Things to do in Boston, splurging
Oysters at Neptune and Select, the Freedom Trail, Harvard's art and Regattabar jazz.
This is Boston for people who eat first and sightsee second. The days move between Back Bay, the North End, and Cambridge, threading design stops and cultural detours between long lunches and destination dinners. It suits anyone who books a restaurant before they book a flight.
Day 1: Back Bay and the South End
Morning pastries at Flour set the tone before a walk inside a stained-glass globe, a raw-bar lunch at Select, designer shopping at Copley Place, mezcal and mole at Sabina, and a nightcap at Moon Bar.
- 9:30 AM
Flour Bakery + Cafe
Joanne Chang's South End bakery: get the sticky bun and a latte before the walk over to Back Bay.
Map - 10:30 AM
The Mapparium
The Mapparium, a walk-inside 1930s stained-glass globe you can't see anywhere else on earth.
Map - 12:30 PM
Select Oyster Bar
Michael Serpa's tiny raw bar on Gloucester St: a dozen local oysters, then the lobster roll or crudo.
Map - 2:30 PM
Copley Place
Copley Place for Louis Vuitton and the other designer floors, linked by skybridge to the Pru shops.
Map - 7:30 PM
Sabina Mezcaleria
Boston's first mezcaleria on Newbury St: a mezcal flight, then the short rib in morita mole.
Map - 9:30 PM
Moon Bar
The casual bar on the ground floor of Mooncusser: seafood snacks and a well-made cocktail to end the night.
Map
Day 2: North End, Harbour, Downtown
Espresso at Vittoria and a walk up the Freedom Trail give way to a legendary lobster roll at Neptune, a browse through Boston Public Market, and then the week's centrepiece dinner: Woods Hill Pier 4 with the harbour spread out in front of you, finished at haley.henry with natural wine.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Freedom Trail
Walk the Freedom Trail from its North End end, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, all within the neighbourhood.
Map - 12:30 PM
Neptune Oyster bar
Neptune Oyster is a North End institution, the lobster roll and raw bar are legendary.
Map - 2:30 PM
Boston Public Market
Browse the Boston Public Market for local artisan producers, specialty foods and design-forward New England goods.
Map - 7:30 PM
Woods Hill Pier 4
Acclaimed Woods Hill Pier 4 is the destination dinner, farm-to-table American with a stunning harbour view.
Map - 9:30 PM
haley.henry
Haley.henry is one of Boston's best wine bars, excellent natural pours and small plates to finish the night.
Map
Day 3: Cambridge, Allston, the River
The Renzo Piano roof of the Harvard Art Museums, a proper Chinese sit-down lunch at HaoShiGuang, a walk along the Charles to earn the evening, Korean at Jinjee in Allston, and then Regattabar for jazz and a serious nightcap to close the trip.
- 10:30 AM
Harvard Art Museums
Three museums under one Renzo Piano glass roof, free to enter; don't miss the Fogg's Van Goghs and the courtyard.
Map - 12:30 PM
HaoShiGuang HaoShiGuang好食光
Sichuan-leaning Allston favourite on Harvard Ave: order the lamb skewers, dry-fried green beans and sweet and sour pork.
Map - 2:30 PM
Charles River Reservation
Walk the Charles River paths from the Western Ave bridge, with sculls on the water and the Harvard boathouses.
Map - 7:30 PM
Jinjee JINJEE (진지)
Tabletop grills and dry-aged beef at Allston's newest Korean barbecue house; book ahead, it fills up.
Map - 9:30 PM
Regattabar
Regattabar is a legendary Cambridge cocktail and jazz bar, the sophisticated nightcap this kind of dinner deserves.
Map
Where to stay
Mandarin Oriental, Boston
Mandarin Oriental puts you a short walk from Select and Copley Place, with the service this level of spend expects.
The Newbury Boston
The Newbury Boston sits right on the corner of the neighbourhood, with rooms that deliver on the design-forward brief and a rooftop bar to start or end any evening.
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