Harvard Bridge

Cross over the Charles River smoot by smoot
Talk of the town: In April 1908, magician and escapologist Harry Houdini, manacled over his singlet, jumped from this bridge into the river, then escaped while under water.

With panoramic views of the Boston skyline and Cambridge on either side, the Harvard Bridge allows you to take it all in, with the Charles River flowing beneath, as you cross from one end to the other. Locals tend to wax poetic on the seasonal vistas - boats slicing through the river in summer, sheets of ice cracking into a mosaic in winter. Some will even claim that sunsets and cloudy skies are more beautiful from this perch.
If you notice out-of-towners puzzling over the markings on the bridge, show off your insider's knowledge by explaining that they're smoots. In 1958, as part of a MIT frat prank, the body length of pledge Oliver Smoot was used to measure the distance across the bridge (364.4 smoots plus/minus one ear). The smoots are regularly repainted by pledges, and Cambridge police have been known to use the markings to report exact locations in accident reports.