barre3 Boston - South End

Like many of the buildings in Boston, the Massachusetts State House serves as an embodiment of the city's important history. The state's capitol building, built in 1798, resides on land that once belonged to John Hancock. You'll recognize the building easily because of its 23-karat gold dome roof. You can see the State House while you're strolling down Freedom Trail, or you can opt for an in-depth tour of it's interior attractions.

For a day outdoors, the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway is the perfect place to hang out. The greenway is comprised of 1.5 miles of park space, meaning there's plenty of opportunity for recreational fun in nature. Public art, gardens and fountains can be found throughout the greenway. This incredible stretch of land is also surrounded by some of the city's most important neighborhoods, including the Wharf District and Chinatown.

Explore the Great Brook Farm State Park on over 20 miles of recreation trails. The trails throughout the park are perfect for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, and in the winter they provide the perfect path for skiing. Along with plenty of ways to stretch your legs and enjoy nature, the park offers a look at what the classic eastern Massachusetts agricultural landscape is like.

If you're a book lover there's no better way to celebrate that than by visiting the Boston Public Library, the nation's second largest library. This huge library is home to around 6.1 million books, in addition to about 1.7 million rare books and manuscripts that feature records from colonial Boston, early works of William Shakespeare and the personal book collection of John Adams.