The Best Areas to Stay in Boston for Any Budget

Downtown Boston is the area most convenient for exploring Boston by foot and by public transportation. Since the completion of the Big Dig construction project in 2006, downtown has been revitalized with simplified pedestrian access to the historic districts, the waterfront, Boston Common, and the North End. The diversity of neighborhoods and attractions that can be explored in one day in downtown Boston is breathtaking.

Attractions in Downtown

• Faneuil Hall
• Old State House
• Boston National Historical Park
• New England Aquarium
• Shubert Theatre
• Colonial Theatre, Boston
• Boston Harbor Hotel
• Charles Playhouse
• Wang Theatre
• Durgin-Park

Beacon Hill contains some of Boston's most picturesque and coveted real estate as well as the seat of Massachusetts' state government. Beacon Hill is conveniently close to the downtown attractions and the North End with the added advantage of proximity to the Charles River Esplanade on the opposite side.

Attractions in Beacon Hill

• Boston Athenæum
• Boston African American National Historic Site
• State Library of Massachusetts
• Abiel Smith School
• Nichols House Museum
• Congregational Library

A little further up the Charles River from Beacon Hill is the Back Bay, likewise acclaimed for beautiful and historic bowfront townhouses as well as some of Boston's most high end boutiques. The Back Bay abuts a long section of the Esplanade and Boylston Street has a strip of bars and restaurants popular with students.

Attractions in Back Bay

• Boston Public Library
• Mary Baker Eddy Library
• The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel
• Copley Square Hotel
• Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, One Dalton Street
• Storyville
• Copley Place
• Exeter Street Theatre
• L'Espalier

Directly south of the Back Bay is the South End, which has been the center of gay and lesbian culture in Boston for many years. The South End is also beloved for historic townhouses and contains many of Boston's best cafés and restaurants. The South End's proximity to blue collar neighborhoods to the south creates a stronger sense of cultural diversity than one might feel in the Back Bay or Beacon Hill.

Attractions in South End

• Cathedral of the Holy Cross

While not technically a part of Boston, Cambridge is otherwise the most renowned city within the metropolitan area. Cambridge is the home of two of the country's most prestigious universities and is dominated by academic life. The Kendall Square area around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is closest to downtown Boston while the Harvard Square area to the west is an iconic neighborhood in its own right.

Attractions in Cambridge

• Harvard College Observatory
• Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
• Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
• Museum of Comparative Zoology
• Digital Public Library of America
• Fogg Museum
• Harvard Library
• Harvard Art Museums
• Museum of Science