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From its world-class lobster to its living historical heritage, Boston’s charms have not diminished over the years for AirTran Airways customer services supervisor, Howard Rhone.

What makes Boston such a great city?
Many things, but it’s the architecture of the city that really stands out when you first visit. It has such a European flavor. There are so many parts to life here, and there are a lot of travelers who come into the city. You get lots of folks from Europe who are startled about how much the city reminds them of Europe. It was one of the first cities established in the United States and a lot of that history is integrated into the city.

I grew up in the city until I was about 16 years old, so it has fond memories for me. Now that I’ve moved back here, I just love it. The city’s so convenient, dining here is fabulous, the nightlife is great—it’s a mini New York, to be honest. There are a lot of new plays; a lot of Broadway productions are tested here before they go to New York, so it’s a great place to catch new live performances.

What three things would you say a visitor should definitely do?
1 Walk the Freedom Trail, it takes a good couple of hours, but it’s fascinating. It traces the history of the first settlers that arrived at Plymouth and takes you through the setting up of Boston as the capital of Massachusetts.

2 A lot of people want to see Fenway Park Stadium where the Red Sox play, with its famous Green Monster stadium wall, so you should check that out.

3 Visit the waterfront area with the USS Constitution, the first US battleship that was commissioned. It’s great to walk around this centuries-old ship.

The dish on Boston dishes
It’s a great seaport city so we have the best lobster in the world right here in Boston! Try any of the Legal Sea Foods chain. There are plenty of them around the city, so pick any street corner and you’ll find one. We also have one right here at Boston Logan airport as well. Perfect for when you step right off the plane.

Where would you go for the nightlife?
The younger folks, those in their twenties and thirties, head for southern Boston, where there are dozens of bars. The Financial District also has lots of great restaurants, cigar bars and good jazz clubs. Another good thing about the city is that we have the Berkeley Conservatory of Music, where some of the world-class musicians come to study and perform.

What about entertaining children?
We have the Museum of Science on the border between Boston and Cambridge—it’s one of the best museums for children in the world. Along with that is the Boston Aquarium. We also have Franklin Park Zoo, a children’s zoo in the Dorchester part of town. And also right there is probably the first (or the second; there’s a debate about it) golf course in all of the United States, the Franklin Park Golf Course. We have an ongoing feud between New York and Boston over who had the first one. They were both built back in the 1870s with only a month or so between them. But of course, Boston was the first!

How would you find your bearings when you first arrive?
We always say if you want to see a lot of Boston and not get lost, then hop on the metro system, it’s one of the best there is and it’s cheap. It stops in every historical place or institute you’ll want to visit. Because Boston is really a small city area-wise, you can also pretty much walk all over the place and hit everything, if you’re feeling energetic.

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