Revere Beach, Boston’s first public beach and the first public beach in the United States, opened in 1896. It had an ice skating rink, a dance hall, and a cafe, and eventually amusement park rides. Today, the three-mile-long beach is still open (minus some of the original attractions) and is located about five miles north of downtown Boston.

Since 1950, a light on top of the Old John Hancock Building has broadcast the weather to Boston residents. There’s a popular rhyme that goes with it: “Steady blue, clear view/Flashing blue, clouds due/Steady red, rain ahead/Flashing red, snow instead.” Flashing red lights can also indicate a Red Sox game has been postponed.

If you’re looking for something to do in Boston, gather up some friends and head to the bowling alley, where you’ll encounter a completely different type of bowling. It’s called candlepin bowling and uses pins that look like pegs and balls about the same size as bocce balls. Bowling hall owner Justin White invented the style in 1880, and it’s still popular in the city today.

Out of all the green seats lining the stands at Fenway Park, there’s a single red one that sticks out from the crowd: seat 21 in row 37, section 42. This seat marks the distance of the longest home run ever hit at the stadium. Legendary Red Sox player Ted Williams knocked the ball there in 1946, and the chair was painted red in 1984.

Faneuil Hall is a historic marketplace that opened in 1742 and has earned the nickname the “Cradle of Liberty” because of the historic events that happened there — like Boston Tea Party planning and meetings between patriots during the American Revolution. It’s located close to the waterfront in downtown Boston, and you can still shop there today.

Today, Boston’s subway system is known as “the T,” but it began in 1897 as the Tremont Street subway — the first subway tunnel in the United States. The original route was five miles long, connecting ​​Boylston and Park Street stations. Much of the line shut down in the 1960s, but parts of it are still in use today and tours of closed portions are occasionally available.

Boston’s North End is one of the oldest parts of the city, and it was once home to a major disaster: the Great Molasses Flood. In 1919, a tank holding more than 2 million gallons of molasses burst open and rushed across the area like a tidal wave, killing or injuring dozens and leading to a lingering smell of molasses in the area for decades after.

Unlike most American cities, Boston does not allow happy hour promotions at bars and restaurants. The rule isn’t specific just to Boston — it’s a statewide ordinance. Happy hours were banned in 1984, when accidents from drunk drivers were spiking. The ban has stayed in place ever since, despite public opposition and a national decrease in drunk driving accidents.

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile path connecting 16 historic sites that tell the story of the American Revolution, from Paul Revere’s home to the Old State House, the oldest public building in Boston. The trail begins in the heart of downtown at the Boston Common, the oldest public park in the United States, dating back to 1634.

Beantown — Boston’s most well-known nickname — has a long history behind it. Indigenous Americans introduced the Puritans to beans in the 1630s, and trade later brought molasses to the city. The two were combined to make baked beans, and the city became known as a place to get beans for a quick meal. People began to refer to Boston as Beantown, and the name stuck.