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A College Student's Cliff's Notes to Downtown

A College Student's Cliff's Notes to Downtown

Get to know your new home in downtown Boston. Try new restaurants, get a touch of American history, and find new places to shop.

BREAKFAST WITH A SIDE OF HISTORY
Grab breakfast at the Thinking Cup Coffee Shop at 165 Tremont Street, the first coffee shop in Downtown Boston to serve Stumptown Coffee, named “Best Coffee in the World” by Food & Wine Magazine. You may also want to bring some beans back to your dorm.

After breakfast, start exploring Downtown Boston. Walk along Tremont Street to check out the start of the Freedom Trail. The red-brick path will take you past the Old State House, on Court Street, site of the legendary "Boston Massacre" of 1770. The path also winds past Old South Meeting House, on the corner of Washington and Milk Streets, where the scheme for the Boston Tea Party was hatched in 1773.   

HUNGRY AGAIN?
After you’ve worked up an appetite on the Freedom Trail, stay in the neighborhood for lunch. If you’re in the mood for comfort food, grab a burger at Stoddard’s, on Temple Place, or a grilled cheese at Uno Due Go (52 Summer Street). For dessert, check out one of Downtown’s three sumptuous bakeries, such as Sweet (11 School Street). Their cupcakes are baked fresh daily, and are so delicious, you may want to bring some back to campus!

SHOPPING
There’s something for everyone here . . . Need things for your dorm or apartment? Try Macy’s back-to-school section. Looking for new duds? Need to grab new kicks?  Check out DSW. Writers, the Bromfield Pen Shop has been in the same location for 50 years and sells all kinds of pens, Swiss army knives, and other cool items. Bibliophiles, the Brattle Book Shop, on West Street, carries 250,000 books, maps, prints, postcards, and ephemeral items in all subjects.

ENTERTAINMENT & NIGHTLIFE
To catch the latest flick, AMC Loews Boston Common has 19 screens. The Orpheum Theatre stages great rock concerts.  

After your show, the Weekly Dig give props to The Good Life, at 28 Kingston Street, as the best dance venue in the city. And JM Curley, on Temple Place, "gets it done." Named after Depression-era Boston Mayor James Michael Curley (who was elected to office while he was in prison!), JM Curley offers bar food and unique drinks. 

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