The capital city of Massachusetts, Boston is a happy mixture of present and past: the wide avenues of the modern part of the city blend into the narrow, snakelike lanes of the old colonial town; futuristic skyscrapers rise next to historic buildings. Boston was built in 1630 around the Boston Common – a pasture then used to graze local livestock – and, during the following century, became the core of the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain. After independence was declared, Boston kept on thriving as a trading and culture centre.
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Day 3 — Boston → Salem
Salem owes its fame to the 17th century witch trials. Today the town is famous for its museum and its old mansions. The most famous of these beautifully restored homes is “The House of the Seven Gables” from the homonymous novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
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Day 4 — Salem → Newport
Standing at the very tip of Aquidneck Island, Newport has always been the harbor of East Coast tycoons. The flotilla of luxury yachts moored at the docks speaks for itself, as well as the opulent, fin-de-siècle summer houses belonging to New York magnates like the Astors and the Vanderbilts.
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Day 5 — Newport → Hyannis
Hyannis is the most important town in Cape Cod, where you can board ferries to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Its claim to fame however lies with the Kennedy family, who chose Hyannis as their favourite vacation resort. The town dedicated a small musuem to JFK, who loved to spend his summer vacation in his Hyannis mansion. Get the true spirit of Hyannis by strolling around the harbour district.
