DAY ONE
09.00: Head to the heritage Omni Parker House for a slice of Boston’s beloved cream pie – a custard-filled and chocolate-topped cake – for breakfast. The rich treat was invented in this very hotel and can be enjoyed in the panelled restaurant, which has walls lined with mysterious cameos that hint at the semi-regular hauntings in the rooms above.
10.30: Get your step count up on a stroll around Boston Common. Founded in 1634, this swathe of urban greenery is the US’s oldest park. In spring, the willows and tulips burst into bloom, while the oval-shaped Frog Pond (usually a children’s spray pool) turns into an ice rink when the temperature dips below freezing. That should work up enough energy for a hearty Italian meal in neighbouring Beacon Hill – try Toscano for top-notch antipasti.
13.30: Take the T-Train (Boston’s underground railway) southwest to
34 1 FEBRUARY 2024
Fenway, where you’ll find the city’s top art museums: the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Among the former’s 450,000-plus pieces are works by Andy Warhol and Claude Monet. At the front is the evocative 1909 bronze sculpture Appeal to the Great Spirit by Utah sculptor Cyrus Dallin, featuring a Native American man with his arms spread enigmatically skywards. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, meanwhile, is perhaps better known for its own colourful history than the Renaissance paintings inside. Built in the style of a pink-hued Venetian palazzo, the fin-de-siècle museum’s construction was funded by the bold philanthropist Isabella Stewart Garner, who spent her life collecting treasures from around the globe. However, in 1990, a group of thieves disguised as policemen broke into the museum and stole 13 works of art. Neither the thieves nor the paintings were traced, but the remaining paintings are displayed in an
interactive and thought-provoking way, with no conventional labels; visitors are encouraged to find their own meaning in the canvases in front of them.
16.00: A 15-minute wander through the Back Bay Fens park – look for the Japanese temple bell dating back to 1675 – brings you to Boston’s most famous hangout: Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Before sitting down to an evening of home runs and hot dogs, arrive early to enjoy the entertainment on Jersey Street. Big League Brian the stiltwalker is a particular delight to see tottering through the crowds. Craft beer fans should make a pit stop at Trillium Brewing Company, a Bostonian institution with fruity and fresh ales and stouts on tap.
19.30: Return to the city centre and whizz up to the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower to enjoy sunset at the Boston View observatory, which opened in June. Tickets to
the 230m-high attraction cost from $30, and it’s a huge upgrade on the previous incarnation, which shut during the pandemic. Visitors to Boston View start on the 52nd floor, where they’ll be wowed by the seamless blend of glass towers that glint in the sunshine and the warm glow of hearth-filled Victorian homes. Then, it’s down one storey for photo ops and a sleek indoor/ outdoor cocktail bar, before finishing the experience on the 50th floor with dinner at The Beacon, where the pan-seared Nova Scotia salmon offers a taste of the region’s culinary pedigree. For afters, hit the Back Bay neighbourhood for cocktails at Hecate, a hidden speakeasy-style basement bar with witchy vibes.
DAY TWO
10.00: Downtown, partake in a bougie brunch, or opt for donuts at Kane’s – the cinnamon-frosted coffee roll is the size of a dinner plate, and can be shared with a companion for a truly decadent
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