Boston Guide
Downtown Boston
Boston's compact Downtown encompasses both the colonial heart and the contemporary core of the city. This assemblage of compressed red-brick buildings tucked in the shadow of modern office towers may seem less glamorous than other American big-city centers, but the sheer concentration of historic sights here more than makes up for whatever's lacking in flash. Boston Common is the starting point for the city's popular Freedom Trail, a self-guided walking tour that connects an assortment of historic sights by a ribbon of red brick embedded in the pavement.
Abutting the Common, several churches and old buildings are worth a peek on your way toward Washington Street, where the Old State House and Old South Meeting House provide high-water marks in pre-Revolution interest. Just east, the Financial District's short streets still follow the tangled patterns of colonial-village lanes, though they are now lined with all manner of tall office buildings. A couple of blocks north stands the ever-popular meeting place of Faneuil Hall.
East of Boston Common, small but energetic Chinatown and the nearby Theater District are primarily of interest after dark; also in the area is the Leather District, a chic, up-and-coming neighborhood typified by meandering warehouse spaces. Finally, you can get the flavor of Boston Harbor, once the third busiest in the world and enjoying a new vibrancy thanks to its reconnection to the city with the completion of the Big Dig. Along the waterfront, scenic wharfs jut out into Massachusetts Bay; the most bustling, Long Wharf, is the departure point for whale-watching excursions and trips to a handful of Harbor Islands that make for relaxing getaways.