Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
8
Boston Strolls
W
alking is the best way to see Boston.
The narrow, twisting streets that make
driving such a headache are a treat for
pedestrians, who are never far from
something worth seeing. The central city
is compact—walking quickly from one
end to the other takes about an hour—
and abounds with historically and
architecturally interesting buildings and
neighborhoods.
In this chapter you'll find a tour of
Boston's
Back Bay
and one of
Harvard
Square
in Cambridge. For information
on Boston's most famous walking tour,
the 2
1
⁄
2
-mile
Freedom Trail
, see
chapter 7.
Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, and
if you're not inclined to pay designer
prices for designer water, bring your own
bottle and fill it at your hotel.
WALKING TOUR 1
THE BACK BAY
Start:
The Public Garden (T: Green Line to Arlington).
Finish:
Copley Square.
Time:
2 hours if you make good time, 3 if you detour to the Esplanade, and longer if
you do a lot of shopping.
Best Time:
Any time before late afternoon.
Worst Time:
Late afternoon, when people and cars pack the streets. And don't attempt the
detour on July 4th, when concertgoers jam the neighborhood. This walk is mostly
outdoors, so if the weather is bad, you may find yourself in lots of shops. You
decide whether that makes an overcast day a “best” or “worst” time.
The Back Bay is the youngest neighborhood in central Boston, the product of a mas-
sive landfill project that transformed the city from 1835 to 1882. It's flat, symmetri-
cal, logically designed—the names of the cross streets go in alphabetical order—and
altogether anomalous in Boston's crazy-quilt geography.
Begin your walk in the:
1
Public Garden
Before the Back Bay was filled in, the
Charles River flowed right up to Charles
Street, which separates Boston Common
from the Public Garden. On the night of
April 18, 1775, British troops bound for
Lexington and Concord boarded boats to
Cambridge (“two if by sea”) at the foot of
the Common and set off across what's
now the Public Garden.
Explore the lagoon, the trees and other
flora, and the statuary. Take a ride on the
Swan Boats
(mid-Apr to mid-Sept), and
then make your way toward the corner of
Charles and Beacon streets, inside the
Public Garden (follow the sound of
delighted children).
Here you'll see a 35-foot strip of cobblestones
topped with the bronze figures that immortalize
Robert McCloskey's book:
