Back Bay
Back Bay is an officially recognized historic neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin.
Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and the area was fully built by around 1900. It is most famous for its rows of Victorian brownstone homes—considered one of the best preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States—as well as numerous architecturally significant individual buildings, and cultural institutions such as the Boston Public Library, and Boston Architectural College. Initially conceived as a residential-only area, commercial buildings were permitted from around 1890, and Back Bay now features many office buildings, including the John Hancock Tower, Boston's tallest skyscraper. It is also considered a fashionable shopping destination and home to several major hotels.
Getting around Back Bay the local way
- Get inLong Wharf is the most popular; offering MBTA connections to the Charlestown Navy Yard, Logan Airport, Hingham and Hull, as well as a seasonal ferry to Salem.
- Get inBoston Harbor Cruises offers other seasonal ferries, decamping to the Boston Harbor Islands, or heading out to Provincetown.
- Get inThere is another ferry from here to Hingham, and a seasonal one to Winthrop.
- Get inWater taxis are plentiful all along the waterfront, servicing 28 different points between downtown, South Boston, East Boston, and Charlestown.
- Go nextHead down to the wharf and take a ferry out to the Boston Harbor Islands.
From Wikivoyage: Boston/Downtown, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.