Walk in Boston # 13, shopping and culture in Back-Bay

Walk in Boston # 13, shopping and culture in Back-Bay, is situated in the most commercial part of a neighborhood built in the 19th century on formerly marshy land.

It is also one of the 4 essential walks to discover the city, a 2.5 miles self-guided tour that will take you 2 to 4 hours to complete depending on what you decide to do.

You’ll encounter art, historic buildings, upscale shops, imposing skyscrapers, a sprawling plaza and a busy shopping street. You’ll be able to go in one of the highest towers of the city if it fancies you.​

🍿There is an excerpt of it below to give you an idea of what ​​it is.

 💕 Otherwise, it is available in full for a few $ on Payhip/ImagesVoyagesImpressions in a PDF file that you'll be able to download on your phone.

✌️NB: 

• You can read much more about the general content and philosophy of these walks on the home page and see some comments there too.
• The excerpt is the beginning of the description (a bit truncated here), after the full map and the useful info about highlights, metros, buses, bikes, restrooms, and so on. 🚋
• The letters correspond to points indicated on the map, so you always know where you are along the trail or where you're heading.

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A: Your walk begins at ... as Walk in Boston # 12.
 
This time however, when exiting the metro, face the library with your back to the church or the tower. On your left, on the .... side, you will find an ArtsBoston/Bostix kiosk where you can buy discounted show tickets for the same day if you want.
 
Otherwise, take the staircase which goes up to the library, one of the three largest in the country and, once you have passed the metal detector, continue with the superb marble staircase in front of you and which immediately gives you an idea of the place with its two sculptures of lions which frame it.
 
This part of the building dates from the end of the 19th century and McKimm, its main architect, combined European influences and technological advances of the time to design it. He added murals by Sargent, De Chavannes and Abbey and a courtyard in the shape of an Italian Renaissance cloister.
 
The piece de resistance, however, is Bates Hall, its largest reading room, superb with its green-shaded lamps, large wooden tables and ceiling reminiscent of Romanesque churches.

You will know where to find all this if you take an explanatory leaflet at the entrance, but you can also wander randomly through the corridors, rooms and staircases. To see Sargent's murals, you will need to take an elevator to the 2nd floor or find the staircase going up there to the left of the main entrance to Bates Hall (it is not visible from a distance).

Then pass into the most modern part of the building, the Johnson building, crossing the interior courtyard. This part was built in the 1970s in a post-modernist style and has since been renovated. The result is remarkable, colorful, comfortable, spacious.

There you will see study rooms, temporary exhibitions, a café and the annex of WGBH, the US public television station. 

(The rest is on the pdf...)

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Ready to explore the city on your own?

Find this Walk in Boston # 13, shopping and culture in Back-Bay, at Payhip.com/ImagesVoyagesImpressions along with some of the 17 others of the same series that you might like, all updated regularly, and you’ll soon be on your way to unique adventures!

NB: In case you haven't seen it already, the map showing you where all these walks are is on the Walk in Boston page, along with links to some walks’ bundles offers and suggestions for your first visit.