MIT is more than an academic experience

Coming to Boston for the first time luckily means that there are plenty of places from which you can benefit and add new experiences to your life. My recommendation, especially if you are travelling by yourself, is: do not plan too much and get lost in the city walking around.

On my first days in the city, there are two places I fell in love with: the Boston Common, which I visited twice in less than three days, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – and I promise you, you do not have to be a student to enjoy the area.

The “T”, the public transportation system for Boston, will make everything easier for you once you are here. From the Boston Homestel, after you walk a couple of minutes to arrive to the JKFU/UMass station on the Red Line, you have to stay in that line and wait for seven stops until you get to Kendall/MIT station.

Here is a pro tip for when you are in the subway. Do not look at your phone for any circumstance between Charles/MGH and Kendall/MIT stations: the view when you are crossing Charles River to get from Boston to Cambridge is shockingly beautiful.

Once your walking journey begins from Kendall/MIT station, I deeply encouraged you to ask as many questions as you can to locals. These are the people that know the best coffee shops, the most affordable restaurants and the best places to save awesome memories as if you have lived in this city your whole life.

I asked a couple of people where to go from Kendall/MIT station and after around a fifteen minutes-walk, I arrived to the Flour Bakery + Café. The place was crowded for a legitimate reason. Their coffee, chicken sandwich and doble chocolate cookie were on point and was nothing but the best way to start enjoying the MIT neighborhood.

One of the situations I enjoy the most when travelling is to sit in a coffee shop or a bench and listen to other’s people voices. Not deeply sneaking in their private conversations, but sensing how they tell stories that you will only hear in that place. The MIT area has plenty of places to sit, take pictures and constantly remind you that you land in one of the best parts you could as a tourist.

Before I was about to leave the neighborhood, I had the feeling that I have not completely walk around the most characteristic places from Cambridge’s MIT college. I am not a “post-everything-you-see-on-Instagram” person, so I was not looking much at my phone, until I remembered there are plenty of people that most probably tag this place and can help me find if I am missing something.

I found out The Killian Court, former The Great Court, was very popular on social media so I chose that place as my next stop. I met a student that was studying robotics, saw some graduation pictures set-ups and enjoyed the amazing view as the court faces the river.

A couple more things: make sure you visit the neighborhood from early hours as most restaurants and coffee shops close around 6pm, the MIT Museum is currently closed because of Covi-19 but it seems like is a matter of time for it to reopen, and even though most buildings are exclusively for students, you can still enjoy and appreciate the history behind those walls.

In a couple of days, I will definitely go back and ask another local which is the next best coffee shop, take it to go and drink it somewhere facing the river. Do not get yourself trick and decide for yourself how many times this beautiful neighborhood is worth visiting.