Getting Around Boston

Your parents have driven away and you’re stranded in an unfamiliar city teeming with other equally disoriented fellow first-years and tourists. But no worries: this article will turn you into a savvy Cantabridgian in minutes.

WALKING

Harvard’s campus is very walker-friendly (or at least it is until winter, when the cobblestones turn into narrow, icy, ankle-twisting paths). Cross streets aggressively and stare down disgruntled motorists—they’re required to stop for pedestrians in cross walks. In under five minutes, you can get from the Yard to the Law School and Hemenway Gym. Just go north, behind the Science Center, and voila. The Business School is about 20 minutes away, south of the Yard and just across the Charles. In the unfortunate event that you need to rush to University Health Services emergency room, it’s accessible 24 hours a day. Take either Dunster St. or Holyoke St and follow the bizarre driveway that dips underneath the Holyoke Center.

SHUTTLES

Should you decide to visit Mather or the Quad, the exotic locales that throw most of the legitimate House parties on campus, you’ll want to use the shuttles. They leave from outside Lamont (Mather), Boylston Gate (the Quad), and behind Annenberg (both). On weekends and after midnight on weekdays, shuttles can take you all the way from Dunster to Pfoho, stopping at most of the useful points in between. When riding that late night bus with 50 other partygoers (watch out for vomit!), be grateful that the College decided against a plan to drastically reduce shuttle service.

Shuttle schedules are available online, and in a pinch you can call 617-495-0400 or text message Shuttleboy to find out when the next shuttle is due to arrive.

CHARLIE CARD

There’s only one way you should be paying for public transportation in Cambridge and Boston: a Charlie Card. They’re available for free from MBTA officials and can be endlessly refilled at ticket kiosks inside T stations. Simply tap them on the designated sensor to ride buses or get through the T gates. Don’t buy individual ride tickets, which are more expensive than when purchased on a Charlie Card, and under absolutely no circumstances should you buy a monthly pass.

BUSES

Need a break from high-priced boutiques and Free Tibet protesters in the Square? Or are you craving an all-American, consumerist experience? The Cambridgeside Galleria Mall is only a 20-minute bus ride away: Hop on the number 69 bus at Johnston Gate, ride all the way to Lechmere, cross Cambridge St., and head two blocks south on First St. If you get off a little earlier, you’ll find yourself in Inman Square, home of cheap Indian cuisine and lots of cafes.

The 86 bus departs underground at the T stop and will take you into Allston, Harvard’s new frontier. Of course, you could just walk.

ONE LINE, TWO LINE, RED LINE, GREEN LINE

The T, known to all non-Bostonians as the subway and to MBTA officials as “rapid transit,” is anything but rapid, but at least is gloriously simple. It is made up of four major lines, all labeled with easy colors. If you’re in a rush to catch that midnight movie showing, remember that the T runs until 12:45am at the latest and that trains are sometimes few and far between on weekends. Check the MBTA Web site to find routes and estimates of trip times.

RED LINE

Get on board the Red Line at the Harvard Square T stop. (Use the main entrance at the “pit” rather than the entrances by the Body Shop or Eastern Mountain Sports, especially late at night.) The “outbound” ramp on the right will take you to Porter Square and its 24-hour Shaw’s supermarket, and a little bit further you’ll find Davis Square with its cafes and vintage shops. The “inbound” direction will take you into the depths of downtown Boston and even Quincy, should you ever need to venture so far from Harvard. The inbound Red Line will also take you to South Station, where you can take the Greyhound or suspiciously cheap Fung Wah buses, or transfer to the Silver Line to Logan Airport.

GREEN LINE

Five Green Line trains labeled A through E can be accessed from the Park Street station, which you can reach by the Red Line. There you’ll find Boston Common, where you can trek the Freedom Trail, skate at Frog Pond during the winter, or watch a movie at Loews Cinema. If you wait for the E train, you can ogle at paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Be careful at Park Street, since not every train that comes will take you to your desired destination.

ORANGE LINE

The Orange Line, perhaps the sketchiest of the subway lines, is accessible from the Red Line at Downtown Crossing. There you can shop at the indispensable H&M and Macy’s. One stop more will take you to Chinatown for Dim Sum and Asian supermarkets. The end of the inbound line takes you to Forest Hills, from where you can walk to Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. Check out Haymarket in the outbound direction, where you can buy amazingly cheap produce at the bustling open air market. Also get off there to explore the North End, Boston’s Little Italy.

BLUE LINE

From Park Street, ride the Green Line one stop to Government Center, where you’ll find the Blue Line. There you can marvel at the large and spectacularly ugly Government Center building, or cross the street to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market for some upscale shopping. Continue on the blue line to the Aquarium or even Revere Beach if spring finals and bad weather don’t deter you.

—Staff writer Sarah J. Howland can be reached at showland@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Shan Wang can be reached at wang38@fas.harvard.edu.

For more information on the ins and outs of Harvard life, visit the My First Year homepage.