Things to do in Cambridge

Cambridge is a separate city from Boston, across the Charles River, reached in about ten minutes on the Red Line to Harvard, Central or Kendall/MIT — no car needed.

It is home to Harvard University, the country's oldest college campus, with Harvard Yard and a Harvard Square full of bookshops, cafes and students, plus MIT's riverside campus, known for modern architecture like the Stata Center. Both campuses are open to walk around freely, and Harvard runs its own guided tours. The Harvard Art Museums and the MIT Museum are worth a stop.

Bookable activities here number a few dozen, well short of Boston's hundreds, so plan a half-day rather than a packed itinerary. Summers are quieter with students away; term time brings more energy to the squares.