Things to do in Boston
Back Bay to Beacon Hill to Allston: locals' spots, real food, no tourist traps.
This is Boston for someone who wants to actually use the city: good coffee in the morning, history on foot, and dinner at the places locals book. The plan moves from the polished end of Back Bay through Beacon Hill's cobblestones and out to the honest, low-key eating of Allston. It suits a traveller who'd rather spend on one great meal and a round of proper drinks than on a fancy hotel room they'll barely see.
Day 1: Back Bay: Art, Oysters, and Buns
Start with something genuinely strange at the Mapparium, graze on pan-fried buns at lunch, and end the night with oysters and a cold drink in one of Back Bay's best rooms.
- 9:30 AM
Pressed Cafe
Grab a coffee and a pressed breakfast sandwich here before the short walk to the Mapparium.
Map - 10:15 AM
The Mapparium
The Mapparium, a walk-inside stained-glass globe; a genuinely weird and memorable Boston landmark.
Map - 12:30 PM
Spring Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns
Crisp-bottomed pork shengjian bao on Peterborough St; bite carefully, they're full of hot broth.
Map - 2:00 PM
Prudential Center
Prudential Center, browse the shops and the Skywalk level; easy walking distance from lunch.
Map - 7:30 PM
Select Oyster Bar
Tiny raw bar on Gloucester St: local oysters, crudo and a cold glass of muscadet.
Map - 9:30 PM
Cask 'n Flagon
The sports bar across from Fenway's Green Monster: a pint and the game on, loud on Sox nights.
Map
Day 2: Beacon Hill and the North End
Walk the Public Garden, pick up the Freedom Trail at your own pace, then finish in the North End with cash-only seafood and a pint at the bar that started a TV show.
- 9:30 AM
Intelligentsia
Espresso in the old State Street Bank lobby on Post Office Square before the walk to the Common; closed Sundays.
Map - 10:15 AM
Boston Public Garden
Stroll the Public Garden, Swan Boats, weeping willows, and a genuine Boston afternoon.
Map - 12:30 PM
Growl Growl - New Style Hot Pot Bowls Growl Growl - New Style Hot Pot Bowls 新派麻辣烫
Pick your own meat, greens and noodles into a single hot pot bowl, then choose the Sichuan or tomato broth.
Map - 2:15 PM
Freedom Trail
Walk the Freedom Trail from the Common end, history on foot, totally at your own pace.
Map - 7:30 PM
The Daily Catch North End
The Daily Catch is a North End legend, tiny, cash-only, unfussy Italian seafood worth every penny.
Map - 9:15 PM
Cheers Beacon Hill
End the night at the bar that inspired the TV show Cheers, a proper pint in a true Beacon Hill pub.
Map
Day 3: Harvard Square to Allston
Bookshops and river paths by day, hand-pulled noodles for lunch, and the trip's one proper dinner at Allston's best Korean restaurant before jazz closes the night.
- 10:30 AM
Harvard Square
Wander Harvard Square's bookshops, street life and architecture, one of Boston's great free afternoons.
Map - 12:30 PM
I Fresh Noodle
Hand-pulled noodles on Brighton Ave: watch them stretched to order, then get the beef noodle soup.
Map - 2:30 PM
Charles River Reservation
Walk the Charles River Reservation paths, Allston's backyard green escape along the water.
Map - 7:30 PM
Jinjee JINJEE (진지)
Dry-aged beef on tabletop grills at Allston's newest Korean barbecue house; the trip's one big dinner.
Map - 9:30 PM
Regattabar
Regattabar is a proper cocktail and jazz bar, the right note to close the night, well before midnight.
Map
Where to stay
citizenM Boston Back Bay hotel
Smartly priced, right in Back Bay, and close enough to walk nearly every stop on Days 1 and 2 without thinking twice.
Hotel Commonwealth
Kenmore Square base a short T ride from Allston; it runs pricier than citizenM, so book early for a deal.
Make Boston your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: weeks ahead
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: weeks ahead
- Fenway Park: weeks ahead
- Institute of Contemporary Art: a few days ahead
- View Boston: a few days ahead
- New England Aquarium: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall for food: walk through, then eat in the North End instead.
- Cheers is a souvenir shop with a bar. Photograph the exterior and drink at a real pub.
- Do not pay for two viewpoints, or any viewpoint in fog or rain.
The full Boston travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around