Boston - America’s walking city
A red line on the pavement, beginning at the Visitor Center on Boston Common and ending out at Charlestown Navy Yard, links 16 historic sites on a three-mile walking route through the city. Most of the sites relate to the Revolution and early US history.

Old State House

Highlights include the impressive State House, Park Street Church, Old South Meeting House (a meeting here triggered the Boston Tea Party), Old State House (seat of colonial government - the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians from a balcony here in 1776), Faneuil Hall, the 17th-century Paul Revere House and Old North Church - both in Boston’s ‘Little Italy’, so a good area to stop for coffee and cake - and the USS Constitution (‘Old Ironsides’, a 44-gun frigate that’s the world’s oldest commissioned warship).

If you’d like company, National Park Service rangers lead free, 90-minute walking tours that cover the heart of the trail, leaving from the Visitor Center, 15 State Street. History buffs will want to do the whole trail in detail (allow at least four hours)

Getting around
The underground (subway) T system is excellent - tickets cost $1, or get the Boston Visitor Pass: $6 for 1 day, $11 for three consecutive days - and there are buses (75 cents).

Boston is very pedestrian-friendly, but don’t be surprised if you get confused or a bit lost, especially in the centre, where the street layout harks back to its 17th-century beginnings. Back Bay, however, built on 19th-century landfill, is laid out in parallel lines and, except for the odd glitch, the streets even go in alphabetical order, starting at the Public Garden with Arlington Street.

Free street maps of downtown Boston are available at the airport, in hotels and at tourist information kiosks.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Faneuil from above

A plaza of five attractive, city-centre buildings house an amazing food hall, cafes, restaurants, bars, countless stores and speciality shops and gaily-coloured pushcarts selling a variety of crafts, gifts and souvenirs. Outdoors, street performers mingle with the crowds.