Search train tickets to Boston

A great area to stay in Boston is the Back Bay neighborhood, which is easily accessible from Back Bay Station — one of the most popular train stations in Boston. Back Bay is centrally located, with museums, restaurants, cafés and shopping all nearby.

Downtown Boston is another ideal place to book your accommodations, especially if you’re interested in historic sites like the Freedom Trail. It’s also an easy walk to the Seaport, which has excellent night life. Downtown is perfect for travelers arriving into South Station, a beautiful Amtrak station with a giant atrium.

Travelers on a budget may consider staying in Somerville, which is adjacent to Cambridge, just north of Boston. The attractions in Somerville are a little more sprawled than in some other areas, but you can find some amazing food, and public transportation makes it easy to jump over to Cambridge or back down into Boston.

The best way to get around Boston is by taking the “T,” short for MBTA, which stands for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The T includes subway, bus, trolley and ferry services in the Greater Boston area.

Visitors can buy a 1-day pass for $12.75 or a 7-day pass for $22.50. Within that window of time, passengers are allotted unlimited travel on the subway, local buses, the Silver Line express bus service, the Commuter Rail Zone 1A, and the Charlestown Ferry. Alternatively, you can purchase one-time rides a la carte, with a one-way T-ride costing $2.75.

Boston is a great place to take a deep-dive into U.S. history. Prime attractions include the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum & Library, the charming Beacon Hill neighborhood, the Freedom Trail, and more.

Also popular are Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox), the Boston Public Garden, the Mapparium at Northeastern University, and any number of Boston brewery tours. Foodies may also consider stopping by Eataly Boston for delicious Italian groceries and restaurants.

The Back Bay, South End and North End neighborhoods are especially notable for having great food. Back Bay restaurants can be expensive, but some excellent lower-price options include The Salty Pig, Luke’s Lobster, the Pour House and The Friendly Toast (which also has a restaurant in Cambridge, near MIT).

In South End, try Gaslight or The Gallows, both popular options with reasonable prices.

The North End is Boston’s Little Italy, so you’ll find excellent Italian restaurants like Giacomo’s and Carmelina’s. Neptune Oyster, though not an Italian restaurant, is also in North End and has a legendary lobster roll. (Lobster rolls are notoriously spendy, however, so if that’s on your bucket list be prepared to pay quite a bit.)