Please tell me about what's cool in your home town in the comments!

I love it when people ask me about things to see and do in my hometown of Boston (or, really, any place I've spent a lot of time--this is part of why I love being a travel advisor!), and I find other people are pleased when asked to wax lyrical on the delights of the place that they live. So I'm pretending that you've asked--here's some tips on the best things to see and do in Boston.

Boston is one of the oldest cities in America, and it has the winding streets, patrician brownstone buildings and effortless charm of a European city. The best way to see the city is to get yourself to Park Street and take the *Freedom Trail*. This is a red line on the sidewalk which leads you through the city and past many of its historical sights. It is essentially a free guided tour, and you can pay to get into sights like the old State House or Paul Revere's house if you want to. It will take you past many of the colonial and revolutionary war must-sees, as well as through the shopping district of Downtown Crossing and the ridiculously lovely Little Italy of Boston, which we call the North End. You then cross a bridge over to Charlestown, to check out the Bunker Hill monument and the USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides.

So the freedom trail is what you do in Boston when you only have a day, but there are dozens of other things that I consider unmissable:
> We have a world-class art museum in the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA).
>The Isabella Stewart Gardner Musuem is a unique gem--it is a museum in what used to be Stewart Gardner's house, and the entrance into the opulent Venetian courtyard is worth the price of admission (50% off for students with the ISIC, incidentally) alone.
>The Museum of Science and the Children's Museum are great for families...actually, I still like going to the Museum of Science!
>The Peabody Essex Museum is gorgeous. This is in Salem, and easily accessible by public transportation. Salem is worth a day trip--it has a pretty city center and of course is steeped in the morbid history of the Salem Witch Trials.
>Boston's brand new Institute of Contemporary Art is a stunner. The building and the art inside it are playful yet grand. It also had stunning waterfront views.

Now, all this would add up pretty quickly, but STA has a cool "Go Boston Card" which includes all of the above and more* starting at $61 for a one-day pass ($79 for two, $109 for three, $139 for five and $159 for seven). Boston has, as you probably know, a very large student population, so although it is expensive, many places have ISIC discounts or last-minute cheap tickets deals for students for Red Sox games or a show in the theater district.

My favorite off-the-beaten path activity for Boston are the Forest Hills Cemetery and Arnold Arboretum in the neighborhood of Jamaica Plain. These are a little bit harder to access by public transportation. I wouldn't recommend renting a car during your stay in Boston--there's nowhere to park unless you want to spend a small fortune--but it might be worth it for a day trip to this side of the city, or as part of a longer day trip. The Arnold Arboretum is a lovely park that acts as a home to hundreds of unique species of trees. The Forest Hills Cemetery is not only very old and pretty, but it is also home to dozens of modern art sculptures. The sculptures are sprinkled throughout the cemetery, and it's fun to walk or drive through it and try to find them. The poet E.E. Cumming is buried here, and there is a very cool sculpture dedicated to him, with his books of poetry permanently available for your perusal.

Ah, Boston. There's more--lot's more!--so feel free to ask me. Or just let me know below what we should see when we visit your stomping grounds.

*The "more" in the Go Boston Card includes all of the following:

Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, JFK Library and Museum,
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Harvard Museum of Natural History, New England Sports Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Children's Museum, Gibson House Museum, USS Constitution Museum, MIT Museum, Harrison Gray Otis House Museum, Nichols House Museum, 2-Day Beantown Trolley Pass, Boston Harbor Constitution Cruise, Boston Movie Tours,
Freedom Trail Audio Guide, Talking Street, Cellphone Walking Tour, Isle of Shoals Cruises in Portsmouth