Boston
After concluding the Canadian portion of our cruise with New Brunswick, we headed to New England. Our first stop was Boston, Massachusetts. It was my first time in the state of Massachusetts making me excited to experience a new place and add another state to my list of states I’ve visited in the US.
Boston feels like a slice of American history pie. Possibly the largest slice of the pie too. If you weren’t paying attention in your US History class, it will show when you visit Boston! There is so much to learn in Boston, it could overwhelm anyone who isn’t from there. I know I felt a bit overwhelmed by everything, and our short amount of time to try and experience it all.
Even though Boston has great public transportation and lots of free maps, we decided to do another tour with our cruise company. The tour took us to Harvard, Skywalk and Quincy Market. It was the perfect tour for us as first time visitors of Boston.
We started off our wonderful tour by driving through the city, over the Charles River, to Harvard Square. My first impression of Boston was positive. The drive through Boston to Cambridge was scenic and even a bit surreal.
Seeing Harvard University in person was the most surreal. It’s America’s oldest and most prestigious university. I’d seen and heard about it many times in movies and TV, and to actually be walking around the campus was crazy. I definitely felt a little bit smarter just by being there.
John Harvard Statue 
After our tour around Harvard Square, we drove around a bit making our way to the city center to enjoy a bird’s eye view of Boston from the Prudential Building.
The Skywalk is supposed to offer a 360 degree panoramic view of Boston, but we missed about 120 degrees due to a private party. The geography of Boston is new to me but I think they closed off the part where you see the Seaport District.
You don’t need a tour to go to the Skywalk Observatory but you do need to buy tickets for admission. Calling ahead to make sure it’s not closed, sold out or reserved for a party would be a good idea.
We spent about 30 minutes in the Skywalk before heading to Faneuil Hall Marketplace to enjoy some time shopping and exploring. The markets were popular places for many tourists. We walked around the halls and looked inside a few different stores. I would highly recommend going inside the Christmas in Boston store if you really love holiday decor. You won’t believe the different kinds of ornaments. They have ornaments for every aesthetic and would make great gifts or souvenir if you collect ornaments from different places. Another must see place was the Cheers Cafe. I didn’t watch Cheers (I was more of a Golden Girls gal) but it’s very popular and nicely decorated.
After all that looking around, my mom needed her caffeine fix before we went make to our tours meeting spot. Starbucks was huge and the line was long so I explored a bit more on my own until it was time to meet up with the group and head back to our cruise port.
Armenian Heritage Park 
Now that I have seen the surface level of Boston, I would love to return for 3-4 days and really dive deep into Boston. The food and drink scene are definitely something I’d love to experience, as well as visit some nearby places like Salem. Have you guys been to Boston? What were you most excited to try/see?
P.S. If you’re interested in seeing my time in New Brunswick, I posted it all on my instagram story instead of writing a travel diary. You maybe need to skip through a few other cities since it’s near to the end.
I enjoyed Boston, visited so long ago now. Hopefully one day I’ll get there again
Same! It has such a cool culture and history.
It’s nice to see photographs that travellers capture. They are more likely to be of the places I would like to look at – without being travelized (if that is a word) for magazines.
Thank you! & I know what you mean. Different people capture different perspectives and maybe places that aren’t as photographed as magazines.
Absolutely love your quote “Boston feels like a slice of American history pie.” So true!
Thank you ❤️
I haven’t yet been to Boston but would love to get there someday, the history seems so fascinating. Glad you managed to make a quick stop there and see a small glimpse of the city. Hopefully you can go back for longer another time 🙂
Thank you for your comment 🙏🏼 I hope I’ll go back! It’s a cool city.
I’ve been wanting to check out Boston for a long time but never quite manage it! Looks like it has plenty of charm from your photos
Yes, so charming!
The Arnold Arboretum and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum–but I like plants. Enjoyed your photos.
I love plants! thank you for the recommendations!
Boston is one of my favourite cities and I’ve visited it a number of times throughout the years. It’s neat to learn about its history while exploring the city at the same time. I would recommend walking along the Freedom Trail and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. If you have time for a day trip, I would also recommend visiting either Salem or Cape Cod.
Someone else mentioned that garden museum too. I hope I go back again so I can visit it as well as Salem or Cape Cod! 🙂
I’m from Boston but now live in Austria, so I act like a tourist when I go home. It’s really fun! Thanks for sharing.
Oh, awesome! How is it living in Austria? I would love to move to Europe someday.
Knowledge capital
Quite right you are! Boston is a slice of a history pie, or I should say “a historic pie with many slices”, it looks so very European! I visited it once and I loved every single part of it! Thanks for your photos that reminded me of my beloved city!
You’re right, it does look european. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much haha
It looks like a very lovely city. Beautiful buildings and I love Boston Common. I’ve been wanting to go there ever since becoming addicted to ‘Boston Legal’ years ago.
I loved it. Would definitely go back. Haha I’ve never seen it. I wonder if anyone has reruns…
I like Boston so much, perhaps for its more European look than elsewhere, its curved streets so rare in America and its beautiful architecture. I especially like Beacon Hill at the end of the day with the honey sunlight.
Someone else mentioned how European it looks too lol I would have loved to see more of Beacon Hill 😍 really cool buildings in that area
It sounds pretty fascinating! From SoCal but there’s so much I want to explore here in the US. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, so much to see in the US alone! Thank you!!