Where to stay in Boston: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

Back Bay was built on reclaimed marshland in the 19th century, and its ruler-straight avenues of brownstones still look immaculate. Newbury Street has the boutiques and cafés, Commonwealth Avenue's tree-lined mall is made for strolling, and Copley Square pairs the Romanesque Trinity Church with the Boston Public Library. The Charles River Esplanade is a short walk north.

Luxury is the theme. The Mandarin Oriental sits by the Prudential Center, steps from Newbury Street, with some of the most spacious rooms in the city. The Four Seasons One Dalton occupies a 61-storey tower, and the Fairmont Copley Plaza has been the city's grande dame since 1912. The Colonnade is a stylish boutique with a seasonal outdoor pool.

Boston Common is America's oldest public park, and the Public Garden next to it is the prettiest, with swan boats gliding on the lagoon in summer and willows trailing into the water. Beacon Hill rises behind them: steep, cobbled lanes, gas lamps, brick townhouses with window boxes and the gold-domed State House at the top.

The Four Seasons overlooks the Public Garden from Boylston Street, and The Newbury, at the corner of the garden, is one of the city's most elegant addresses. The Hilton Park Plaza has been a Boston favourite since 1927, a couple of hundred metres from the Common, and the Wyndham Beacon Hill is a practical base on the hill. Everything is walkable from here.

This is where Boston's story happened. The Freedom Trail links the Old State House, Faneuil Hall and Paul Revere's house, and the North End, the city's Little Italy, is a tangle of narrow streets packed with trattorias, espresso bars and pastry shops selling cannoli. TD Garden, home of the Celtics and the Bruins, sits above North Station.

The Omni Parker House, open since 1855, is a Boston icon with rich wood panelling. The Canopy sits between Downtown and the North End and lends out bikes, and Battery Wharf, on the harbour beside the North End, is a luxurious waterfront retreat on Boston's oldest streets. citizenM North Station is a smart, compact option for sports fans.

Boston's waterfront has come a long way. The harbour walk links the New England Aquarium and Long Wharf, where ferries leave for the Harbor Islands, to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. Across the channel, the Seaport has risen from old car parks into a glossy district of restaurants, bars and the Institute of Contemporary Art.

The Boston Harbor Hotel, famous for its grand archway, is the city's top waterfront address, and the InterContinental has a spa and harbour views close to the Tea Party Ships. In the Seaport, the Westin Waterfront has an indoor pool, and Yotel offers compact, clever rooms with harbour views. Families love the aquarium and the open space; foodies love the oysters.

Across the Charles River, Cambridge is a city of its own, home to Harvard and MIT. Harvard Square buzzes with bookshops, cafés and street musicians, Kendall Square is the tech hub around MIT, and the riverbanks are lined with rowers and joggers. The T's Red Line whisks you into downtown Boston in minutes.

Several hotels sit right on the river with views back to the Boston skyline. The Kimpton Marlowe has a courtyard and a playful style, the Royal Sonesta is close to MIT and the Museum of Science, and the Hyatt Regency overlooks the river near Kendall Square. Le Méridien is in Cambridgeport, between MIT and Harvard. Great for visiting students, and for anyone who prefers a calmer, leafier base.

Salem, on the coast north of Boston, is forever linked with the witch trials of 1692, and it leans into it: witch museums, ghost tours and, every October, Halloween celebrations that draw huge crowds. Beyond the spooky stuff, it's a handsome old seaport with sea captains' houses, the Peabody Essex Museum and the House of the Seven Gables.

The historic Hawthorne Hotel overlooks Salem Common, and the Daniels House is a cosy bed and breakfast a short walk from the Witch Museum. Silsbee's sits in the historic district near the House of the Seven Gables, and the Salem Waterfront Hotel has an indoor pool by the harbour. Book well ahead for October.