Guide Note

Nicknamed "Beantown," Boston is the capital of Massachusetts, and the largest city in New England.

Fast Facts

1. Country: United States
2. State: Massachusetts
3. County: Suffolk
4. Mayor: Thomas M. Menino
5. Population: 596,638 (2006)
6. Founded: 1630
7. Currency: U.S. Dollar
8. Area code: +617 and +857
9. Time zone: EST

Boston was founded by Puritans, who came to the area in 1630. It was a very important site during the American Revolution and was home to the Battle of Bunker Hill. During the Industrial Revolution, it became an especially prominent manufacturing city. In the late 19th Century, Irish-Americans in the city, long the subject of scorn from the ruling classes, became the dominant political force in the area. See Boston Vacation for some of these attractions and museums.

Boston is a center for higher learning. Its colleges and universities include but are not limited to Boston College, Boston University, Emerson College, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music, and one branch of the University of Massachusetts. Across the river in Cambridge lie Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others.

Boston has a long heritage of championship sports teams. The Boston Red Sox have a long-standing rivalry with the New York Yankees. They have won seven World Series titles, the most recent in 2004 and 2007. The New England Patriots, once lamented by locals as the worst team in football, have won three recent Super Bowls. The Boston Celtics were one of basketball's dominant teams from the 1950s through the 1980s, but then fell into a long fallow period, only returning to competitive status beginning in 2007. Though the Boston Bruins have not won a Stanley Cup since 1972, they still have a very strong fan base in the city.

While planning your trip, please see Boston Vacation, Boston Hotels, Boston Restaurants and Boston Tours.

Bostonians

1. Samuel Adams
2. Alexander Graham Bell
3. Benjamin Franklin
4. Paul Revere
5. Samuel F. B. Morse

1. Ben Affleck
2. Steve Carrell
3. Matt Damon
4. Leonard Nimoy
5. Ruth Roman

1. Dropkick Murphys
2. Godsmack
3. James Taylor
4. Aerosmith
5. The Pixies

1. John Cena
2. Patrick Ewing
3. Rich Hill
4. Nancy Kerrigan
5. Lofa Tatupu