Boston is all about history...

The Old State House is Boston's first public building and was the seat of British government.

From Cape Cod, it's an easy hour or two drive into Boston. Our first intention was to bypass Boston entirely, but realising how significant this city is to American history, we relented and spent several days there. On the way, we called into Plymouth, which is the very place the English pilgrims first landed to settle in the new world.

New and old architecture in downtown Boston. On the right, the Faneuil Hall, meeting & market place since 1742 .

Quincy Market (1824) in front of Customs House Tower (1849), long the tallest building in Boston.

Classical architecture abounds in Boston's downtown area.

Historical mansions in inner-city Boston are tastefully decorated for Christmas.

Faux gas-lights line this pretty street of 'clapboard' houses in Charlestown.

Boston downtown hotels are very expensive, so we did some (excellent, as it turned out) research and chose the Harborside Inn in State Street. The price was right at this hotel, but its website can be most off-putting. Firstly, they warn customers that the inner city is very noisy, and if you don't like that, stay outside of town. Then they advise that their quietest rooms are underground, but they have no windows. And they cautioned about parking problems. Being Sydney siders used to noise, we decided to take the plunge and stay here. We were very pleased with this hotel. We had a 'king bed atrium view' on the top (8th floor). The entire hotel seems to be in the atrium, with the outside of the building reserved for luxury apartments. So the atrium view was pretty poky, and we had no sensation of the weather, but we were entirely satisfied with the room itself. We recommend this hotel.

Our hotel window and its view into the atrium.

And parking was no big deal either, although expensive. The hotel directed us to a public lot in the basement of a building (maybe 200m away) with the flashest lobby you could ever imagine. But even after a discount for hotel validation, the cost was almost half what it cost to stay at the hotel! Ouch!

Derelict opening bridge over Fort Point Channel.

Boston's Washington Street seems to house a lively but alternative theatre scene.

Boston provided the unexpected for other reasons too. We had read that traffic is a nightmare, and that driving into the city should be avoided. We now suspect that the 'nightmare' traffic comment relates to commuters coming in from distant suburbs. In the downtown area, which represents our entire experience, the traffic is amazingly light, and the city is highly 'walkable' and pedestrian friendly. We were in Boston on business days, and apart from a very few through routes, there was almost no vehicular traffic at all. The inner city resembles a giant pedestrian mall. We compare that with Sydney, where the hapless current Minister for Increasing Traffic Jams, Duncan Gay, seems determined to drive pedestrians out! An urban planner once said that great cities are compact, diverse and walkable. Boston is all that, Sydney fails the last.

Moving & evocotive memorial to the holocaust in WW2.

In the immediate vicinity of our financial district hotel, there was a plethora of cafes, Irish pubs, 24 hour supermarkets, food courts. Just perfect for us city dwellers. And we even found a Wagamama, possibly our favourite restaurant, but sadly all gone broke in Sydney. We ate there the first night and pigged out on their brand of delicious, fresh and healty Asian fusion.

Dozens of Irish themes pubs surrounded our hotel, providing many choices at cocktail hour. Tens of thousands of Irish fled to Boston from 1847 to escape the potato famine.

Boston Common, with the gold domed Massachusetts State House in the background.

To us, the main appeal of Boston is its pivotal role in the War of Independence (1775 - 1783). (The effect this war with Britain had on the establishment of Australian colonies is often not appreciated.) Revolutionary history is everywhere in Boston, and the city has established a Freedom Trail which, among other things, emphasises much of it. We spent a full day walking and absorbing the Freedom Trail.

Replica ships and museum commemorate the 1773 Boston Tea Party where colonists protested unfair taxation imposed by Britain. Indirectly, this event led to the War of Independence.

The Granary Burial Ground, one of several in downtown Boston, hosts Benjamin Franklin.

Paul Revere's house (1680) is now the oldest in Boston.

Paul Revere riding to warn of the British attack.

The USS Constitution is the oldest ship in the US Navy (1797). Supposedly open for inspection every day, it's actually only 3 days/week in winter. But a friendly guard told us how to get this close-up.

View of Boston from Charlestown.

Site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in the War if Independence.

View of Charlestown & Boston in the background from the Bunker Hill battleground.

All in all, our three days in Boston was eminently enjoyable and relaxing. We didn't overdo it, we had a good time, and we found it to be a delightful downtown area. We enjoyed generally fine but overcast and very cold weather, with a few snow storms. Boston pedestrians take the weather in their stride.

Ice rink in Boston Common.

Oyster Bar near the Boston law courts.

Rotary brushes are the easiest way to clear Boston's sidewalks of thin layers of fresh snow.

Sydney's Central Station could learn a lot from Boston's South Station with many good food outlets, a pharmacy and even live music! The people watching the departures board are there because the platforms are not announced until the last minute.