During this last phase of my Master’s in Sustainability, I lived the student life in Somerville, frequented Harvard Square for lectures and research discussions, explored the urban forests and parks of Boston, followed the strong ‘buy local’ movement in Cambridge, sampled vegan-friendly cafés and restaurants in the Boston area, and experienced Boston’s unique 4th of July (Independence Day) celebration!
I was visiting Boston for the first time, and found it surprisingly hard to find credible recommendations online. So I decided to create this Boston travel guide on where to stay (both for tourists and short-medium term stays), and interesting things to do in Boston.
I wouldn’t say Boston is one of my favourite cities in the world. But if work or academic inclinations take you there, it sure has enough to keep you busy for a few days!
It took me a while to grasp how Boston, Cambridge and Somerville relate to each other. Simply put, Boston is the capital of Massachusetts state. Cambridge is its own city (and home to Harvard), but considered a suburb of the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area. Similarly, Somerville is both a city and a suburb of Greater Boston. I lived in Somerville, studied in Cambridge, and explored a fair bit of Boston.
As much as I loved spending time on the Harvard campus, I sorely missed being closer to nature. So when an Instagram friend from Harvard Medical School invited me to join her on a hike in a city forest, I had to go! I learnt there that the Arnold Arboretum is managed by Harvard, and home to 2000+ species of trees and plants, across 280 preserved acres. Over some heartwarming conversations, we hiked up the gentle hills, spotted a brilliant red cardinal, and marvelled at the ancient trees that line the trails.
4th of July turned out to be the perfect day to visit Faneuil Hall nearby, which is known as the hall of Boston’s resistance against British colonialism. It is part of the Boston Freedom Trail, and while I didn’t do the entire trail, I appreciated reading about some critical moments of resistance at the museum here, while also learning about contemporary challenges in the US. One of these is redlining, a practice that denies credit to Americans based on where they live (largely determined by ethnicity) rather than educational or professional history.
When local friends sent me tips for visiting Boston, one thing that always featured on them was a stroll along the North End Italian District. Those cobbled streets are indeed full of character, much like the old town of a European city. Think quirky houses and old school Italian restaurants and bakeries. Sadly they aren’t vegan-friendly though.
