Neighborhood and Town Guides
What it's like to live in each Boston neighborhood and the cities and towns around it: the homes, the streets, and how people get around.
Boston neighborhoods
- AllstonTriple-deckers, Union Square and Harvard Avenue, with the Green Line B on Comm Ave
- Back BayVictorian brownstones, Newbury Street, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall
- Bay VillageFederal and Greek Revival rowhouses on a few gaslit blocks by the Theater District
- Beacon HillFederal rowhouses, gas lamps and brick sidewalks from the State House to Charles Street
- BrightonOak Square, Brighton Center and the Chestnut Hill Reservoir on Boston's western edge
- CharlestownBunker Hill Monument, the Navy Yard and brick and clapboard rowhouses across the harbor
- ChinatownThe Beach Street gate, 1800s rowhouses and new towers beside the Greenway
- DorchesterTriple-deckers, Victorian hills and Dorchester Avenue, from Savin Hill to Lower Mills
- Downtown BostonGlass towers and loft conversions near Boston Common, Downtown Crossing and the harbor
- East BostonHarbor views from Piers Park, Maverick Square and Blue Line stops out to Orient Heights
- FenwayFenway Park, the Back Bay Fens and Kenmore Square, with museums along the Fenway
- Hyde ParkCleary and Logan squares, Victorian Fairmount Hill and three commuter rail stations
- Jamaica PlainJamaica Pond, the Arnold Arboretum and four Orange Line stops on the Southwest Corridor
- MattapanMattapan Square, the vintage trolley to Ashmont and the Neponset River at its edge
- Mission HillTwin-spired Mission Church, Brigham Circle and the E branch beside Longwood
- North EndBrick walk-ups, the Paul Revere House and Hanover Street, a short walk from the harbor
- RoslindaleA village square around Adams Park, a restored 1911 substation and a commuter rail stop
- RoxburyNubian Square, the Fort Hill tower, Franklin Park and nearly four centuries of history
- SeaportHarborwalk towers, Fort Point's brick lofts and the ICA, a short walk from South Station
- South BostonDorchester Heights, Broadway and a harbor shoreline from Carson Beach to Castle Island
- South EndVictorian brownstones, a celebrated dining scene, and the SoWa arts district
- West EndRiverfront towers, Mass General and TD Garden, with the Otis House and Old West Church
- West RoxburyCentre Street, three Needham Line stops and the Charles River at Boston's southwest edge
Cities and towns near Boston
- ArlingtonSpy Pond, the Minuteman Bikeway and three business districts strung along Mass Ave
- BelmontBelmont Center, Cushing and Waverley Squares, Belmont Hill and two commuter rail stops
- BrooklineCoolidge Corner, two Green Line branches and Olmsted's own home and office on Warren Street
- CambridgeHarvard, Central and Kendall Squares, Brattle Street houses and a Red Line spine
- ChelseaAcross the Mystic from Charlestown, with Silver Line stops, Admiral's Hill and Bellingham Square
- DedhamA 1636 county seat on the Charles River, with Dedham Square, Legacy Place and the Fairbanks House
- EverettBroadway's bus lanes, Mystic River frontage, and Everett and Glendale Squares
- LexingtonThe Battle Green, the Minuteman Bikeway and a rare cluster of mid-century modern neighborhoods
- MaldenTwo Orange Line stations, Olmsted's Fellsmere Park and an H.H. Richardson library
- MedfordThe Mystic River and Lakes, the Middlesex Fells, Tufts and the Chevalier Theatre
- MelroseVictorian streets, Ell Pond, Mount Hood and three Haverhill Line stops, with Oak Grove at the city line
- MiltonThe Mattapan trolley, the Neponset River and the wooded edge of the Blue Hills Reservation
- NatickA historic town center on the Marathon route, Lake Cochituate and two Worcester Line stations
- NeedhamA town incorporated in 1711, four Needham Line stations and the Charles River along much of its edge
- NewtonThirteen villages, seven Green Line stops and Heartbreak Hill on Commonwealth Avenue
- QuincyFour Red Line stops, Wollaston Beach, granite quarry history and the Adams family homes
- RevereAmerica's first public beach, three Blue Line stations and the Rumney Marsh shoreline
- SomervilleSeven hills of triple-deckers, Davis and Union Squares, and new Green Line stations
- WalthamThe Watch City's Moody Street, a Charles River riverwalk and two Fitchburg Line stations
- WatertownWatertown Square on the Charles, the old Arsenal grounds and Mount Auburn Street
- WellesleyLake Waban, a Romanesque stone Town Hall and three commuter rail stops on the Worcester Line
- WestonColonial taverns on the Boston Post Road, a historic Town Green and wide conservation land
- WinchesterTwo Lowell Line stations, the Mystic Lakes and a town center built along the Aberjona River
- WoburnHorn Pond, a Richardson library and a rail hub where I-93 meets Route 128
Compare neighborhoods
Side-by-side facts on housing, transit and city services for places people often weigh against each other.
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