International students in Massachusetts have a unique and extraordinary opportunity to explore America’s rich history, culture, and beauty firsthand, all in one place. Here are some examples of interesting places you can explore in the state aptly known as The Old Colony State, The Bay State, and The Codfish State.  

Boston/Allston 

 Allston is a neighborhood just outside of Boston that steeps you in the diverse local flavor of the city while giving you easy access to all the bounty Boston proper has to offer. Neighboring Boston University, Allston is minutes away from the center of Boston thanks to the “T,” Boston’s extensive public transportation system, with a line running straight there through the center of Commonwealth Ave. 
 
Once in Boston, there’s hardly another place in the US where you can experience so much of the country’s history than in Government Center. There, just inland of the Boston piers, you can walk the Freedom Trail. This illustrious self-guided tour takes you to historic sites in the country’s colonial beginnings. These include the Paul Revere House, the Ben Franklin House, the Boston Tea Party Ships, the Old State House, and many other locations embedded in the history of the United States.  
 
In the Boston-Cambridge area, you can visit the campuses of some of the most prestigious universities in the country and the world.  

There’s Harvard University, the country’s oldest, where you can explore the famed Harvard Yard, Widener Library underground stacks, the top of Harvard Stadium, and the Mission Hill research hospitals.  

Another famed institution to see is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Located on the banks of the Charles River, this is where the world-famous Head of The Charles Regatta rowing competition has taken place every year since 1965. You can even hear some of the finest student musicians in the world playing live for you at the Berklee College of Music. 
 
Boston also offers enough fine museums to keep any student engaged nonstop, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Museum of Science, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Charles Hayden Planetarium.  
 
A renowned city for exploring on foot, you can stroll through nature at the Boston Public Gardens and walk amongst the people relaxing, socializing, and playing on the grass beneath the sunlight on the Boston Commons.  

Visit Newberry Street and Copley Square to shop in all their high-end boutiques.  
 
Catch a Red Sox home game in Fenway Park with some of baseball’s most avid fans and find out why the sport is called America’s national pastime.  

Watch touring Broadway shows in the Theater District.  

Enjoy brews in one of Allston’s finest pubs.  
 
For international students in Boston, there’s always plenty to see and do.  

Charlestown 

If you take a walk along Boston’s famous Freedom Trail, you’ll eventually wind your way through the North End, the enclave of Italian-American immigrant culture. There, you’ll cross over the North Washington Street Bridge and find yourself in the historic waterfront neighborhood of Charlestown.  
 
In Charlestown, you can continue exploring Boston and the US’s rich history at sites like the Bunker Hill Monument, marking a pivotal battle during the Revolutionary War. At the Charlestown Navy Yard, you can visit the 1797 USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides. 

As you journey from one landmark to another, you’ll pass original and authentic colonial-era architecture such as old brick townhouses and triple-decker clapboard homes.  
 
Charlestown features the state’s oldest tavern, Warren Tavern, and one of the country’s most historical, where George Washington himself visited, and Paul Revere was considered a regular.  

Charlestown also features an authentic 19th-century church, St. Mary St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, designed by one of the era’s foremost architects of Catholic Churches in America at that time.  

Worcester 

This central Massachusetts city is one of the state’s best-kept secrets, with its collection of museums, parks, and historical sites to enjoy and experience. 

You can have fun while learning about science and nature at the interactive EcoTarium.  

Discover authentic medieval armor, Impressionist paintings, Roman mosaics and the like at the Worcester Art Museum.  

Time-travel back to the 18th century as you tour the restored Georgian-era Salisbury Mansion. 
 
For a bit of rest and relaxation beneath the sun, you can stop for a spell at Tower Hill Botanic Garden or Green Hill Park.  

To entertain yourself in the evening, see a show at the Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts.  

In Summary 

Massachusetts has made great efforts to make itself a prime destination for international students in the United States. By a 2018 count, Massachusetts was fourth, behind only California, Texas, and New York, for total international student enrollment. It’s easy to see why so many international students want to study in this beautiful state.  
 
Computer Systems Institute has campuses in Boston/Allston, Charlestown, and Worcester.  If you are interested in studying in Massachusetts, contact CSI at 847-967-5030.