NEIGHBORHOODS > NORTH END


Old World Charm
Renowned as Boston's "Little Italy," the North End is constantly brimming with the aroma of garlic and freshly cooked cuisine. But its storied history is also part of its charm. The oldest neighborhood in the city, it gave birth to the American Revolution on its narrow cobblestone streets and has been home to wave after wave of new immigrants. Today, the North End remains one of the most European neighborhoods in America.

The North End is widely known for its abundance of Italian restaurants. The cuisine is authentic and consistently delicious, whether Old World Sicilian, traditional Northern Italian or Mediterranean fusion. And though the ambience can be boisterous, romantic or somewhere in between, the setting is usually intimate, with patrons rubbing elbows with one another in crowded dining rooms-it's all part of the European feel.

One of Boston's most well-known attractions is, of course, the Freedom Trail. Three of its sites are located in the North End. The Paul Revere House, Boston's oldest home built circa 1680, was occupied by the famed silversmith/ patriot/midnight rider and his family (including 16 children!) from 1770-1800. Christ Church, a.k.a. the Old North Church, Boston's oldest standing church (built in 1723) served as the signal tower that spurred Revere on his jaunt through the countryside. And Copp's Hill Burying Ground, founded in 1660 as the Hub's second cemetery, provided the final resting place of many famous colonials, such as the Puritan preachers of the Mather family, including Salem Witch Trial-era firebrand Cotton Mather, and Edmund Hartt, whose shipyard constructed the U.S. Navy's flagship U.S.S. Constitution.

In keeping with its Old World character, the North End observes many traditions imported from the shores of Europe. One such annual rite is the weekly Italian feasts and processions, kept alive by immigrants and their descendents, that take place throughout the summer and enliven this already spirited locale. These spectacles usually celebrate the patron saints of Italian villages and center around jubilant parades of the saints' statues through the North End's winding roadways. Food vendors, hawking everything from sausage to calamari, add their own flavor to the scene.

If you're looking for belly laughs instead of a full belly, have a seat at the Improv Asylum on Hanover Street to take in the wild antics of this innovative comedy troupe. The Asylum offers off-the-cuff fun and hilarity at its original North End venue.

And if you haven't had enough of good old Paul Revere, check out Paul Revere Tonight, which runs at the Old North Church during the summer and fall. Award-winning actor David Conner re- creates this legendary figure and tells the oft-untold stories of Revere's upbringing and his midnight ride.