Boston Recommendations

Looking for where to go? Here are a few top recommendations for people visiting Boston briefly and for people living here for a longer time. These are just a small selection of places that I recommend, and there are plenty of great experiences not included here!

P.S. If you haven't yet, check out my public GuruWalk tour linked below, and follow along with my food tour Instagram (@ABFoodToursBoston) for related updates.

Now, things to do, then food recommendations:

FAQ: Best Places to Buy Souvenirs 
- Museums and Local Bookstores (High Quality, Medium Cost)
- Independent Gift Boutiques (High Quality, High Cost)
- Boston Public Library (Copley) Newsfeed Cafe Gift Shop (High Quality, Low Cost)

Live Music
- See a performance any night at Wally’s Jazz Cafe (Jam Session at 7, Headliner at 10)
- Check BostonShows.org
- Check Berklee College of Music Performances

Events
For a wide variety of public free events and festivals of all kinds, check TheBostonCalendar.com

Art Museums
- Harvard Art Museums
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Institute of Contemporary Art + Watershed
- Museum of Fine Arts 
- MassArt Museum
- Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists
- deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

History Museums
- West End Museum
- Museum of African American History
- Boston Public Library Map Room (Copley)
- JFK Presidential Library 
- Bunker Hill Museum
- USS Constitution Museum 
- George’s Island Fort
- Lars Anderson Auto Museum
- Armenian Museum of America
- Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation
- Concord Museum 
- Various Historic House Museums and Estate Museums

Science Museums
- New England Aquarium (Great for kids and all ages)
- Museum of Science (Great for kids and all ages)
- Boston Children's Museum (Great for kids)
- MIT Museum
- Broad Institute Discovery Center
- Metropolitan Waterworks Museum 
- Harvard Museums of Science and Culture 
- Museum of Medical History and Innovation at MGH

Libraries 
- Boston Public Library (Copley)
- Boston Athenaeum 
- Massachusetts Historical Society 
- The French Library
- Harvard Film Archive 
- Harvard Loeb Music Library 
- Harvard Graduate School of Design Druker Gallery and Library 

Special Places and Unique Local Experiences
#1 Must See: Visit the magnificent "palace for the people," the Boston Public Library (Central Branch at Copley Square), and be sure to see the tucked-away John Singer Sargent masterwork murals up two sets of stairs from the Copley Square entrance.

- BU Data Sciences "Jenga" Building, take the elevator to the 15th floor for Boston's best views and walk up to the 16th floor for a mirrored view of the city when you look up (open business hours most days of the week during the academic term, check BU's website for current access hours) + see the large ground-level touch screen video board with info on the building's sustainable design at the eastern entrance/exit
- Check out the Harvard Business School Class of 1959 Chapel, the Baker Library, and Climb the Colosseum Stairs in Lower Allston
- Explore Mount Auburn Cemetery/Arboretum/Botanical Gardens 
- See MIT’s Stata Center Architecture and walk to the List Visual Arts Center Exhibits
- See/listen to MIT’s Public Art x Lupe Fiasco’s “Ghoting” Audio Experience 
- Go inside the MIT Great Dome, then check out the Hart Nautical Gallery
- Mapparium Exhibit with a large stained glass globe experience
- Brattle Book Shop, a vintage indoor/outdoor book store near the Boston Common
- Take a picture on Acorn Street in Beacon Hill 
- Visit the ICA Watershed by taking a ferry across the water (in the summer only)
- Eat as many different types of food as possible along Harvard Ave x Brighton Ave in Allston (then see a rock show at O'briens Pub, or at one of the nearby concert halls)
- Take a ferry to the Boston Harbor Islands (such as to the fort on George's Island) 
- Eat at Slades on a Tuesday night with live jazz (~8pm), then go to Wally's Jazz Cafe's main set at 10pm, just down the street (bring a government ID, it is always checked at Wally's)
- Get genuinely lost while going through the labyrinthine Museum of Fine Arts, after a walk through the smaller Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Take the old Mattapan Lower Mills Trolley and walk along the Lower Neponset River
- Have some oysters and explore the old outdoor Haymarket (on a Friday or Saturday)
- Challenge yourself to visit as many bookstores in a day as possible 
- See the views walking the Longfellow Bridge
- See the views walking the BU Bridge
- See the views walking along Memorial Drive, near MIT

Next, the FOOD!!! All around the city, this list is a starting point, just based on my experience and preferences, trying to limit the number of recommendations with a mix of local character in different neighborhoods, great for both visitors and locals — lots of great places didn’t make this shortlist — there are very few bad places to eat (and they are generally the large chains), it's all good!