts has a lot of official state things. Artist? Norman Rockwell. Rock? Roxybury puddingstone. Not to be confused with granite, the state building and monument stone. Cat? Tabby. I want one. Folk hero? Johnny Appleseed. Dessert? Boston Cream Pie. But that's not all. The state cookie is chocolate chip.
- 4.5 million people live in the Greater Boston area, which includes 53 different ZIP codes.
- Boston has both an indoor and an outdoor professional lacrosse team.
- On September 1, 1897, the Boston subway opened as the first underground metro in North America. Boston is also home to the oldest park in the US (Boston Common), the first police department, and was one end of the first US mail route (the other was New York).
- Boston was named after another city in England originally named “Boltophston” after Saint Botolph, an orthodox preacher in England. Boston came from a shortening of “Boltophston.”
- One of Boston's nicknames is "The Walking City" and if you've seen the traffic here, you'll understand why walking is the better option. It's easy to get around, the different neighborhoods are interesting, and the incessant honking won't stress you out (as much).