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Boston: Neighborhoods

Though Boston is the largest city in New England, the city center is remarkably compact and best explored on foot – a good pair of walking shoes and basic navigation skills are all you need to get around. You'll spend the majority of your time in the neighborhoods of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, North End, South End, and Faneuil Hall in the financial district. If you think of Boston Common as the center, Back Bay lies to the west, Beacon Hill to the north, the North End to the northeast, and the South End to the southeast. Faneuil Hall and the financial district are to the east, and Cambridge (home of Harvard) lies on the opposite side of the Charles River to the west, beyond Back Bay.

Beacon Hill Relive the city’s Brahmin glory days with a stroll through the narrow streets of Beacon Hill, where window-box-adorned townhouses and gaslamp-lit brick sidewalks pervade.

Back Bay Shop till you drop on über-posh Newbury Street, then spend time drinking and dining at some of Boston’s top tables.

South End The neighborhood that defines cutting-edge cool in a buttoned-up city is appropriately home to the country’s largest Victorian row-house district.

North End The sound from televisions broadcasting European football and Italian-language programs spills onto the streets from countless cafés in Boston’s Little Italy.

South Boston Come for the new Institute of Contemporary Art, then stay to stroll the streets of Boston’s fastest gentrifying neighborhood.

Cambridge Stodgy New England’s most curious characters gather in Harvard Square, home to the famed University, an ever-present counter-culture, and coffee shops and bookstores galore.

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