3 Best Sights in Boston, Massachusetts

Two modern structures dominate Copley Square—200 Clarendon (also still referred to by its former name, the Hancock) off the southeast corner and the even more assertive Copley Place skyscraper on the southwest. An upscale, glass-and-brass urban mall built between 1980 and 1984, Copley Place includes two major hotels: the high-rise Westin and the Marriott Copley Place. Dozens of shops, restaurants, and offices are attractively grouped on several levels, surrounding bright, open indoor spaces.

The 52-story Prudential Tower, or "the Pru," dominates the acreage between Boylston Street and Huntington Avenue. Its enclosed shopping mall anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue is home to over 60 stores and restaurants and is connected by a glass bridge to the more upscale Copley Place. The popular food emporium, Eataly, located in the Pru, offers a great spot for a quick bite or DIY fixings for an Italian feast. As for the Prudential Tower itself, the architectural historian Bainbridge Bunting made an acute observation when he called it "an apparition so vast in size that it appears to float above the surrounding district without being related to it." Later modifications to the Boylston Street frontage of the Prudential Center effected a better union of the complex with the urban space around it, but the tower itself floats on, vast as ever. In 2023, the top three floors of the Pru will welcome a new re-imagination of the famed SkyWalk, an incredible vantage point to view all of Boston with 360 degrees of observation from above.

This massive, multiuse, 1.9 million–square–foot complex is the West End's newest and biggest attraction, and it's attached to the TD Garden. It's easy to get here from anywhere in the city, since The Hub incorporates North Station, which is serviced by both the subway (Orange and Green Lines) and the commuter rail. Travelers can stay at bold and bustling citizenM hotel; the ArcLight Cinema entertains with movies on 15 screens; and Boston-based Big Night Live features a sexy, modern live music and concert space with DJs and bottle service, plus, its resident restaurant, Guy Fieri's Tequila Cocina (order the trash-can nachos). There are plenty of other dining options, including American sports bar Banners Kitchen & Tap, which has a truly massive LED TV screen and shows all types of sports games. Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's Momosan Ramen is adjacent to the Hub Hall food hall that features a dozen and a half local vendors.