Travel

Tony Clayton-Lea takes us on a tour of Beantown's best attractions.

Boston-bound
For such a small city (its 600,000 population is boosted each September with the arrival of 250,000 college students from around the globe), Boston certainly stuffs a lot in. Undoubtedly its greatest appeal for the tourist is its size. Packed within a 4-mile radius are the North and South Ends, the Theatre and Financial Districts, Back Bay, Charleston, Beacon Hill (the essence of 'old' Boston), and Chinatown.

Because of its compactness, Boston has earned its place as one of the great walking cities of the world. The only reason for a visitor to hail a taxi or to jump onto a bus is if they're in a hurry or if they're loaded down with shopping. Otherwise, this city is footwearfriendly.

The most striking aspect of Boston as a city is its architecture. While some of its citizens amusingly complain about its overall structure ("Boston? It's a big urban planning dump – but it's a charming one," a barman told me in Jacob Wirths, a turn-ofthe- century American tavern in the city's theatre district), there are nevertheless many incredible buildings that blend the old with the new.

The Back Bay area is, perhaps, the most obvious illustration of this. The Copley Square is a civic space that is defined by three examples of splendid old buildings. The Copley Plaza Hotel dates from 1912, but it is both Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library that provide a daunting challenge to a more recent structural interloper, the John Hancock Tower.

The 62-storey, totally reflective tower is home to 13 acres of glass windows, a number of which actually popped out due to incorrectly specified wind torque estimates at its design stage. Completely safe these days, there is some thirty seconds on our Trolley Tour (see right) when, at a certain angle, the tower contracts into what appears to be a huge single pane of pointed, piercing glass. On a sunny day, the effect is eerie to say the least.

It's a visual trick that is analogous to the size of Boston: how does a city so reined in reflect such a broad smile? Put it down to the diversity of its population. From the Mayflower Pilgrims in the 1620s and the African slaves in the 1630s to the influx of Irish, Italians, Chinese, Greeks, Polish and Russians in the 1800s, Boston revels in a multicultural mingling of varying styles. That said, an overwhelming majority of the Massachusetts State House population belong to the Democratic Party, outweighing Republicans 8 to 1, while a significant amount (well over 50 per cent) rent, as opposed to own, their homes and apartments. Does a Puritan streak still course through its veins? Or could it be something to do with the city boasting the highest concentration of college education in America? Or that over 30 per cent of its resident population have received a bachelor's degree or higher?

Who knows? Any city as concise as Boston surely deserves the occasional contradiction. As the Tour Trolley driver said to us as we were about to leave: "If you liked the tour, my name is Aaron. If you didn't, then it's Carl."EM