Harriet Fenwick
Reading Boston neighbourhood by neighbourhood
Based in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts.
Harriet moved from London to write about American cities and has walked the Freedom Trail enough times to route a visitor around the tour groups. She covers Boston's neighbourhoods, the Emerald Necklace parks and the day trips out to Salem and the Cape.
Latest stories
Walking and eating Boston's North End in November
Short days and wet pavements change the order you do Boston's North End in November. Give the daylight to the sites that close early and you can still be indoors with a cannoli filled to order when the harbour lights come on.
Boston's Roxbury, from royal-governor mansion to jazz room
You can walk a 1747 governor's mansion, the Fort Hill skyline and Nubian Square's Nigerian and Dominican kitchens in the order they open.
Dorchester, Boston, from the Kennedy museums to Lower Mills
Two Kennedy museums on a headland, the oldest house in Boston, dinner that could be Cape Verdean or Vietnamese, and the hours and bookings to plan the day around.
Walking South Boston from Castle Island to the Seaport
The headland has fort tours, the hill a rededicated monument, the shore three miles of clean swimming water, and behind them the pasta rooms and unmarked barrooms.
How to plan a day in Boston's Chinatown and Theatre District
Dinner, a theatre booking and a drink afterwards, all within the few blocks either side of Boston's China Trade Gate.
Boarding the USS Constitution in Boston this October
You can board the 1797 frigate for free without booking anything, and an October morning in the Charlestown Navy Yard also gets you a WWII destroyer, an 1833 granite dry dock and the broadside view from Pier 4.
Boston's Molasses Flood and the Waterfront It Left Behind
The 1919 flood left almost nothing to look at, so this is a day spent walking the ground it covered and the working harbour that outlived it.
Boston's Old State House and the Harbour in September 2026
What your $18 covers inside the oldest public building in Boston, how long to allow for it, and how to get onto a harbour boat the same afternoon while the season holds.
Walking the Freedom Trail Through Boston in September 2026
Sixteen sites, two and a half miles, three neighbourhoods: what the red line gives you, what it costs at the door, and how to time it in September.
Walking Boston's Beacon Hill Under September Gaslight
How to spend a morning on Beacon Hill in 2026 without wasting the trolley ticket: the lamps and the lanes, the free State House tour, and the ranger walk that ends on 27 September.
Boston's Back Bay by Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley in September
What the Back Bay trolley loop shows you, which four stops earn a hop-off, and how to plan a September day around church hours, museum closing days and a 9.15pm last entry.
October Day Trips You Can Reach From Boston by Train
Ten trips north, west and south of the city that work on a commuter rail ticket in October, with the timetables, prices and closed days that catch people out.
Where Boston Turns Colour Without Leaving the City
The Arboretum, two garden cemeteries, a salt marsh and a flat riverside walk give you six weeks of autumn colour, nearly all of it free and reachable on the T.
Boston's Tea Party Is Buried Under the Financial District
A one-day walk that separates the costumed legend of 16 December 1773 from the ground it actually happened on. That ground, it turns out, has moved.
Out of Boston by Train and Ferry Without a Car
Fourteen day trips from Boston that need nothing but a rail ticket or a boat fare, with the 2026 fares, seasons and booking traps that decide whether the day works.
A Day on Boston's Harbor Islands Without a Car
Thirty-odd islands sit inside Boston's working harbour, and a single ferry timetable decides which of them you can actually reach, so plan the day around the boat.
Lantern Nights at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston
The lantern season at Franklin Park Zoo runs to 8 November 2026: when to go, what it costs, and where to eat on either side of the walk.
Halloween Weekend in Boston, Night by Night
October 31 lands on a Saturday in 2026, which gives Boston two full costume nights. Here is how to book the clubs, cabarets, tours and boats before they close out.
Seeing Boston for the First Time Without a Car
A first-visit plan that runs on the T, the harbour ferries and walking, with the cost of every ticket you will need.
Three October Days in Boston Around the Head of the Charles
How to plan a mid-October weekend in Boston around the regatta on the Charles: where to stand on the bank for nothing, which foliage walks and museums are worth the detour, and which rooms will hold a group.
Boston's Long Run: How Marathon Monday Shapes a City
Every spring, the Boston Marathon pulls training runs, watch parties and finish-line rituals into one long civic arc — here's how to see it, from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, in 2026.
The Emerald Necklace: How Olmsted's Parks Escaped Boston's Grid
A walking guide to Frederick Law Olmsted's seven-mile chain of Boston parks, from swan boats and a working World War II victory garden to Franklin Park, the stretch most visitors never reach.
Boston on Foot, Neighbourhood by Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood itinerary for readers who want Boston on foot — from the North End's 250th-anniversary lanterns to Southie's real dive bars and Jamaica Plain's working brewery.
Harvard Square Never Stopped Being a Working Neighbourhood
Beyond the statue photographs and the freshman tour groups, Harvard Square and the Cambridge riverbank still run on independent bookshops, student-built stages and a rowing culture that predates the university's most famous graduates — here is how to see the town, not just the campus.
The Freedom Trail at Dawn: Boston's Revolution Without the Crowds
Walk the 2.5 miles of red brick between the State House and Bunker Hill before the tour groups arrive, and the Revolution stops being a script and starts being a place.
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