Boston is rightly called a global city, the cultural center of New England, and a museum and historic site. But the locals, of course, call it something else. The capital of Massachusetts owes its amusing nickname – Bintown, «Bean Town» – to a traditional dish, beans in molasses.
The main historic route is the Freedom Trail. Four miles of this trail connect the iconic landmarks of the Old City. It begins at Boston Common, the first public park in the United States, and passes the old and new capitols, old cemeteries, and churches of all denominations. It also passes monuments to famous citizens and the sites of important events – the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre. The tour ends at the Constitution, the world's oldest sailing ship still in operation.
History is an important part of the city's atmosphere. Tours with local guides take guests through the entire vibrant, fascinating chronicle of the city: its founding, its struggles with the English colonial authorities, the establishment of independence, and the abolition of slavery. You'll learn why tea was drowned in the harbor and why old houses smell like molasses on warm days.
Modernity, however, has no intention of leaving the city trapped in its memories. The metropolis (along with the surrounding agglomeration) is growing inexorably higher and wider. The skyscrapers of the business center seem to form a local mountain range among the low historical buildings. Glass and concrete inlays are almost ubiquitous in the old part of the city, giving it an eclectic, unconventional look.
Next door to Boston is Cambridge, from which the English university town takes its name. It's no coincidence that the world-famous Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located here. Harvard is America's oldest and one of the world's strongest centers of science, as evidenced by the number of Nobel laureates among its alumni and faculty. In addition to its bastions of scientific knowledge, the city is known for its theaters, monuments, and fascinating facts about famous and little-known people.
