Boston bills itself as the birthplace of the American Revolution. And it is. After all, this is where a bunch of revolutionary colonists dressed up as Indians and threw English tea into Boston Harbor, which to this day has a slight taste of Earl Gray. It’s also right down the road from Lexington and Concord, where the first battle of the American Revolution took place.
These days, Boston is one of the last places you would see the modern incarnation of the Tea Party represented. Boston is one big college town, with an incredible amount of major and world class universities within a few miles of each other. Harvard and MIT are over the river in Cambridge, Tufts is in Medford, Brandeis is in Waltham, and Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, Wentworth, Berklee College of Music, Emerson, and many others are in Boston proper. As such, it’s a great place for arty backpackers searching for a hostel Boston
. And there are also plenty of hotels
, just be sure not to try and book during graduation time, as they will all be full.
Boston is very small geographically, but it does take some time to get around. There’s no grid system, and the city seemed to be built on some sort of weird Pilgrim system that makes about as much as sense as banning colored cloth. There is plenty to see and do downtown. For a more arty scene, head out to Jamaica Plain. Or head over to Allston for live music and cheap drinks. Or, if you are up for a challenge, head to Cambridge and play some bar trivia against Harvard and MIT kids. They might know quantum physics, but do they know the name of the actor who starred in Quantum leap?
(A: Scott Bakula).