A guide to Boston
with Kathy Arnold
I wasn’t born in Boston but I went to university here and its my favourite American city. And here in the Skywalk Observatory we’re 50 floors up in the Prudential Tower and it’s a great place to start a visit to the city because you can see the whole of the downtown, all of the historic area right below you…
Boston is very much a city that moves with the times and, if you’ve not been here for a while, you’ll certainly notice some changes…
This is the Rose Kennedy Greenway and not so long ago there was an elevated expressway right above me the length of this whole parkland. But thanks to a project called the Big Dig they put all that traffic into tunnels underground. Now Bostonians can walk from the Financial District over to the harbour – its all connected the way it used to be.
Some things however don’t change and for many visitors, Boston’s key role in America’s Independence and its birth as a nation is a major draw. Walking the Freedom Trail is the best way to get to grips with the city’s past. You can follow the trail on your own, (there are plenty of information points and free printed guides) but, even better, you can walk a section of the trail in the company of a historical character of the day.
My name is Rachel Revere and I’m the second wife of Mr Paul Revere. Paul Revere was one of the leaders of the patriot movement. All the events that took place in this colony are what led to the revolutionary war so that idea is very much embedded in the Freedom trail itself. Let’s walk the red line
The full walk is some 2.5 miles long and follows a red brick line that leads to 16 significant historic sites including landmarks such as the gold domed State House, Park Street Church, Faneuil Hall and Quincy market place and the Old Granary burying ground where famous sons of the revolution are buried.
This is the old state house and from that balcony in 1776 they read the declaration of independence here in Boston for the first time. And they still read it out, every year on the 4th July from that balcony
Boston is a very walkable city with lots of different areas to explore. Beacon Hill right by Boston Common is a lovely area to stroll around with its gas lit cobbled streets, beautiful homes and quaint shops
To give your feet a rest, a fun way to see the sights is to take a 90 minute guided Duck Tour. This convoy of amphibious vehicles (built in WWII and nicknamed ducks) give you both the street tour and the thrill of a splash down on the Charles River
Its really fun on the Duck tour and best of all is getting down here on the water. You’ve got all the views of the landmarks and on one side is Boston and on the other side is Cambridge, and that’s the home of Harvard University
My top tip in Cambridge is to sign up for the Unofficial Harvard tour led by students. Matt and Nora are 2 of the regular undergraduate guides and told me what makes their tour different
Matt - So basically we try and make our tour experience from the student’s perspective. We’re kids, we’re passionate, into it, enthusiastic, and the more fun we’re having we think the more fun the tourists have too
Kathy – and Nora what’s your favourite part of campus?
Nora – my favourite part of campus is right behind us, its called Memorial Hall. It looks a lot like a church but its not a church at all. Its serves as the Freshman’s dining hall, that long part on the left hand side which looks a bit like the dining hall from Hogwarts so I think that’s pretty awesome.
Still in Cambridge at the Museum of Natural History I met up with Catherine Peterson of the Arts Boston organisation to find out more about Boston’s diverse cultural attractions
There’s more than you could ever fit into one trip. There are some beautiful fine art galleries from the Museum of Fine Arts to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which is an Italian Palazzo a few blocks away to our very new institute of Contemporary Art down by the waterfront
Kathy: And if you are travelling with children, the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium are not just educational but great fun too
There not only great places to go but they are in great parts of the city. The museum of Science is a great place to start off for a Duck tour and the Aquarium is a great place from which to go for a Whale tour and explore the North End. And back here at Harvard, I mean you could never get bored coming here looking at the incredible exhibits here
When it comes to places to stay, Boston’s a major city so its got everything from bed and breakfasts and small boutique hotels to all the major groups of hotels. And its got hotels with history: the Omni Parker house had Charles Dickens as a guest and Ho Chi Min and Malcolm X worked there and then here, at the Back Bay Hotel, this was once the headquarters of the Boston Police..
And Boston also has those other essential ingredients for a US city break – there’s great shopping…
…and when it comes to food, Boston has it all. There’s the South End with lots of restaurants, the Italian North End and here, at the Top of the Hub, its lunch with a view and a lobster roll. Lobster is a speciality of Boston
Of course I’m biased but there’s nowhere like Boston. Its got everything you want from a city but its small enough to get a handle on it right away. You can spend a lot of time here or you can see a lot in just a couple of days and come away thinking that you’ve really got a bit under the skin of one of America’s best cities
