It was my first time visiting this great city and even though it isn't one of the biggest cities in The States it is definitely worth the visit. Just walking around the city you get mixed into British-looking narrow streets, a mix of modern and Beaux-Arts architecture like the Boston Library, and campuses of some of the best Universities in the world, in just one tiny radius. There is a large pool of aficionados of different teams and sports like the Celtics and Red Sox that keep the city fun and entertaining all around the sports bars and the stadiums themselves. The food markets where out-of-this-world and my only wish during the trip was to have grown a second stomach to try as many foods and treats possible. Here are my top ten favorite things I did in Boston.
1. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
This museum has a very large collection, fifth largest in the U.S. and is home to so many artworks from all-over the world (American, European, and even a large Egyptian collection). It is very large and has many rooms so make sure you go through all of them. I recommend spending more of your time on the rooms that you are mostly interested in since it's so large, for me it's Impressionism so I made sure I spent most of my time there. What was interesting about each room was that they would have paintings from a certain time and certain style then pop it with one painting from a completely different time.
2. Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library, located in Copley Square, is beautiful. It was envious to see all the people working, studying, or reading in the Bates Hall which is shown in the picture below. Regardless of everyone on smart devices it really must be an amazing place to work. All around the building was very elegant and beautiful but by far, this study hall was breathtaking.
3. Harvard University
We went to Harvard University and also walked in a small part of Boston University. We went during the weekend, so it probably didn't do it's justice on getting the full ambiance of the University, but it was still amazing to walk around it and just see how powerful and important Ivy League Universities are in the American culture.
4. Charles River
The Charles River flows through 22 cities before getting to Boston where its water heads out to the Atlantic. There are many bridges that cross through it in the city so I highly suggest getting a good view of the city from one of them.
5. Quincy Market
The Quincy Market is a designated National Historic Landmark and a designated Boston Landmark. It is an area filled with shops and restaurants which should be high on your list. Here, you should try the famous lobster roll, which is like a hotdog/sandwich native to New England and Canada. A lobster roll is basically buttered bread with lobster meat placed in the middle or as shown in the picture, on top. There were also really good Italian-style patisserie but I went for an ice-cream cookie sandwich the size of my head.
6. Celtics
I hadn't been to a basketball game in so long and it was great to see the Boston Celtics play and of course, win! If you plan on visiting Boston I suggest seeing what's in season (basketball, baseball, rugby, etc.). The games here get pretty wild and really fun to go watch with friends and family.
7. TimeOut Market
The first TimeOut Market opened up in Portugal in 2014, because of its great success the editors at TimeOut, yet again, curated one hub of the best eateries in town. In the Fenway neighborhood you can visit this market with 15 eateries, two bars, and a demo cooking area. All under one roof you get the best food, drinks and culture the city has to offer.
8. Old North Church
This church is the oldest standing church building in the city, it is still an active Episcopal Church. It is in this location where the famous "One if by land, two if by sea" signal was said to have been sent. It was this phrase that preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution. You can see in the picture the divided high-walled box pews, these where privately sold and ornately decorated by their wealthy owners, people who couldn't afford these would sit during mass on the second floor.
9. The Liberty Hotel
This hotel was once the Charles Street Jail completed in 1851. After 120 years of housing some of Boston's most notorious criminals, prisoners revolted because of its poor living conditions so about twenty years later all the prisoners were finally moved out. It was considered to become a hospital, but in 2007 it turned into a 298-room hotel. The restoration is amazing as there are parts where the cells still remain. There is a restaurant called Clink where we had brunch and was amazing.
10. Restaurants
The food in Boston is incredible and I only wish I had more days just to eat and try new things. My time was short but if you are in town you should look up these four restaurants that I tried and were great!
Saltie Girl (tried in in TimeOut Market but also have different locations), Frenchies (French, obviously but they have brunch on weekends), Empire (a mix of Asian cuisines and it is also a lounge), and Clink (in Liberty Hotel)
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