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Built in 1713 as the seat of colonial government, the Old State House was designed to look down State Street to the shipping hub of Long Wharf. In 1770, the Boston Massacre (see Boston Massacre (1770)) occurred just outside its doors. And on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians from its balcony (see The Freedom Trail). Today, it’s home to the Bostonian Society & Old State House Museum.

Interpreters in period costume go about their daily lives in a typical 1830s New England village. This large living history museum has more than 40 buildings on 200 acres (83 ha). Get a sense of the era by visiting the village, common, mill district, and the traditional family farm.

Chef Ana Sortun’s mastery of exotic spices is clearly evident in Oleana’s sumptuous Middle Eastern cuisine, served in a casually elegant dining room.

Olives is home base for the city’s most famous chef, Todd English, who piles plates high with delights such as roasted pork chop on garlic mashed potatoes topped with a caramelized mushroom sauce. Huge and loud, Olives is a temple to bravura cookery. Reserve far ahead or arrive early and expect to wait.

America’s oldest hotel in continuous operation (1856), this opulent downtown hostelry gave the world Boston cream pie. Renovations costing $70 million brightened up all 551 rooms, although some remain compact.

This tiny basement shop sells and frames contemporary prints from China among other things, and will carve your name in a stone seal for $10 per character.

The Other Side enjoys a loyal following of health-conscious hipsters who melt at the sight of its brie, apple, and pear sandwich. Its intimate outdoor patio is highly coveted real estate.

Multiple-pierced and bodyart- beautiful Berklee music students and healthobsessive Boston University waifs hold down the stools and tables of this coffeehouse-cum-smoothie shack on the “wrong” side of Massachusetts Avenue. Edge without danger is part of the draw, and the espresso sports a perfect crema.

Here you’ll find some of the area’s best beaches. The 40-mile (64-km) National Seashore offers great surfing at Coast Guard and Nauset Light, and the beaches of Marconi, Head of the Meadow, and Race Point all have dramatic dunes and great ocean swimming. The artist colonies of Wellfleet and Truro are worth a visit as is Provincetown, a fishing village turned gay resort.