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The historic occasion (known as the Boston Tea Party) when patriots, dressed as native Americans, threw a consignment of English tea overboard to protest against the Stamp Tax of 1773, proved to be a precipitating event of the American Revolution (see Boston Tea Party (1773)). The Boston Tea Party ship is a replica of the brig Beaver, one of the vessels deprived of its cargo that fateful December night. Aboard the ship, costumed storytellers recount events in rousing detail while visitors sip tea (or dump it over the rail). Over the centuries Boston has expanded into the harbor and the tea party site now lies firmly inland at 470 Atlantic Avenue, where a plaque marks the event.

Fresh bread emerges from the ovens at all hours. When the bars and coffee shops close, night owls head to Bova’s for hot sandwiches and cookies.

This lively, stylish trattoría is a very popular spot for socializing over Abruzzo-style pastas or rabbit casserole.

This small and basic shop, located below street level, stocks vegetables and exotic fruits.

Educators at this ground-breaking interactive museum for kids pioneered some of the features now found in similar facilities around the world, including giant soap bubbles and complex rampways for marbles (see Children’s Museum).

Trace the history of Boston on the thousands of tombstones here, from the mean-spirited Mather family, theocrats who ruled the early city, to the valiant patriots slain in the fight for freedom. In the Battle of Bunker Hill (see Washington Takes Command (1776)), the British, who occupied the city in 1775, manned a battery from this site and fired on neighboring Charlestown. There are sweeping views of the harbor.

Fans of garlic and calamari dishes line up on the sidewalk for the tiny tables at one of the area’s friendliest restaurants.

Decorated like an Italian restaurant from a 1950s mobster movie, Davide specializes in southern Italian dishes such as crab and salt cod cakes with roasted pepper and basil sauce.

Originally built in the 17th-century to connect the shipping wharves to Dock Square (now Faneuil Hall Marketplace (see Faneuil Hall Marketplace)), Hanover Street was widened in 1870 to accommodate the busy flow of commerce. Today, as the North End’s principal artery with cafés and eateries aplenty, it is the place to come for a slice of the action.

The ironic location across from the aquarium doesn’t detract from the first-class dishes of impeccably fresh fish.