The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2 Copley Place, Suite 105, Boston, MA 02116-6501 (tel. 888/SEE-BOSTON or 617/536-4100, 0171/431-3434 in the U.K.; www.bostonusa.com), offers a comprehensive visitor information kit ($10) that includes a travel planner, a guidebook, a map, pamphlets, and coupons for shopping, dining, attraction, and nightlife discounts. The bureau also publishes a Kids Love Boston guide ($5) and free smaller guides to specific seasons or events.
For information about Cambridge, contact the Cambridge Office for Tourism, 4 Brattle St., Suite 208, Cambridge, MA 02138 (tel. 800/862-5678 or 617/441-2884; fax 617/441-7736; www.cambridge-usa.org).
The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 4510, Boston, MA 02116 (tel. 800/227-MASS or 617/973-8500; fax 617/973-8525; www.massvacation.com), distributes information about the whole state. Its free Getaway Guide magazine includes information about attractions and lodgings, a map, and a calendar.
Useful Websites
Boston.com (www.boston.com): The comprehensive online home of the Boston Globe; also check out the affiliated website Explore New England (www.explorenewengland.com).
Bostonist (www.bostonist.com): A lively blog; features include original and rehashed news coverage and enjoyably random event listings.
Boston-to-English Dictionary (www.boston-online.com/glossary.html): Hilarious yet useful lingo and slang.
Citysearch (http://boston.citysearch.com): Comprehensive listings, including restaurants and clubs, accompanied by professional and hit-or-miss amateur reviews.
Gridskipper (www.gridskipper.com/travel/boston): Gawker Media's irreverent travel blog; check the homepage for coverage of eclectic general-interest topics.
MBTA (www.mbta.com): The go-to site for subway, trolley, bus, ferry, and commuter-rail schedules and route maps, plus fare and pass information.
National Park Service (www.nps.gov): An endlessly helpful resource for visitors to Boston and its history-rich suburbs.
Street Maps
Pick up free maps of downtown Boston and the rapid-transit lines at visitor information centers around the city. National Park Service maps, available from the visitor centers at 15 State St. and the Charlestown Navy Yard, are especially useful. Where magazine, available free at most hotels, contains maps of central Boston and the T.
Sturdy, laminated Streetwise Boston ($6.95) and Artwise Boston ($7.95) maps are available at most bookstores; also check out the waterproof Rough Guide Map: Boston and Cambridge ($8.95). Less detailed and a bit unwieldy but a lot more fun is MapEasy's GuideMap to Boston ($5.95), a hand-drawn map of the central areas and major attractions.
