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North End’s Puopolo Park boasts supreme frontage on the harbor, looking out toward Charlestown. On warm days, the neighborhood’s old guard enjoy a game of bocce (bowls). Nearby, kids play baseball or splash around in the outdoor pool.

Large desks, good views, and an excellent on-site Greek restaurant are highlights of this older 200-room Cambridge riverfront hotel. For the best vistas climb up to the hotel’s observation deck. The location isn’t ideal unless you have a car.

Chef and co-owner Michael Schlow is a stickler for detail and he creates some of the most explosively sensual New American dishes in town (see Radius).

Chef Michael Schlow blends multiple flavors for a single, clear taste fusion in his own version of New American cuisine. You’d think seared Maine scallops might get lost when combined with wild mushrooms, potato puree, leeks, and a truffle emulsion, but the woodsy flavors just enhance the sweet, salty taste of the sea. The restaurant is regularly mobbed by successful CEOs and their more glamorous stockholders.

Poet and philosopher, Emerson (1803–82) espoused transcendentalism and pioneered American literary independence.

Thursday through Saturday, club goers must wear black leather (no brown leather or suede, please), full Western wear (think John Travolta in Urban Cowboy ) – or go shirtless. That’s right, guys: no gear, no beer. Fortunately, the prohibitive dress code is well worth it, with weekend fetish shows and throbbing techno music. Country and western two-stepping on Tuesdays brings the cowboys out in droves.

Rattlesnake’s roof deck hosts one of Boston’s most boisterous after-work crowds. Dress is always casual, and people are always mingling.

The most heated rivalry in US sports flares up every time the Yanks visit Fenway Park (see Fenway Park).

Redbones’ kitchen slings some of the best barbecue north of the Carolinas, and the atmosphere could not be more emphatically, casually Southern if it tried.

Befitting its location in the sleek Charles Hotel, Regattabar offers a refined yet casual setting for watching today’s giants of jazz. Book early, since shows sell out quickly (see Regattabar).