With cool speakeasies, sultry supper clubs and world-class restaurants on every corner, Boston has plenty for a glamorous group getaway, Renate Ruge discovers

Where is it? 

The capital of Massachusetts, Boston is a historic, classy, laidback and walkable American city. 

What’s the accommodation like? 

The Westin Copley Place is swish, and the ‘Heavenly’ beds are as advertised. The moodily glamorous executive décor is reminiscent of TV’s Boston Legal. 

Modern waterfront hotel Renaissance Boston Seaport District has dazzling views and an indoor pool and is located right in the buzzy Seaport area.  

What did you eat and drink? 

Mod-American diner, Shy Bird fits the bill for brunch with cocktails like sparkling raspberry number, ‘Fishing with Dynamite’ or ‘Shy Lady’ a gin and hibiscus swizzle. Rotisserie chicken with honey sriracha hot sauce is finger-lickin’ good and the ‘Colours of Summer’ bowl, with sweetcorn succotash and pine nuts, is flavour-packed.  

School’s out at studenty Alden & Harlow, near Harvard University. Chow down on super-sized burgers, crispy kale salad and moreish home fries with a glass of New England cider. 

Lunch under candelabras at The Banks Seafood and Steak bistro is a must, with hot-orange-armoured lobsters and Maine oysters from The Raw Bar. Enjoy silky clam chowder looking out at Boston’s old and new architecture. 

Celebrate Chinese and Taiwanese cuisines at sophisticated Mr H’s dramatic red and black Shanghainese dining salon. Spin the lazy Susan for share plates of sesame cucumber salad, caviar-topped dumplings and luscious lobster in soy sauce. The chocolate sorbet Buddha arriving in dry ice clouds guarantees appreciative oohs and ahhs.  

 On a high at Blind Duck speakeasy, perched on the 17th and 18th floors of Boston’s glitzy Raffles Hotel, where living it up with lobster tartine and caviar, we chink glasses of rum, rye and ginger passionfruit punch poured from a duck-shaped vessel to twinkling city views. 

What is there to do? 

Get the lay of the land, with the city at your feet at View Boston’s 360-degree observation deck atop the Prudential Center. 

Relax in the gorgeous flower-filled courtyard garden at 15th-century Venetian-style palazzo, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Home to paintings by Botticelli and Sargent, the exquisite art collection includes impressive sculptures and tapestries curated by Mrs Gardner in the early 20th century. 

Go to Harvard. America’s oldest university founded in 1636 has eight US presidents among its alumni. Exploring ivy-covered buildings in Harvard Yard, marvel at the Widener Library housing 3.2 million books. 

Peeking into local artists’ studios at the sprawling SoWa (South of Washington) Open Market is amazing, before browsing artisan vendors’ wares food trucks and bric-a-brac shops with cooling fruity ice-lollies in hand. 

Be part of the revolution at Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, where replicas of old ships mark the spot of the Boston Tea Party at Griffin Dock, sparking the American Revolutionary War on 16 December 1773 when ‘the Sons of Liberty’ colonists boarded British ships in disguise and hurled the precious cargo of tea into the harbour.   

Cheer on the Boston Red Sox to victory at Fenway Park, the oldest US Major League baseball stadium (opened in 1912). The tiered rows of sunny seats on the outdoor stands are known as ‘the Bleachers’.  

Lasting memory

Serenely gliding in kayaks along the shoreline of the Charles River (named after King Charles I) and looking up to see the sights, including the golden dome of State House. After some dodgem-like antics, we take to kayaking like ducks to water. Paddling shallows carpeted with white waterlilies is so peaceful.  

Sainsbury’s Magazine Insider Tip

Follow the red brick road walking the Freedom Trail. The 2.5-mile path snakes downtown around 16 historic sites, winding from Boston Common, where The Founding Fathers celebrated America’s independence. Admire Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scot King’s The Embrace as he won the Nobel Peace Prize win in 1964 immortalised by artist Hank Willis Thomas’ bronze sculpture.