I go head to head with my Philly-based colleague to help you decide which city is best to visit: Boston vs Philadelphia. When I first moved to Boston, I thought I had landed in the smartest place on the planet.…
The Best Things to Do in Salem
Salem, Mass – Halloween is coming! In honor of the spooky season, we have a new article about the best things to do in Salem. “It was 1692 – a dark time indeed – when the residents of Salem village…
Freedom Trail
This article about the Freedom Trail is adapted from Lonely Planet’s new Pocket Boston guide, forthcoming in January 2025. One of Boston’s most popular attractions, the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail comprises 16 colonial and revolutionary historical sites. It connects the locations of the…
Comerica Park vs Fenway Park
Boston, Mass and Detroit, Mich – This summer we had the good fortune to watch back-to-back baseball games, one weekend at Comerica Park in Detroit and the next weekend at Fenway Park in Boston. Good times with good friends and…
Children’s Lit Tour
Springfield and Amherst, Mass – There must be something in the Pioneer Valley water that fosters creativity and playfulness. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence that two of America’s most celebrated kids’ lit author-illustrators lived in this region. Today they…
Boston’s Best Cycling Routes
This spring I have been busy updating Lonely Planet’s Boston city guide, as well as the Massachusetts chapters for Lonely Planet’s New England (both new editions forthcoming in 2025). LP has taken some excerpts from the Boston guide to create…
The Most Beautiful Flowers in the World
Sandwich, Mass – Lonely Planet made a list of the best places to see the most beautiful flowers in the world, and Heritage Museum and Gardens in Cape Cod made the list. (It was my suggestion. It’s also on my…
Mohican History of Stockbridge
Stockbridge, Mass – It’s not my first trip to the Berkshires (read about some of our previous trips here). And I am a travel writer, a so-called expert in New England and its history. But I still learned something while…
Clark Art Institute
Williamstown, Mass – The collection of Impressionist and American paintings at the Clark Art Institute is exceptional for a small museum. It is particularly strong in its Impressionist paintings, especially Monet and Renoir, as well as Americans like Winslow Homer…
The Rock of Rockport
Rockport, Massachusetts – Rockport takes its name from its industrial past: its 19th-century role as a shipping center for granite cut from the local quarries. While updating the Lonely Planet guide to New England, I decided to investigate this history–to…