Boston, United States

Boston, the capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, is one of the oldest and most historic cities in the United States, and one of the most rewarding to visit. Founded by Puritans in 1630, it became the cradle of the American Revolution — the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's ride all unfolded here — and that history is woven through the modern city, most famously along the Freedom Trail, a 4-kilometre red-brick line through downtown that links sixteen revolutionary-era sites. Compact, walkable and often called America's most European city, Boston rewards exploration on foot: the leafy Boston Common and the Public Garden with its swan boats; the gas-lit, cobbled streets and red-brick row houses of Beacon Hill; the bustling Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market; and the Italian-American North End, the city's oldest neighbourhood, packed with trattorias and the aroma of espresso and cannoli. Boston is also a great sporting, cultural and academic city — home to Fenway Park, the beloved 1912 home of baseball's Red Sox; to world-class museums including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; and, across the Charles River in Cambridge, to Harvard University and MIT, whose campuses are attractions in their own right. The regenerated waterfront and Seaport district, harbour cruises and whale-watching, the Back Bay's elegant Victorian streets and shopping along Newbury Street, and a strong Irish-American heritage (Boston has long been a heartland of the Irish diaspora in America) round out the picture. Boston is also the gateway to New England — Cape Cod's beaches, the historic towns of Salem and Plymouth, and the mountains and the famous autumn foliage of the wider region are all within easy reach. The climate has four distinct seasons: warm summers, crisp and colourful autumns, cold and snowy winters, and a fresh spring; late spring through autumn (especially the September–October foliage season) is the most popular time to visit.