Things to do in Boston

Landmark · Downtown to Charlestown

A 2.5-mile red brick line through sixteen sites of the American Revolution, from Boston Common to Bunker Hill.

Local tip: Walk it in reverse from Charlestown to avoid the tour groups. The Granary Burying Ground and the Old North Church are the two worth slowing down for; much of the rest is walk-past.

Nature · Back Bay to Franklin Park

Olmsted's seven-mile chain of connected parks running from Boston Common through the Fens and Jamaica Pond to Franklin Park.

Local tip: Almost nobody walks the whole thing, and it is the best way to understand the city's shape. The Arnold Arboretum section is the most beautiful, and free.

Culture · Fenway

A Venetian palazzo built around a courtyard garden, with the empty frames still hanging from the unsolved 1990 theft.

Local tip: Anyone named Isabella gets in free for life. So does anyone wearing Red Sox gear on the day after a game — the museum genuinely does this.

Neighborhood · Cambridge, across the river

Bookshops, street musicians and the oldest university in the country, a few stops on the Red Line from downtown.

Local tip: Harvard Square is heavily visited; Central and Inman Squares are where people actually go. The Harvard Art Museums are free to Massachusetts residents.

Nature · Ferry from Long Wharf

Thirty-four islands in the harbour with a Civil War fort, camping, and beaches, most of them nearly empty.

Local tip: Georges Island for the fort, Spectacle for the walking and views. A summer ferry ride from downtown; almost no visitors know they exist.

Nature · Cambridge/Watertown

America's first garden cemetery, from 1831, and one of the best birdwatching sites in the north-east during spring migration.

Local tip: Climb the Washington Tower for a full view of Boston most residents have never seen. In early May the warbler migration brings serious birders here at dawn — 175 acres of arboretum that happens to contain graves.