Hidden gems in Boston
Skip the tourist circuit. These Boston spots are the ones locals actually send their out-of-town friends to.
Top spots in Boston
Freedom Trail
CultureDowntown
2.5-mile red-brick line past 16 Revolutionary War sites.
Boston Common & Public Garden
OutdoorsDowntown
America's oldest public park + swan boats on the lagoon.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
CultureFenway
Venetian-style palace + the world's most famous unsolved art heist.
North End
Food & DrinkNorth End
Boston's Little Italy — pasta, cannoli debates and Saint Anthony's Feast in August.
Charles River Esplanade
OutdoorsBack Bay
Bike, sail or picnic with the Hatch Shell skyline view.
Where to eat
Neptune Oyster
$$$New England seafood · North End
Lobster roll (hot or cold?) — no reservations, 90-min wait.
Mike's Pastry
$Italian bakery · North End
Cannoli to go in the white-and-blue box — Boston rite of passage.
Oleana
$$$Mediterranean / Turkish · Cambridge
Ana Sortun's mezze and back-garden patio.
Toro
$$$Spanish tapas · South End
Ken Oringer's grilled-corn classic and standing-room paella nights.
Saltie Girl
$$$Seafood · Back Bay
Tinned fish bar and a fried-lobster BLT to dream about.
Frequently asked
- Locals' under-the-radar picks include Freedom Trail, Boston Common & Public Garden, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. These are the places that don't show up on the first page of mainstream travel guides.