Walk in Boston # 18, Harvard University and its surroundings

Walk in Boston # 18, Harvard University and its surroundings, explores the campus of one of the best universities in the world and all the treasures it has to offer.

It is an unusual self-guided tour, and you will need between 1h30 and 5h to complete it depending on the time you’ll spend in the galleries and museums on your way.

You’ll see shady yards and secluded courtyards, respectable buildings, six museums, a gallery of design and many outdoor sculptures.

You’ll also be able to say you went to Harvard University!

🍧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 Harvard Square.

If you took the metro and went out elsewhere, go to this square and its famous kiosk which has long housed a newsagent selling newspapers from all over the world but is currently transformed into a public space.

Once you have taken the temperature of the square, lively and unconventional, access Harvard Yard through the entrance in front of you.

A few steps on campus will be enough to give you an idea of the university: large, wooded parks, red brick buildings, students reading or playing ball. It’s an atmosphere that is both serious and relaxed in this temple of knowledge where you will perhaps meet your next president with books under his or her arms.

Your first stop will be for the statue of John Harvard which you will see on your left.

It was made by Daniel Chester French after one of John Harvard's descendants because no one knows what John Harvard looked like. He was only one of the founders of the university, but he nevertheless gave it his name! As for what it is said about students who touch his foot to be successful, it's a myth. This is why this statue is also nicknamed “the statue of the three lies”.

Not far away and on the right, you will see a library. It would be tempting to climb its stairs to take a look, but it is not open to the public.

​Instead, and to still get an idea of the interior of these buildings, enter Emerson Hall a few steps away, the philosophy department. There are sometimes conferences open to the public there on the ground floor and if there aren't any on the day you come, pretend you're looking for the schedule of the next ones!

You will see that it is imposing both on the outside and on the inside.

​(The rest is on the pdf...)

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Ready to explore the city on your own?

Find this Walk in Boston # 18, Harvard University and its surroundings, 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, as well as links to some walks’ bundles offers and suggestions for your first visit.