Before Paul Revere’s ride and the Revolutionary War, Boston was America’s biggest city. Today its charm is small size, and it’s a great walking city visitors can easily explore on foot—more so now that the Big Dig, the largest urban infrastructure project in U.S. history, is finally done. Gone from the city’s centre is the highway, replaced with 45 new parks and plazas. Top strolls radiate from Boston Common, including the upscale shopping and cafés of Back Bay to the west, Chinatown south, the historic waterfront east and the Italian North End—where bocce is still played in the neighbourhoods. As the “Cradle of Liberty,” the city has many popular sights that date to the 18th century, and Old Boston is best seen on the four-kilometre (2.5-mile) Freedom Trail—now with a downloadable audio tour. While the Freedom Trail tops the list of most popular Boston attractions, much less well-known are the Black, Irish and Chinese Heritage Trails. Whatever their backgrounds, Bostonians are among the world’s most passionate sports fans. For a good measure of the city, take in a game at Fenway, the nation’s oldest ballpark, or historic Boston Garden.