Boston Activities

Worth getting out of bed for

Viewpoint

Bostons’ best views are to be enjoyed from the waterside or the rooftops of the city’s towering skyscrapers. The Tavern on the Water (www.tavernonthewater.com) is a great spot to admire a beautiful Boston skyline by night, and the Skywalk Observatory (and the neighbouring Top of the Hub restaurant) at the Prudential Centre (www.prudentialcenter.com) offers 360º views while you shop.

Arts and culture

In addition to the eminent Museum of Fine Arts (www.mfa.org), with its almighty Egyptian collection, and the more maverick Institute of Contemporary Art (www.icaboston.org), Boston has a wealth of little galleries and intriguing exhibitions – the LaMontagne Gallery (www.lamontagnegallery.com), showcases emerging local artists and is an inspiring alternative to the big-name museums. For a break from all the art, the The Salem Witch Museum (www.salemwitchmuseum.com) is 30 minutes away, (www.salemwitchmuseum.com) and offers a macabre recreation of the 1692 trials and executions.

Something for nothing

The Freedom Trail (www.thefreedomtrail.org) is a 2.5-mile red-brick path that winds around every historical monument and architectural accomplishment that Boston has to offer. Combine it with a little background reading and a smattering of revolutionary knowledge and you’ll know enough Bostonian history to rival the most bookish Harvard scholar.

Shopping

Foraging fashionistas flock to Louis Boston (www.louisboston.com) in the New England Museum of Natural History building, the city’s answer to London’s Harvey Nichols and the Big Apple’s Barneys. On Newbury Street, Riccardi (www.riccardiboston.com) is a hipster’s hypermarket stocking a colossal collection of international designers, with strong leanings towards Japanese houses such as Evisu, Come de Garcons and some exclusive brands. Any gaps in Riccardi’s wardrobe are amply filled by Alan Bilzerian (www.alanbilzerian.com) on Newbury Street, where you’ll find a catwalk-busting selection of McQueen, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and more. The city’s South End is more alternative, with visionary vintages finds in Bobby’s From Boston (+1 617 423 9299) at 19 Thayer Street and under-the-radar classic French style at Looc (www.loocboutique.com) on Union Park. Bypass the Borders on Beacon Hill and head over the road to Commonwealth Books (www.commonwealthbooks.com) an enchanting antiquarian bookshop where you can thumb through higgledy-piggledy piles and browse on leather Chesterfields.

Daytripper

In the summer months pack a picnic and head off to Martha’s Vineyard, the beautiful beach-lined island famed both as a destination for holidaying Hollywood heroes and business bigwigs, and as the setting for Jaws. Another must-see island (and a gift for scabrous limerick-writers) is Nantucket, a much quieter island haven of empty beaches, wild blueberry bushes and the odd historic house. Hy-Line ferries (www.hylinecruises.com) sets off regularly for both islands from its terminal an hour from Boston throughout the summer months.

Best beach

The white-sand shores of Cape Cod are an easy hour’s drive south of Boston, with more than 60 public beaches and 560 miles of coastline. Cape Ann (‘Cape Cod North’ in Bostonian parlance) is a 45-minute drive from the city; its most appealing white-sand stretch is Cranes Beach, ideal for swimmers, dune wanderers and bird spotters. The little fishing town of Rockport is the perfect springboard for exploring this lovely coastal swathe.

Perfect picnic

Shop your way through the delis of North End to pack yourself an Italian picnic basket, then mark out some territory on the lawns on Boston Common. Salumeria on Richmond Street, (www.salumeriaitaliana.com) will even deliver your picnic to your hotel so you can venture straight out.

Walks

Like New York, Boston is know as a walking city and rewards rambles in both its central shopping district and its leafier outskirts. Take a leisurely potter down the brick-paved Charles Street to the fringes of Boston Common and the Public Gardens, stopping off for a pint at the ever-lively Bell In Hand Tavern (www.bellinhand.com), where local hero Paul Revere is fame dto have supped. Alternatively, cross over the Charles River and head into Cambridge, America’s academic motherland and home to the university powerhouses of Harvard and MIT. End your wanderings window-shopping the cultish boutiques in lively Harvard Square or by picnicking on Cambridge Common.

Children

If you’re in Boston with an entourage of tots, make a beeline to the to the newly renovated Boston’s Children’s Museum (www.bostonkids.org), which has a host of hands-on educational exhibits and a packed calendar of kids’ events. Older children will prefer the Museum of Science (www.mos.org), which as well as treasure-trove of eye-opening exhibits, is also home to an IMAX, a planetarium and more simulator than you can shake a 12-year-old at. From science to geography: the remarkable Mapparium in The Mary Baker Eddy Library, (www.marybakereddylibrary.org) is a three-story glass globe with a 30-foot bridge spanning its interior. Kids will especially love its striking whispering gallery effect.

Activities

You can’t go to Boston without taking in a fan-frenzied all-American game. The Red Sox play baseball at Fenway Park throughout the summer, the Boston Celtics bounce basketballs around the court in winter and the New England Patriots bump helmets on the American football pitch between October and April. For tickets go to www.aceticket.com. If you feel you’ve missed your calling as a seal trainer, you can always spend a morning shadowing a marine-mammal keeper at the New England Aquarium (www.neaq.org).