J P'S Tae Kwon DO Studios

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.

America's fight for independence began in Boston, so what better way to celebrate Independence Day than in the place where it all started? The Boston Harborfest is the city's week-long celebration of American independence, and on July 4th the festival moves to the Charles River Esplanade for a great view of fireworks and patriotic music by the Boston Pops.