March 5, 1770 — The Boston Massacre leaves five residents dead at the hands of British troops. December 16, 1773 — Colonists disguised as Mohawks clamber aboard British ships and dump 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. June 16, 1775 — Before the Battle of Bunker Hill, Colonel Prescott gives American militiamen the command, “Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”

Legendary Boston lives in the pages of history books, but the string of dates and events familiar to practically every American is transformed from tedious text to vivid reality when you set foot in the nation's most historic and fascinating city. You can practically hear Paul Revere's horse galloping and his pulse pounding as you gaze up at the tower of the Old North Church, where the silversmith's eyes searched to see … one if by land, and two if by sea. The high drama of the Boston Tea Party will be forever etched in your mind when you participate in the annual December re-enactment.

Each year Boston and nearby Cambridge (home to America's first institution of higher learning, Harvard University) welcome hundreds of thousands of students to the area's more than 100 colleges and universities, giving the city and its surrounding neighborhoods a youthful energy. While not as frenetic as New York, Boston has a lively tempo that will propel you as you walk the Freedom Trail, slurp chowder from a bread bowl, root for the Red Sox, shop for antiques on Beacon Hill, ice-skate in the winter, or laze aboard a swan boat in the summer in Boston Public Garden. The possibilities are endless, so be prepared to make tough choices once you've made the first easy choice to visit Boston.