Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Satisfy your cravings
Noteworthy for: The market's centrality and variety make it popular with tourists, but it's real enough to be an integral part of local city life as well.

Word to the wise: Crowd-phobics beware: if you come here on the weekend, you'll find the marketplace anything but empty.
Pretty, bustling and often packed, Faneuil Hall Marketplace spreads more than 50 shops, 14 restaurants, 44 pushcarts, and 40 food courts across 6.5 acres of central Boston. Focused around the grand 1820s colonnade of Quincy Market, its shops include independent and global chains selling clothes, jewelry, and giftware. The colonnade itself is famous for its many food stalls, with favorites such as Belgian fries and waffles hotspot Saus deservedly attracting crowds.

No need to worry about feeling greedy here - you're getting in touch with the city's history by following the generations of Bostonians who have shopped here, aren't you? Handily placed next door is grand Faneuil Hall, built in 1762, which has provided a public platform for impassioned speakers from pre-revolutionary days right up to Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy.

Once you've had your fill, take a break and enjoy the market's street performers, including musicians, acrobats, jugglers, and magicians.