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Welcome to the Neighborhood

South End

What Greenwich Village is to New York, the South End is to Boston. This is where artists have their lofts, where chefs clamor to open new restaurants, where shops thrive selling designer dog food and upscale home furnishings. Hamersley’s, one of the city’s original French bistros, is adjacent to the new Boston Center for the Arts; go before a show for cassoulet or bouillabaisse (553 Tremont Street, 617-423-2700,) or head a few blocks further along Tremont Street to Aquitaine, the neighborhood’s other grand bistro (569 Tremont Street, 617-424-8577. For eclectic dinners in a funky setting, locals go to Toro for tapas (1704 Washington Street, 617-536-4300), Tremont 647 for banana leaf-wrapped Chilean sea bass (647 Tremont Street, 617-266-4600, ), Sibling Rivalry to see dueling chef-brothers duke it out with competing dishes from the same ingredients (525 Tremont, 617-338-5338), or Sage for nouveau Italian (1395 Washington Street, 617-248-8814). Wrap up the evening with cupcakes at the South End Buttery (314 Shawmut Avenue, 617-482-1015), then go for live jazz at new hotspot the Beehive (541 Tremont Street, 617-423-0069).

Back Bay

When people think of the charming Boston archetype, this is it: the shopping and restaurant scene on Newbury Street, the tulips and swan boats of the Public Garden, the shopping in Copley, the wide tree-lined walkway on Commonwealth Avenue, and brownstones everywhere. For streetside eating at its best and busiest, try Sonsie (327 Newbury Street, 617-351-2500), Stephanie’s on Newbury (190 Newbury Street, 617-236-0990), or 29 Newbury (29 Newbury Street, 617-536-0290). Go to Casa Romero for a romantic Mexican dinner in a brightly tiled flower-filled courtyard (30 Gloucester Street, 617-536-4341), or pop into The Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel for a martini and a celebrity sighting; upstairs, dinner at Aujourd’hui consistently rates among the city’s best, with views overlooking the Public Garden (200 Boylston Street, 617-351-2037).

Beacon Hill

One of Boston’s oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods, Beacon Hill is characterized by gas street lamps, narrow hilly streets, and picturesque brick row houses. Charles Street, its commercial hub, is rife with antiques shops and art galleries, plus popular restaurants such as 75 Chestnut (75 Chestnut Street, 617-227-2175, the romantic Hungry I (71 K Charles Street, 617-227-3524), and The Beacon Hill Bistro in the Beacon Hill Hotel (25 Charles Street, 617-723-7575). Breakfasts at the excellent and affordable Paramount are an exercise in patience and speed: Wait in line at the cook station, as house rules dictate, and no saving a table beforehand (44 Charles Street, 617-720-1152). Pubs are at their best here: If you’ve already seen the world-famous Cheers (84 Beacon Street, 617-227-9605, head to The Sevens for its dive atmosphere and dart board (77 Charles Street, 617-523-9074 ) or the 21st Amendment next to the State House for deal-making over steak tips (150 Bowdoin Street, 617-227-7100).

North End

Boston’s first neighborhood is a favorite with history buffs, particularly fans of the American Revolution. The Freedom Trail marks many historic spots here, such as Paul Revere’s house, Old North Church, and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Over the years, it has become home to newly arriving immigrants, and its lasting incarnation has been as the city’s Little Italy. Restaurants here run to two styles: old-world authentic, such as Trattoria il Panino (11 Parmenter Street, 617-720-1336) and Terramia Ristorante (98 Salem Street, 617-523-3112) or modern interpretations of Italian, such as Prezza (24 Fleet Street, 617-227-1577, prezza.com). Then there are outright postmodern departures, like Grezzo, the recently opened paean to all things organic and raw (meaning, kept below 112 degrees), which still allows surprising latitude (69 Prince Street, 857-362-7288). Stop in at award-winning wine merchant V. Cirace & Son—the shop dates to 1906, and the proprietors have written for Gourmet, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit (173 North Street, 617-227-3193).

Cambridge

Like Boston’s own Left Bank, Cambridge is a cultural and multicultural hub filled with boutiques and cafes, academia and the arts, and even the further-flung squares are quickly becoming outposts of innovative ethnic cuisine. The neighborhoods within Cambridge are diverse. Harvard Square is dominated by the university and the commercial hub where Mass. Ave. meets Brattle Street. Don’t-miss restaurants here include the theatrical UpStairs on the Square (91 Winthrop Street, 617-864-1933), Craigie Street Bistrot, a favorite of adventurous Francophiles (5 Craigie Circle, 617-497-5511) or the hip Eastern Om (92 Winthrop Street, 617-576-2800). Inman Square, a lively Portuguese enclave with architecture on the National Register, is home to East Coast Grill, Chris Schlesinger’s rockin’ surf and turf spot (1271 Cambridge Street, 617-491-6568), and the charming Arabic-Mediterranean Oleana (134 Hampshire Street, 617-661-0505). Central Square hosts many multicultural festivals as well as two sophisticated Medi-terranean gems: Rendezvous (502 Massachusetts Avenue, 617-576-1900) and Salts (798 Main Street, 617-876-8444). Kendall Square is the home of MIT and the Museum of Science, as well as longtime local favorite, the Blue Room (1 Kendall Square, 617-494-9034).