Introduction
Boston is the capital and the largest city of Massachusetts. There is a large Irish and young population. It’s one of the oldest city in America, founded in 1630 and it’s very rich historically talking. Thanks to the Freedom trail you can go through Boston history and its foundation. There is also the famous University of Harvard. About the accommodations I advice you to have a look on Airbnb or Couchsurfing because the Hotel are very expensive (more than a 100$ a night). Boston has a great and safe neighborhood and the subway is going everywhere (2,10$ a ride). You can have a look on Cambridge, Jamaica and Somerville neighborhood, they are all about 25 minutes from the town center. Then you will need to go to the subway station to ask for the Charlie card (it’s free) and refill it whenever you need it. If you don’t want to pay too much on the transports you will have to walk a lot, but I think it’s the best way to discover a city and its secrets. If you too, you want to visit Boston but you don’t really have time and money come read this article 😉 !
If you are in holidays in America and you want to visit around I suggest you to use Megabus, it’s very cheap (You can find a 1$ ticket if you book enough early) and it’s going everywhere. You should go on the seats in the first floor because it will be freezing on the second floor, you should also take something to eat and a sweater just in case.
First 24 hours : Freedom Trail
The Freedom Trail is a long red line which goes across the city and the route is about 2,5 (4 km) miles. In my opinion it is the best way to discover Boston History. You can start wherever you want and just follow the red line or you can start from the Boston Harbor where the USS ship is ! There are 16 historical sites through the freedom trail and you can either visit them or just have a look. Half way don’t miss the Quincy Market! There, you can have lunch or a snack, Boston is famous for its lobster roll but you can also find any type of food (either sweet or salty). It will take you around 2 hours to do the freedom trail maybe more if you take your time and go visit everything. While you will follow the red line you will have some information signs all over the way. After that you can go shopping in the town center or just walk around the city and finish your day having a beer or two in one of the Irish pub there.
Second day: Harvard and Beacon Hill Neighborhood
The second day you can go straight to Harvard University. When you will arrive there it will look like a suburb rather than a campus because of how much it’s big. You can visit the Harvard Yard, it looks like a big garden with the Philosophy and the Science areas. Then you can go through the bridge toward Harvard Business School, another area of Harvard University. If you are a fan of architecture you will enjoy it a lot, I suggest you to take comfortable shoes because you will have to walk a lot.
Then you can go toward Beacon Hill, it’s another suburb of Boston and it looks very nice. It’s all made of red bricks and it really looks like the United Kingdom. It’s one of the oldest suburb of Boston and it’s very charming.
After all this walking you might be thirsty so you can enjoy one last drink in one of the famous pub in Boston 🙂 I hope you will enjoy it and have some good craic !
mybackpackjourney 