Boston, MA: A Virtual Guided Tour, from a Local's Perspective
Posted by Marc Hurwitz
Boston, MA is one of the great cities in America. And while
there are a number of decent tours people can choose from
while visiting Boston, most of them don't go much beyond
Quincy Market and the Freedom Trail. In this feature written
by the founder of Boston's Hidden Restaurants and Travel
Guide of America, you will learn about the entire city of
Boston, from Fenway Park to Hyde Park...
Boston, MA is one of the great cities in America. And while
there are a number of decent tours people can choose from
while visiting Boston, most of them don't go much beyond
Quincy Market and the Freedom Trail. In this feature written
by the founder of Boston's Hidden Restaurants and Travel
Guide of America, you will learn about the entire city of
Boston, from Fenway Park to Hyde Park. Boston, at its heart, is a city of neighborhoods. And many of
these sections of Boston have a lot to offer the visitor. While
the virtual tour of Boston is going to begin in familiar
surroundings, you will soon learn about these great
neighborhoods that are often overlooked by tourists. Let's start downtown, where you have the
historic Boston Common, Quincy Market, Fanueil Hall, and
much more. This bustling area is where most visitors come.
If you go northeast a few blocks, you end up in the
North End, an old Italian neighborhood
with narrow streets and great restaurants. From here, you
can take the tunnel to East Boston, a
close-knit working-class neighborhood that also has a
strong Italian influence, though it also has a large Brazilian
population now, too. From East Boston, cut back through the tunnel and head
north to Charlestown, a charming old
neighborhood with quaint row houses lining steep hills.
From Charlestown, go back through downtown, heading
west through Beacon Hill, a tree-shaded
old-money neighborhood, and both the South
End and Back Bay, two exciting,
trendy parts of Boston, and go past The
Fens, where Fenway Park, home of the Boston
Red Sox, is located. You soon arrive in
Allston and Brighton,
two parts of Boston populated by college students. These
funky areas are filled with restaurants, bars, and shops. From Allston, head south, eventually ending up in
Jamaica Plain, one of the funkiest Boston
neighborhoods. Jamaica Plain is filled with ma-and-pa
shops and has some of the most beautiful architecture in
Boston. From here, move southwest into
Roslindale and West
Roxbury, two mostly middle-class sections of
Boston that are mostly residential, though Roslindale is
becoming known for its terrific restaurants, too. East of here
is Hyde Park, a quiet part of Boston that
hasn't changed much over the years and feels more like a
suburban town. If you continue east from Hyde Park, you reach
Roxbury and Mattapan,
sprawling neighborhoods that are undergoing a lot of
renovation and beautification. This close-knit part of Boston
has some great parks and wonderful old Victorian houses. Continuing further east, you arrive in
Dorchester, a huge neighborhood that is
mostly working class. Black, Irish, and Vietnamese
neighborhoods make up most of Dorchester, but young
professionals are also discovering its beautiful homes and
old-time charm. From Dorchester, continue northeast into
South Boston, where Boston's Irish
families have lived for more than a century. Southie has
great beaches, steep hills, and amazing views of downtown.
And it is a neighborhood that takes pride in its
independence and uniqueness. From South Boston, it is an easy drive back into downtown
Boston, stopping by bustling Chinatown
and the charming, quiet Bay Village along
the way. There is much more to Boston than was covered in
this brief article, but you will have to explore the rest of this
great city on your own! Copyright 2005, Boston's Hidden Restaurants. All Rights
Reserved. Marc is a Boston-based writer who has helped create two
major Web sites:
Boston's Hidden
Restaurants, a restaurant guide that
features top little-known dining spots in Boston and New
England, and Travel Guide of
America,
a US travel guide that focuses on interesting cities, towns,
and villages that are vacation destinations.
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