Enjoy Cambridge, MA!

Want to insure that you have a great time in Cambridge, Massachusetts? Then simply add a few of the following to your must-do list:

1. Stroll (or jog or bike) along The Charles River as it winds past historic Harvard University — take your dog along!. Or, if you feel particularly energetic, why not head out onto this placid and scenic stretch of river in your very own rowing scull? Take along 7 of your heartiest friends. You'll likely be joining the oaring crews of buff Radcliffe women and cut Harvard men as they rhythmically run through their workout paces in the early morning mist. It’s an experience like no other.

2. Treat yourself to a performance of North America’s oldest theatrical troupe. (And third oldest in the world.) You’ll laugh along to the latest song-and-dance-and-comedy stylings of Hasty Pudding Theatricals, and marvel at the Rockettes-like line of high-stepping chorines — comprised completely of Harvard men in drag.

3. Sample some of the outrageously savory pizzas at Otto, on Massachusetts Avenue, just opposite Harvard’s Johnston Gate. Perhaps your new all-time favorite will be the butternut squash, ricotta and cranberry pizza? Or perhaps a generous slice of spicy pulled pork, scallion and herb? No matter what selection the folks at Otto happen to be baking when you walk in, you can’t go wrong. And be prepared to stand and eat, or to take your slice along on a people-watching stroll through the busy byways encircling Harvard Square.

4. Venture between the red-brick piers and into famed Harvard Yard with all of the other aspiring students, avid parents, and visitors from around the globe. Wander the 25-acre central campus with its historic structures dating back over the past few centuries, and don’t forget to rub for good luck the shoe-tip of the John Harvard statue seated before the frosty-white stonework of University Hall. (That good luck gesture just might ensure that a child, grandchild, niece or nephew ends up getting admitted to the world's #1 university!)

5. Zig-zag through the narrow brick-paved lanes of the city’s heart, looking for just the right bistro or café or taqueria to tempt your tastes. You will find scores of dining establishments, offering everything from ramen to roast pork, sushi to spaghetti, mussels to mochi. Whether you’re seeking a hot and happening crush of students or a tamer crowd of parents and dons, you won’t be disappointed.

6. Explore Cambridge Common. This broad swath of greenery just northwest of Harvard Square is populated by several playing fields and a number of historic monuments and handsome statues. Offering a pastoral respite among the hubbub of Cambridge, the Common is frequented by many frisbee-playing undergrads, sunning coeds and ambling locals. Note the Sheraton Commander hotel at its westerly edge, named for the fact that, upon Cambridge Common just prior to the Revolutionary war, General George Washington assumed command of the first assembled army of the fledgling United States (colonies) of America.

7. Admire the architecture. Where else within a 15-minute stroll can you spy the works of Josep Lluis Sert, Corbusier, H.H. Richardson, Robert Venturi, Walter Gropius, Benjamin Thompson and Minoru Yamasaki, let alone all the archetypes of early Colonial design?

6. Take the T to Boston’s North End. That’s right, Cambridge lies a mere several public transit stations from this jumping gentrified entertainment area of Boston. Known as Beantown’s Little Italy, the North End teems with over 100 eating establishments and is one of the oldest continually inhabited residential districts in the United States. Join the teeming revelers on any weekend evening to cap off your fun time in Cambridge.