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Weird and wonderful: This is your Field Guide to Boston

Whether you just got here or lived here your whole life, we’ll help you navigate this city we call home.

Local Coverage

Dark hot chocolate from L.A. Burdick in Harvard Square. (Dina Rudick/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Your favorite hot chocolate spots

We asked WBUR readers where they like to grab a cup of hot chocolate. Here are your responses.

Local Coverage

Houseplants by a windowsill. (Lisa Creamer/WBUR)

How to keep your houseplants happy through a New England winter

New England weather is home to extremes, like hot summers and brutally cold winters.

Local Coverage

Explore 20 Boston neighborhoods

Boston's neighborhoods are the cultural dynamos that give this city verve and character beyond the hackneyed movie tropes.

Local Coverage

Day trips in New Hampshire: Ideas for beer lovers, foodies, family trip planners and more

Local Coverage

Jul 26, 2024

An illustration of various attractions in Vermont. (Sophie Stephens and Zoe McDonald/Vermont Public)

Day trips in Vermont: Lakeside adventures, rural curiosities and plenty of creemees

Local Coverage

Jul 1, 2024

A worker at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana takes a piping hot pizza out of a coal oven and places it into a to-go box during a weekday lunchtime rush. The restaurant was founded in 1925 by Italian immigrant Frank Pepe in New Haven, and has since opened locations across the Northeast.

Day trips in Connecticut: 50 fun things to do, from pizza to parks (and a castle, too)

Local Coverage

Jun 28, 2024

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Good eats, local vibes: Explore 20 Boston neighborhoods

Local Coverage

Sep 1, 2023

A mother and her daughter walk past the “Greetings from Allston Village” mural on Farrington Street. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Allston: A Boston neighborhood guide

Local Coverage

Sep 1, 2023

A tour group learns about the sites around North Square Park in the North End. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

The North End: A Boston neighborhood guide

Local Coverage

Sep 1, 2023

Artwork at the zebra entrance to Franklin Park Zoo in Roxbury. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Roxbury: A Boston neighborhood guide

Local Coverage

Sep 1, 2023

How blue is Massachusetts? What to know about politics and voting

Local Coverage

Sep 7, 2023

An illustration of Polaroids of people taking part in arts and culture activities. (Midoriko Grace Abe for WBUR)

Here's your ticket to Boston's arts and culture scene

Arts & Culture

Sep 7, 2023

An illustration of two people harvesting lettuce at a community garden in Boston. (Midoriko Grace Abe for WBUR)

Gamers, bookworms and fitness fanatics, find your people

Arts & Culture

Sep 7, 2023

Beyond the lobster roll: We asked local chefs what and where to eat

Arts & Culture

Sep 7, 2023

Watch: Take a trip around Boston's Little Saigon

Find hotspots for food and fun, recommended by fellow Bostonians in your neighborhood.

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5 key things to know about the Boston accent

Local Coverage

05:06Nov 3, 2023

A man bowls at the now-shuttered Pilgrim Lanes in Haverhill. (Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Why candlepin bowling took off in New England — and not anywhere else

Local Coverage

Nov 18, 2023

The graveyard in Orange, Mass. was one of the many locations in town where scenes for "Castle Rock" were filmed. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

How history made New England a prime setting for horror stories

Local Coverage

Oct 28, 2023

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Dancers in City Ballet of Boston’s “Dance Distinctive.” (Courtesy Petr Metlicka)

5 things to do this weekend, including Broadway trivia and a contemporary ballet performance

Plus, an autism-friendly museum night and an Earth Day celebration.

Arts & Culture

An excavator moves rubble at McCoy Stadium. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

As McCoy Stadium comes down, an ode to PawSox summers

McCoy Stadium, home to the precious memories of many southern New Englanders is coming down. Locals are mourning the demolition of the Pawtucket icon.

Local Coverage

03:59

From left: Aarian Mehrabani, Samuel Brewer and Chloe Palmer in FlawBored's "It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure." (Courtesy Alex Brenner)

5 things to do this weekend, including a satirical play and an animated film festival

Plus, an archaeology fair and a conversation with artist Hugh Hayden.

Arts & Culture

Kyle Ray performing at The Umbrella Concert Series show with Salt Lick Incubator on Feb 7 at The Umbrella Arts Center. (Courtesy The Umbrella Arts Center)

5 things to do for a music-filled weekend

From the Arlington Jazz Festival to a concert by Salt Lick Incubator artists, there are many ways to enjoy music this weekend in Greater Boston.

Arts & Culture

“The Addams Family” will run at the Wang Theatre Friday, March 21-Sunday, March 23. (Courtesy Meredith Mashburn Photography)

5 things to do this weekend, including a celebration of spring and 'The Addams Family' musical

Plus, an abstract artist talk and a solo theatrical dance performance.

Arts & Culture

Literature writer Katherine Ouellette recommends eight books to read this spring. (Courtesy the publishers)

8 books with New England ties to spark hope and action this spring

Does history repeat itself? Or does it rhyme? WBUR literature writer Katherine Ouellette recommends eight books that remind us the current moment is just a reprise and a remix of...

Arts & Culture

Minnie Evans, "Untitled (Three faces divided by two sunrises over water)," 1968. (Courtesy Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, North Carolina; Estate of Minnie Jones Evans; and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

12 art exhibits to explore this spring

From pastoral landscapes at The Clark to the visionary art of Minnie Evans at the MFA, this season's art exhibits embrace the natural world and invent new ones.

Arts & Culture

A general view of the Charles River during the Head of the Charles Regatta on October 21, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

I learned to love Boston from the banks of the Charles River

As you spend more time around Boston, the Charles River infuses into your consciousness, writes Fred Hewett, who's lived within a mile of the river for more than 40 years....

Cognoscenti

03:35

A black and white photograph with a trolley car from the late 1800s traveling along a city street.

The books about Boston that historians think you should read

We spoke to a range of writers, academics and historians to learn about the titles that inform them on key parts of Boston's history: from the Indigenous inhabitants to the...

Arts & Culture

A parking meter in Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

How to take the pain out of parking in Greater Boston

Between street cleaning restrictions, residential parking zones, space savers, garage prices and finding an open metered spot, rules about parking in Boston can be just as complicated as driving around...

Local Coverage

People hanging out at ManRay in Cambridge. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Anything but boring: Your quick list of Boston nightlife hotspots

It's true that the MBTA stops running at 1 a.m., and most bars close by 2 a.m. Nonetheless, Bostonians still have quite a few options to find a good time...

Arts & Culture