Boston

Introducing Boston

It was from this major medieval port that the Pilgrim Fathers – the first white settlers of the US – began their break for the freedom of the New World in 1607. These religious separatists suffered persecution and imprisonment, yet when word of their success made it back here, a crowd of locals followed them across the Atlantic to found a namesake town in the new colony of Massachusetts. Lying near the mouth of the River Witham, in the bay known as The Wash, the town is now a mere blip on the map in comparison to its US namesake, but it has hung onto much of its medieval appearance, timber-framed Tudor buildings and labyrinthine street grid with two main streets flanking the river and linked by footbridges.

The tourist office (356656; ticboston@boston.gov.uk; Market Pl; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat year-round) is under the Assembly Rooms on Market Pl.

Last updated: Jul 22, 2009