"Boston" a Boston Travel Page by leffe3

I must admit Boston took me a couple of days to begin to appreciate. It was only after I accepted what it wasn't that I could relax and see it for what it is. My first opinion centred around the fact that it wasn't as impressive, architecturally, as Chicago (no 'wow' factor), as exciting or vibrant as New York (no 'now' factor) or as gloriously located as Miami (no 'pow' factor). It also surprised me that walk 2 blocks from the harbour and you could easily forget you were by the sea.

But to me, Boston is a 'grower'. Walking round the streets, talking to people who live there, sitting in cafes watching the world go by - basically doing everyday things, allowed the city to 'creep up' on me. It's a working city, not overtly geared towards tourism (except for the obvious Freedom Path route and the harbour cruises). The abundance of university buildings, brownstones and cafes in, for example, Newbury St and the South End, the tree-lined narrow streeted residential Beacon Hill so close to the downtown area, give it a distinctive European American feel to the place. Being relatively small in size, its also condensed, making it very easy to see and feel a lot in a short space of time. And if you are there during the Fall - those colours!!!