Harvard Medical School is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, across the Charles River from Cambridge. The two cities offer a geographically compact, rich, and varied academic and cultural environment. There are forty-three colleges and universities in the metropolitan area, that sponsor a multitude of cultural and intellectual activities, all easily accessible via public transportation. The close proximity to MIT, the natural science departments at Harvard in Cambridge, and the medical schools at Boston University and Tufts University creates an unusual concentration of scientific research that draws visiting scientists from around the world. The main Harvard campus in Cambridge supports a wide variety of facilities for athletics and graduate student activities. Students have access to all the libraries of Harvard University, which is the largest university library system in the world.
In addition to a long list of renowned institutions, such as the Museum of Science and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston itself is a museum, with hundreds of historical sites, an exciting range of architectural styles, and ethnically diverse neighborhoods offering an international flavor. Recreational opportunities in the Boston area are many and varied. Sports fans can follow the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, or the Red Sox. Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, is only a short walk from Harvard Medical School. Within the city, the Charles River offers an afternoon of sailing, kayaking, or windsurfing, while the network of parks known as the "Emerald Necklace" winds from Kenmore Square, through Olmsted Park, past Jamaica Pond, to the 265-acre Arnold Arboretum, which is both a city park and a Harvard research facility. Walden Pond and the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge in Concord are within biking distance. There are many beaches of Cape Cod. Ample and affordable skiing, hiking, and camping is availbel in the Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. All are accessible in day trips.
Adjacent to the Medical School are the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Countway Medical Library. The Countway is one of the most complete biomedical research collections in the country. There is also the research laboratories of seven affiliated hospitals and institutes. A free shuttle bus links the area with MIT and Harvard Square in Cambridge.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/ - the official City of Boston web site.
http://www.cambridgema.gov/ - the official City of Cambridge web site.
Online city guides
- http://www.boston.com - created and maintained by the Boston Globe, this extensive web site contains local news reports, sports coverage, cultural listings, restaurants, and classified ads - all the information you'd expect from a large metropolitan newspaper.
- http://www.boston-online.com/
- http://boston.citysearch.com
- http://www.bostoncentral.com
- http://www.epodunk.com - Boston community profile, with detailed info on demographics, genealogy, government, history, hotels, real estate, travel, tourism and weather.
Public transportation information - subway, bus and train schedules and route maps.
Logan Airport -
information on flights, the terminal, airlines, parking.
Taxi - rates, phone numbers.
Since Boston is bordered by Boston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, its coastal climate tends to be more moderate than inland locations - Boston rarely experiences either extreme heat or cold. In the winter, the first freezing temperatures usually occur in early November, but the temperatures are modified considerably by the nearness of the relatively warm ocean. Frigid weather usually fades out by early April, and Boston typically enjoys a spectacular, colorful spring with moderate temperatures. Although it can get quite warm in the summer, the hot afternoons frequently are tempered by the eastern sea breezes, as air flows inland from the cooler surfaces of the ocean.
Go to thebostonchannel.com for latest weather report.