DK Travel : Boston : Cambridge & Somerville : Places of interest

Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center

Housed in a beautiful 19th-century courthouse, the CMAC presents performance and visual art exhibitions which promote cross-cultural exchange. A unique feature is the encouragement of dialogue between audience and artist after performances and openings.
Charles River Banks

Whether you’re cheering the rowers of the Head of the Charles Regatta (see Head of the Charles Regatta) or watching the “T” cross Longfellow Bridge through a barrage of snowflakes, the banks of the Charles River offer a fantastic vantage point for taking in Boston’s celebrated scenes. In summer, the adjacent Memorial Drive becomes a sea of strollers, joggers, and rollerbladers (see Memorial Drive).
Davis Square

With its cooler-than-thou coffee shops, lively bar scene, affordable restaurants, and the renowned Somerville Theater (see Somerville Theatre), Davis Square, Somerville stands as the metro area’s most desirable neighborhood for many young Bostonians. And with prestigious Tufts University just a 10-minute walk away, the square’s youthful spirit is in a constant state of replenishment.
Harvard Art Museums

Harvard’s three art museums, the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Sackler, may be radically different but they share the privilege of exhibiting one of the world’s finest collegiate art collections. While the Fogg boasts the city’s most extensive Picasso collection, the Busch-Reisinger leans toward the Bauhaus and German expressionist movements. And just down the block, the Sackler frequently rotates its impressive holdings of Egyptian and later Indian art (see Harvard University).
Harvard University

While its stellar reputation might suggest visions of ivory towers in the sky, Harvard is a surprisingly accessible, welcoming place. Too often, visitors limit themselves to what is visible from the Yard: Massachusetts Hall, the Widener Library, maybe University Hall. But with top-notch museums, the eclectic Harvard Square, and daring performing arts spaces such as the Loeb Drama Center and Memorial Hall’s Sanders Theater (see Performing Arts Venues also see; Sanders Theatre) lying just beyond the university, Harvard provides every incentive to linger a while (see Harvard University).
Inman Square

Oft-overlooked Inman Square is possibly Cambridge’s best-kept secret. Boasting such renowned restaurants and cafés as the East Coast Grill and 1369, an ace jazz club (Ryles (see Ryles)), plus the inspired lunacy of the ImprovBoston comedy theater, Inman handsomely rewards those willing to take the road less traveled to experience a real-deal Cambridge ’hood'.
Longfellow House

Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow can be credited with helping to shape Boston’s – and America’s – collective identity. His poetic documentation of Paul Revere’s midnight ride (see Paul Revere (1735–1818)) immortalized both him and his subject. In 1837, Longfellow took up residence in this house in the country’s academic heart, a few blocks from Harvard Yard. He was not the house’s first illustrious resident. General George Washington headquartered and planned the 1776 siege of Boston in these rooms. The building is preserved with furnishings of Longfellow’s and Washington’s heydays, and houses the poet’s personal archives.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Not to be outdone by its irrepressible Ivy League neighbor, MIT has been the country’s leading technical university since its founding in 1861. This school of improbable theorems and calculator-toting world shapers offers many places of interest. Its List Visual Arts Center exhibits work that comments on technology or employs it in fresh, surprising ways. Also of note is the MIT Museum, which engages visitors with interactive exhibits on artificial intelligence, holography, and the world’s first computers.
Museum of Science

Exploring the cosmos in the Hayden Planetarium, hitting the high notes on a musical staircase, experiencing larger-than-life IMAX films in the Mugar Omni Theater – the Museum of Science knows how to make learning enjoyable. In addition to these attractions, the museum frequently hosts blockbuster touring exhibits like Alice the Tyrannosaurus Rex . And on Friday nights, staff lead free star gazing sessions on the museum roof.
Peabody & Natural History Museums

Its ongoing commitment to research aside, the Peabody excels at illustrating how interactions between distinct cultures have in turn affected peoples’ lives and livelihoods. Its North American Indian exhibit displays artifacts that reflect the aftermath of encounters between white Europeans and Native Americans. Meanwhile, the university’s Natural History museum delves even deeper in time, exhibiting eons-old natural wonders (see Harvard University).