Looking for a guide to Boston, Massachusetts? We’ve got you covered — here’s where to stay, eat, drink, and visit during your next trip to one of the country’s most historic destinations.
Where to Stay:
The Newbury Boston
The Newbury Boston sits across from the iconic Boston Public Garden in the city’s locus, meaning guestrooms and suites’ views are unparalleled. This five-star stay brims with refinement, from the communal library, where bachelor blue-clad walls marry deft wood finishes housing recessed bookshelves, to the moody ground-floor Street Bar, where delicious bites such as lobster rolls accompany a lengthy list of martinis & cocktails.
The Revolution Hotel
Situated in Boston’s South End, The Revolution Hotel fills a midcentury modern building amongst an area flush with red-brick buildings. A trendy boutique hotel for the younger generation, expect corridors with colorful carpets and guestroom walls wearing eventful murals, from black & white cityscapes to ships navigating the sea.
Where to Eat:
One of Boston’s best seafood spots in the historic neighborhood of Fort Point, you’ll love this industrial-chic eatery’s oysters and local lobster rolls.
This is a 20-seat eatery in Boston’s North End with a tiny kitchen that serves unrivaled seafood at a price that doesn’t break the bank. The selection of Black Pasta — homespun squid ink linguine — reigns supreme. We recommend the Aglio Olio, which comprises ground calamari, olive oil, fresh garlic, and anchovies.
Located in Boston’s Italian immigrant-influenced North End neighborhood, this fine-dining restaurant pairs an atmospheric patio with ambrosial Italian dishes.
Redolent of a garden under the sky with its retractable roof, the Ken Fulk-designed Contessa on the Newbury Boston’s top floor draws inspiration from Northern Italy. Blush-heavy furnishings and panoramic cityscape views tastefully accompany a Northern-Italy-meets-Boston-tinged menu, offering breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and drinks.
Where to Drink:
An underground speakeasy in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, Hecate Bar occupies a dark space outfitted in candlelit black rock walls and noir furniture sporting gold and brass accents. “Bartender” and “mixologist” are yesteryear terms here — those making your drinks go by “spirit guides.” Order the Emerald Tablet, comprising Procera African gin, fig leaf cordial, honey, black lime, and a dose of aquafaba.
Where to Visit:
This museum hosts one of the USA’s most comprehensive art collections, with over 450,000 art pieces, including over 8,100 paintings. Spend an afternoon here, and you won’t regret it, art aficionado or not.
Beacon Hill
On a different side of Boston Public Garden than the Newbury, Beacon Hill is a charming New England-chic neighborhood equipping red-brick buildings that line cobblestone passageways, including the hyper-Instagrammable Acorn Street. Stroll down main thoroughfare Charles Street and pop into mom-and-pop establishments: Shop contemporary accouterments at December Thieves, buy your next novel at townhome-turned-bookshop Beacon Hill Books & Café, browse custom stationery at Gus + Ruby Letterpress, celebrate your sweet tooth at Beacon Hill Chocolates, and grab a cappuccino and pastry at Tatte Bakery & Café. Those looking for an immersion into Massachusetts’ storied past can head to Boston Athenaeum, a stunning centuries-old library, the informative Museum of African American History, and the USA’s oldest park: Boston Common.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Situated within a Venetian-tinged palazzo and centerpiece courtyard, this museum showcases the collected vestiges of its eponymous owner, who had a penchant for travel and relics from ancient cultures. Here, you’ll find 7,500 fine & decorative art objects, 2,700 books & manuscripts, and more than 8,000 historical objects, from sculptures to ceramics and metalworks.
The Freedom Trail
Those ardent about the Revolutionary War should walk the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, where a bevy of wartime museums, churches, meeting houses, and historical markers tell the story of the American Revolution and the country’s fight for independence.
Boston Public Garden & Boston Common
This green space in the center of town is lovely and historic to its core. In fact, Boston Common is one of the USA’s oldest parks. From picnics to golden-hour walks, this place is a spacious breath of fresh air.
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