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  (texte en français ci-dessous) The collection of Historical Scientific Instruments | Harvard, Cambridge, Mass The Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments at Harvard occupies just one room on the ground floor of One Oxford Street and it's not necessarily very visible if you don't know what you're looking for. You will also have to dare to enter a building which seems reserved for students to find its entrance on the left. You will then be very well received by those who undoubtedly take it in turns and perhaps on a voluntary basis to welcome the rare visitors who venture there. It's an Ali-Baba's cave of superb instruments which in the past measured time, electric currents, atomic radiation, the course of the stars and everything you can imagine that a university like Harvard could have studied in its scientific sections since the 17th century. They are beautiful objects, well-polished, often mysterious and you would no doubt like to touch some of them, op...

(texte en français ci-dessous) When you take route 1A North from Boston and arrive at Orient Heights in East Boston, you will see at some point on your right a cross on a hill and at its foot a sign inviting you to visit the Madonna Queen of the Universe Shrine. If like me you thought that the sanctuary consisted only of this cross, think again; it’s actually located a bit ahead and you can’t see it from the road. It is an impressively tall monument that overlooks Boston, the airport runways and the coast on that side of the city. In front of the huge statue of the Madonna, a large square intended to receive the faithful. At its end, the panoramic view… What is surprising is that contrary to what one might think, the church is not at this level but two floors below the square, accessible by entering the buildings on the right. Nothing extraordinary in its decoration, particularly because there are no stained glass windows, but just before reaching it, you will find a room where are re...

(texte en français ci-dessous) In Boston, 7 colorful sculptures by Okuda San Miguel If you follow the Walk in Boston # 8 (see link below), you will necessarily cross Seaport Boulevard in the neighborhood of the same name, so forget the suggested route for a moment and walk along the street. On the median strip, there will be the 7 sculptures of the public art project Air, Sea, Earth created especially for the place by Okuda San Miguel. Spanish, contemporary, influenced by graffiti and street arts, his style is instantly recognizable when you have seen it once. It often highlights the contradictions of existence and the impossible meeting of the wild and the built, which surely explains the choice of this artist to decorate this area. And built, this district has been over the past 10 years! It was previously mainly open-air parking spaces and abandoned industrial buildings or, if we go back further in time, a large trading center where commercial sailing ships and trains from the west ...

(texte en français ci-dessous) Get lucky in Boston Want to get lucky in Boston? You just have to find the Good Luck plaque at North Station and put your hand on it. I won't tell you where it is exactly as it's part of the quest, but I can tell you that one day, I was leaving the commuter rail when I saw people make a detour and put their hand on it, so I got curious and here is what I found: the plaque bears the name of Red Auerbach, a famous NBA coach that allowed the Boston Celtics to win many times in the past. North Station being under the TD Garden Stadium where the Celtics play, it makes sense that the plaque is there, especially because the clover is the emblem of the Celtics. at first, it was not clear whether you ask for luck for the Celtics when you touch it, or luck for yourself, and what was also unusual is that this clover is a regular one, not the 4-leaf one, but I got the answers when asking on Facebook about it. Maks Tlg told me that...

(texte en français ci-dessous) The Gloden Stairs | Boston immigration Even if Ellis Island in New York harbor is the symbol of immigration to the USA during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Boston was at that time the second point of entry into American territory. There were up to 8 landing wharfs for passenger boats coming from Europe, each with its immigration station and federal agents going from one to another to check papers and administer medical tests. That of Grand Junction in East Boston - where Piers Park is now, was the most important and it is therefore also in East Boston that you can still find the most remnants of this activity. First, the explanatory panels located at Piers Park and Navy Fuel Park which give you an overview of what immigration was like at the time (see the photos at the end of the post). Then, along Marginal Street and opposite to Piers Park 2, the Immigrant House whose name you will still find on the facade if you look up at t...

(texte en français ci-dessous) The Charlestown Bells If you follow Walk in Boston # 5, the historic Charlestown (the link is at the bottom of the page), you will pass over locks and once on the Charlestown side, on your left, you will see steel tubes attached to the path's protective barrier. There will also be handles that protrude so that you can operate them. Don't hesitate to do so, you are in front of "the Charlestown Bells", a musical sculpture created in 2000 by Paul Matisse following a commission from the city. This is probably not the Matisse that the title made you think of but it is a Matisse all the same, known, among other things, for his musical installations. He is in fact one of Henry's grandsons and he lives in Massachusetts. To return to the handles, they will operate small hammers that will strike the tubes, thus creating a small chiming symphony as you walk. You are not a musician? It doesn't matter, the music will still sound right excep...

(texte en français ci-dessous) Boston music venues During the day, you walked around Boston following Walk in Boston , but in the evening, you would perhaps like to go listen to music. Here is a non-exhaustive compilation of some places that will welcome you and a small description of what you will find there. Bijou : in Boston and in the Theater District not far from Chinatown and on Stuart Street, Bijou can accommodate about 650 people in what was The Bijou Theater in 1882. It's now a sleak and futuristic nightclub with super sound and amazing lightning with a selection of international DJs and an emphasis, it seems, on trance music. This club is not far from Walk in Boston # 9. Big Night Live : in Boston, a nightclub / concert hall that can accommodate up to 1,200 people in a chic industrial setting, just at the entrance to North Station. Since its opening in October 2019, it has become one of the places where the best DJs of the moment perform for price...

(texte en français ci-dessous) A city is not an accident - Une ville n'est pas un accident "A city is not an accident but the result of coherent visions and aims" affirms Leon Krier against the modernism trend which favors original buildings or constructions without being interested in their harmonious integration into the urban fabric. This quote is in East Boston, in a neighborhood that has been completely renovated in the 2010th, but the reality of cities, however, is that neighborhoods and buildings often appear in an anarchic fashion according to the times, the developers and their ability to win contracts. It shows and it is what regularly causes attempts to harmonize the whole by destroying some buildings and establishing greenways or large transversal arteries, for example. Leon Krier is one of those who favors this task of harmonization. Born in Luxembourg in 1946, he was first attracted by the work of a modernist like Le Corbusier but he gradually returned to m...

(texte en français ci-dessous) These 18 unusual self-guided tours suggested by Walk in Boston will keep you busy for about 2 hours each and much more if you do all the visits indicated. The idea is to show you how to go from known places to unusual ones. You follow urban paths, and you can link them to each other's. You remain independent, but you have a guide to help you in your discoveries and photos to show you what you’ll see. These walks focus on the arts and architecture, parks and garden, sea and rivers. Emphasis is on free entrance and one-of-a-kind experiences. To know something unique about some of these walks, you can also browse the posts of this blog. Happy discoveries! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D’environ deux heures mais plus si vous faites les visites indiquées, ces tours auto-guidés insolites proposés par Promenade à Boston vous feront découvrir la ville le long et hors des sentiers battus. L’idée est de vous ...

( texte en français ci-dessous) The Boston NYC book is a limited edition bilingual book you can use to decide which walks to take in these 2 cities. It tells you how long you’ll need to do the tours with the visits and what there is to see for each. It also suggests a particular place to discover along your way. The page on the right offers a photomontage giving you a visual impression of the neighborhood and includes an image of the place to discover. For a detailed description of the tour with photos and maps, the site of Walk in Boston or the one of Walk in New York City takes over. To discover other unique places on your route or to obtain more information on the one indicated in the book, it’s on the Citywalks’ blog that you’ll have to go. In short, this book is an original creation intended to be used in conjunction with three websites but if you leave it on your coffee table, it will also be a reminder of the places you have seen or an incentive to go exploring. To get it, come ...