Boston Public Library and Copley Square

The main square of the Back Bay area is surrounded by both old and ultra-modern buildings. One side is formed by the Boston Public Library, founded in 1848 as the first publicly funded lending library in the country. Architect Charles Follen McKim designed the present building in 1895. Go inside to see the library's Renaissance Revival architecture and murals by John Singer Sargent and Edwin Abbey. Regular Art and Architecture Tours are among the several free things to do in Boston.

Facing the library, across a grassy lawn, where you can enjoy a picnic lunch with neighborhood office workers, is Trinity Church, a red sandstone building designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson in his distinctive style, known as Richardson Romanesque. On a third side of the square is the venerable Boston institution, the Fairmont Copley Plaza; these three buildings, backed by the sheer glass wall of a skyscraper, create a stunning cityscape. A block down Boylston Street, look for the finish line of the Boston Marathon, run each April on Patriot's Day. Just beyond is the Prudential Center, a 32-acre complex of apartments, shops, restaurants, and a 52-story tower. On its 50th floor, you can visit the Skywalk observation deck for 360-degree views of Boston and its surroundings.

Address: 700 Boylston Street, At Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: http://www.bpl.org/

Phone: 617-536-5400

Entrance fee: $10

Google rating: 4.8/5.0