Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, and Kendall
Harvard Square, the MIT and Kendall area, world-class museums, bookstores, and walks along the Charles — the academic city right across the river from Boston.
Guides
Massachusetts Guides
Massachusetts planning guides for choosing Cambridge, Amherst, Springfield, Pioneer Valley, Worcester, the Berkshires, Salem, North Shore, and Cape Cod before Boston, campus, rail, car, coast, and regional tradeoffs get mixed together.
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Salem and the North Shore
Salem's witch-trial history and museums, Gloucester and Cape Ann, sea-captain mansions, and the working harbors of the North Shore — busy in October and reachable by commuter rail.
Cape Cod and the Islands
Cape Cod's beaches and bike paths, the ferries to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and Woods Hole — a very different trip in summer than in the quiet off-season.
Pioneer Valley, Amherst, and Northampton
Amherst and Northampton, the Five College towns, cultural districts, farm-to-table food, and bookshops along the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts.
Worcester and Central Massachusetts
The Worcester Art Museum, a lively restaurant scene, sports, and an easy central-state base with rail and airport access, away from Boston prices.
Lowell and the Merrimack Valley
Lowell's canals and textile mills, the national park that tells that mill-town story, riverside festivals, and the immigrant history of the Merrimack Valley.
The Berkshires, Williamstown, North Adams, and Lenox
Arts and mountains in the far west — Tanglewood, MASS MoCA, small towns like Lenox and Stockbridge, and some of the best fall foliage in the state.
South Coast, Dartmouth, and New Bedford
New Bedford's whaling history and working waterfront, Fall River, the South Coast beaches, and quick access toward the Cape and Rhode Island.