Bright lights of BOSTON
FRIDAY In a little over six hours, you’ll be touching down at Logan Airport, which is just a short cab ride from the city. Catch an early flight and there’ll be time for a whimsical ride on one of the famous Swan Boats in the Public Garden, followed by a stroll around the charming, historic, gas-lit neighbourhood of Beacon Hill.
Have a locally brewed Sam Adams beer at The Sevens on Charles Street, a real neighbourhood watering hole. There’s also a good Italian wine bar on the same street, Bin 26 Enoteca, that serves light meals.
SATURDAY Unusually for the US, Boston is a walkers’ city. Follow the Freedom Trail, a line of red dots on the pavement that will lead you through 200 years of US history and several revolutionary sites, including the church steeple where Paul Revere hung his lanterns to warn of the British invasion. (A donation box reminds visitors: ‘If it weren’t for Old North Church you might be making donations in pound notes instead of dollars.’)
You’ll now be in the Italian North End. Stop for coffee at Caffe Vittoria on Hanover Street, Boston’s oldest, complete with antique working coffee grinders and lurid murals of the Bay of Sorrento.
Walk (or take a cab) to Newbury Street for the best Boston shopping. Housed in tall brownstone Victorian houses, many stores look more like living rooms. Start at the Trident bookstore at the west end, a good spot for a healthy lunch as well as a browse. For an early dinner, try Sonsie on Newbury, a lively bistro with good food.
SUNDAY Time for culture. Boston has a rich stock of museums, including two in the Back Bay area: the Museum of Fine Arts and the unique Isabella Stewart Gardner, a Venetian mansion laden with a hotchpotch of treasures, from Rembrandts to Rubens, tapestries to Titians, all collected by a ‘society queen’. Both have good restaurants for brunch or lunch.
With kids in tow, you may prefer the Children’s Museum or the Computer Museum, but everyone should see the Aquarium, one of the best in the world. It stands right on the harbour, where boats can take you to various islands or whale watching. In poor weather, go to the powerful Kennedy Museum housed in IM Pei’s striking waterfront building.
Dinner could be at Legal Seafoods or, for a sense of place, Durgin Park in Faneuil Hall marketplace, famous for its brusque waitresses and historic old Yankee food such as scrod (fish), steamers, chowder, pot roast and beans.
MONDAY There’ll be bags of time before you have to head back to the airport, so leave your luggage with the hotel concierge and take the ‘T’ train to Cambridge on the north bank of the Charles River. Explore the Harvard campus, the Coop (pronounced as in ‘chicken coop’) department store for all your Harvard souvenirs and maybe one of the museums. I’d visit the 800 species of flowers beautifully crafted from glass in the Botanical Museum and the Asian and Islamic art collection in the Sackler.
Three nights at XV Beacon hotel, with Scott Dunn (scottdunn.com) starts from £2,450pp for B&B, including flights and private airport transfers. For other hotels, see ba.com.