We drove down to Boston in easy stages, stopping in Burlington, Vermont for a couple of days for visiting grandchildren (and their parents of course). We stayed at a hotel close to the Prudential Center, which is a major building complex with a very up-to-date, expensive shopping mall. Stores like Neimann-Marcus and Tiffany's are in evidence; Walmart is nowhere to be seen.
We spent one day on a tour bus; one of those services where you can get out anywhere on a closed route, and get back on a later bus. It gave us a great view of Boston Common, the (very) old parts of the city, the USS Constitution (a well-preserved warship from the days of sail), and the current project for removing the very unsightly flyovers and burying the interstate highway in tunnels - 9 years late and $16 billion and over budget.
We stopped and looked round the Boston Public Library, which is magnificent, and has an enormous collection of books for loan - it puts Ottawa completely to shame. It isn't even full yet - there are empty shelves, and then empty floor space for even more shelves.
The next day, we took the very old and rattly subway to the JFK Presidential Library, which is a magnificent building on the waterfront, a few miles south of the city. Basically, it drips money - everything is done with great class and attention to detail. We then took the subway back through the city to Harvard, which is also dripping with money, and very impressive.
Restaurants were excellent; we ate at a chain called "Legal Sea Food" on the second night, and had Boston scrod for the second time ever. On the last night, we ate at a branch of another chain called "The Cheesecake Factory". It too was excellent, with an incredibly varied menu.