Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, is rich in culture and history, the cradle of American independence, and the administrative and financial hub of New England. It offers the advantages of a large urban city, yet is a city of neighborhoods. Its Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and North End are filled with the charm of an earlier era. Its downtown office skyscrapers and the modern Massachusetts hotels and shops located near Copley Place, Prudential Center, John Hancock Tower, and Newbury Street help the tourists return to the 21st century when their feet wear out.
Most tourists come to Boston to explore its historic past. Check out these 5 areas of interest to help educate your clients on some must-see spots in Boston:
1. Follow the two-and-a half-mile Freedom Trail marked by red bricks embedded in the ground. Not only will they pass some of America’s famed Revolutionary sites, but the walk will also give them a good orientation to the city. Guided tours are also available from costumed interpreters.
2. Boston Common, the public park or “common land” around which the city grew. It is America’s oldest city park. Along with the adjacent Boston Public Garden, it is part of the Emerald Necklace, a string of parks around the city designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. In season, locals and tourists alike enjoy a slow ride on the Garden’s foot-pedaled Swan Boats.
3. The Old Granary Burying Ground with the graves of Paul Revere, John Hancock, Sam Adams, and other prominent figures.
4. Paul Revere’s House, the oldest house in the city. It is in the North End, Boston’s oldest residential district. The Irish and eastern European immigrants who settled here in the 19th century moved on and were replaced by the Italians who stayed. Today, it is one of Boston’s most colorful and vibrant areas with many restaurants.
5. Faneuil Hall is the site of the first assembly of colonists to meet to discuss the rights and freedoms of a new people. With adjoining Quincy Market, renamed the Marketplace, it is part of the country’s first urban mall. Magicians, mimes, musicians, and other entertainers perform and mingle with local and international visitors on the cobbled walkways.
Bonus: The USS Constitution, known as Old Ironsides, formerly in the harbor, has moved across the river to the Charleston Navy Yard. Charleston is easily recognized by its tall stone obelisk, the Bunker Hill Monument.
