Boston

Boston is the largest city in New England, the capital of the state of Massachusetts, and one of the most historic, wealthy and influential cities in the United States of America. Its plethora of museums, historical sights, and wealth of live performances, all explain why the city gets 16.3 million visitors a year, making it one of the ten most popular tourist locations in the country.

Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the non-rhotic Eastern New England accent known as Boston English, and a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood, salt, and dairy products. Irish Americans are a major influence on Boston's politics and religious institutions. Boston also has its own collection of neologisms known as Boston slang.

Downtown Boston's streets were not organized on a grid, but grew in a meandering organic pattern from early in the seventeenth century. They were created as needed, and as wharves and landfill expanded the area of the small Boston peninsula. Along with several rotaries, roads change names and lose and add lanes seemingly at random. On the other hand, streets in the Back Bay, East Boston, the South End, and South Boston do follow a grid system.

New England is unpredictable and becomes very cold in the winter and humid in the summer. Late May through late September, you'll be comfortable with no jacket or sweater.

When the heat does start, there are some beaches within the city, and many beaches outside of it, for swimming. The Standells classic "Dirty Water" doesn't apply any more as the water is safe to swim in thanks to the Boston Harbor Cleanup project.

Early summer tends to be nice, but you don't know when that will be year to year. In that time, the temperature will be perfect, and there will be no humidity. The remainder of summer tends to be very warm with uncomfortably high humidity. Walking, taking a cab, bus, or the "T" (short for MBTA, the public transit system, which is air-conditioned) are all good options for exploring the city.

Boston's fall foliage is at or near its peak beauty in mid-October, which also normally offers the advantage of many crisp sunny day (outside the city itself, peak foliage timing depends on how far north or south you venture from Boston.)

If you visit during the less busy wintertime, the Atlantic Ocean has a large moderating effect on temperatures. The average low in January is 22F/-5C, so as long as you dress appropriately, you should be fine.