When someone gives you directions that start off with “you can’t get there from here, ” you know you are in Boston. But aside from the maddening one-way systems and tangle of streets, the city has an extensive public transport system, grand cultural institutions, albion towers of academia and smugly bourgeois brick architecture that are permanently attractive to long-time residents and mini-fridge carrying university students alike.
What is it known for?
In many ways the history of Boston is the history of the United States. Many of the nation’s creation myths were born here, from “the shot heard round the world” that began the American Revolution (in nearby Lexington), to the tea party that has political resonance today. You can walk the Freedom Trail (just follow the red bricks!) that takes you through a tour of downtown Boston, past the Old North Church and the State House to name a few historic spots.