A trip to Boston

One of the best things about living in Quebec is the opportunity to travel and Boston was our first venture across the border. If you’re interested in history and the birthplace of the United States then you will love Boston. If you’re not interested in history then you will still love it. It’s a very compact city that’s easy to get around and is suitable for history geeks, movie nerds, hipsters and everything in between. The easiest way to get around Boston is either by foot or public transport. You can buy weekly travel passes known as Charlie cards for $19 from most newsagents. These are much better value than daily cards and are unlimited for the week. I would recommend starting with the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail as they are both right in the centre of the city and the Boston Common is an easy landmark to find. As in The Wizard of Oz, you can follow a (red!) brick road to the Freedom Trail and it will lead you to the most important places during the American Revolution. The Boston Tea Party Museum is also a MUST whilst there. It’s fun, interactive and very informative. Each person in the group is given a role to play of someone involved in the Boston Tea Party and the actors are excellent at getting visitors to participate and experience what life was like at the time. One of my personal highlights was going to TD Gardens to watch my first ever basketball match between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. It was a friendly match so tickets weren’t sold out and we were able to buy ours very cheaply. If planning a trip to Boston find out if there are any matches of either basketball or the Boston Bruins ice hockey team and try to get tickets. They are both great sports to watch and it’s an excellent way to soak up American culture. If you have more time then a trip across the river to Cambridge is also worthwhile. There you can visit the prestigious institutions of Harvard and MIT and also see where scenes from the movie “Good Will Hunting” were filmed. Accommodation in Boston is pricey - even hostels are expensive for what they are - but booking in advance and using sites like AirBnB can really help cut costs and get a good central location for your trip.