I just spent 48 hours in Boston, Massachusetts one of the greatest cities in the USA. As a major metropolis, it has all the cultural trappings of any major city – museums, music (Boston Pops!), fine dining, etc. Plus it’s also one of the oldest settlements in America so is incredibly rich in US history – The Freedom Trail, Quincy Hall, The Boston Tea Party, etc. I didn’t do any of those things!
Don’t get me wrong, they are all absolutely worth doing and I have done most of them on previous visits, but this trip was mostly to see family, so I spent most of my time spending quality time with them than sightseeing. But of course, Boston is so culturally rich, it’s basically impossible not to see some interesting things, even when you aren’t trying to be a tourist. I mostly hung out in the adorable, hipster neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, but also took a little jaunt around the Back Bay part of town.
Back Bay
The Back Bay district is the shopping part of downtown. I’m not a big shopping person myself, but did hit up the huge Prudential Center mall to take a spin through the recent outpost of Mario Batalli’s Eataly. A mega Italian grocery store with dining stands for fresh pasta, meats, cheeses, espresso, gelato etc. After huge success with the Flatiron location in Madison Square Park in New York City, he opened another one in Boston. If you like high quality Italian food, it’s worth an ogle.
Boston Public Library
Also in the Back Bay district is The Boston Public Library which is well, well worth a visit. Completely gorgeous with new details to discover at every turn. Well I mean, you can see that. That’s what the pictures are for.
Solas Irish Pub
What trip to Boston would be complete without visiting an Irish Pub? Especially when you are visiting with your grandmother who is from Ireland and there is nothing the two of you like better than sitting outside drinking wine? Well, she drank wine, but I of course felt inspired to get a beer. It’s a loveley day for a Guinness, but it’s an even lovelier day for a Peanut Butter Porter. So after working up a thirst exploring the library we picked nearby Solas and were thrilled with our selection. Mostly because of that amazing Irish Soda Bread Bowl filled with Brie Dip.
Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain is a quintessential hipster neighborhood. If you like the idea of a Main Street (well in this case Centre Street) that features many local artisinal shops selling coffee (Cafe Nero, Espresso Yourself), ice cream (JP Licks), second hand / vintage goods (Boomerang), & fresh, local food, take a day or afternoon to soak it all in. I luxuriated in it. Oh and if you’re into that, well then there’s a good chance you’re the type that likes Yoga. Blissful Monkey offers a lunch time practice from 12-1 for $10 and the instructors were fan-freakin-tastic. Highly recommended.
The Arnold Arboretum
Within easy walking of Centre Street is The Arnold Arboretum which is absolutely beautiful and easy to choose a loop at any distance you have time/energy for. We got super lucky and the lilacs were still in bloom! They only bloom for about a week, usually in May, and we had heard the blooms had been around the previous week so had assumed we missed them, but were delighted to find a lot of them still going strong. I also loved that every tree had a tag, so we could nerd out and find out how old each one was and what it was called (yes, common & scientific names included).
So there you go. A few slightly off the normal tourist path options for you to check out for your next visit to Boston!