Compact, walkable, historic and clean, Boston blends old-world charm and modern convenience better than many American cities. Boston now has some of the best preserved historic buildings and neighborhoods in the country.

In some cases, preservation has crossed the line into Disneyfication: the North End is as neat and tidy as Frontierland, and Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a combo theme park and shopping mall unto itself. Boston is on a small peninsula in the middle of Massachusetts' Atlantic Coast, a little over 200 miles (320 km) northeast of New York City. Most of the city's sights are contained in less than 5 square miles (8 sq km). Cambridge (home of Harvard and MIT) is a short drive or subway ride north across the Charles River.