[Noah930]

Another +1 for strolling along Newbury St (and Boylston, which runs just parallel to it). Back Bay is the beautiful people neighborhood of Boston. Outdoor cafes, upscale shops. No sales tax on clothing <$250; that's either good or bad, depending on your husbandly perspective. In the vicinity (along Boylston St) there's also the Prudential (indoor shopping mall) which connects via enclosed bridges to Copley (another mall, both upscale). Across the Commons/Public Garden from that is Charles Street, which has more shops and restaurants. Downtown Crossing is on yet another side of the Commons, and has more shops, though less upscale. (The diamond district is right there, too.)

If you've made it to Downtown Crossing, you're halfway to Government Center. On the other side of the superugly City Hall is Faneuil Hall/Quincy Marketplace, which is touristy for sidewalk entertainers, shops and food. I'd recommend the chocolate chip cookies from the Boston Chipyard. Slice of eggplant pizza from Haymarket Pizza for a hole-in-the-wall experience.

North End for Italian food. A lot of restaurants don't take credit cards. Parking is even more impossible than anywhere else in Boston. It's almost hard to find a bad Italian restaurant in the North End. They're almost all good: Giacomo's, Strega, Massimo's. "Everyone" stops off at Mike's Pastry after dinner.

The rest of the touristy Boston stuff is good: Duck Tours, Red Sox game, aquarium, Swan Boat ride in the Public Gardens, Cambridge/Harvard Square, Freedom Trail (a self-guided tour through Boston--you follow the red line/bricks in the ground), Top of the Hub (restaurant at the top of the Prudential Bldg on a clear night).

If they're into museums, the MFA is decent. I also like the Isabella Stewart Gardner (sp?) museum in the Fen.