Boston · United States
Where to stay in Boston: 22 neighbourhoods compared
59 places to stay in this guide fall in one of the 22 neighbourhoods of Boston. The most are in Back Bay (15), Leather District (11), North End (9). The area whose centre is nearest the city centre is North End, 0.6 km away. Nothing here is ranked: each area is described by the same facts, so you can choose by what matters for your stay.
- Neighbourhoods compared
- 22
- Places to stay counted
- 59in the 22 neighbourhoods
- Most places to stay
- Back Bay15 places
- Nearest the centre
- North End0.6 km
Compare
The neighbourhoods of Boston, side by side
Sorted by the number of places to stay. Distances are straight-line from each area's centre point.
| Area | Places to stay | From the centre | Nearest main sight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back Bay | 15 | 2.1 km | Copley Square 0.4 km |
| Leather District | 11 | 1.1 km | Boston Common 0.8 km |
| North End | 9 | 0.6 km | Old North Church 0.2 km |
| West End | 7 | 1.1 km | Boston Common 1.0 km |
| Downtown Boston | 6 | 1.4 km | Boston Common 0.6 km |
| Beacon Hill | 3 | 0.7 km | Boston Common 0.4 km |
| Chinatown | 3 | 1.2 km | Boston Common 0.7 km |
| Fenway-Kenmore | 3 | 4.0 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 0.4 km |
| Bay Village | 2 | 1.5 km | Copley Square 0.7 km |
| Charlestown | 0 | 1.8 km | Bunker Hill Monument 0.3 km |
| South End | 0 | 2.2 km | Copley Square 0.8 km |
| East Boston | 0 | 2.2 km | Old North Church 1.6 km |
| Dorchester | 0 | 4.9 km | Museum of Bad Art 1.2 km |
| Roxbury | 0 | 5.0 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 1.5 km |
| Mission Hill | 0 | 5.1 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 0.9 km |
| Allston | 0 | 6.2 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 3.2 km |
| Jamaica Plain | 0 | 7.4 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 3.6 km |
| Brighton | 0 | 8.5 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 5.2 km |
| Mattapan | 0 | 10 km | Museum of Bad Art 5.9 km |
| South Boston | 0 | 10 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 6.3 km |
| West Roxbury | 0 | 12 km | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 7.8 km |
| Hyde Park | 0 | 13 km | Museum of Bad Art 9.0 km |
Areas: the 22 neighbourhoods of Boston that Wikidata records as a neighborhood in Boston located in the city. Places to stay are not assigned by boundary: each is counted in the area whose centre is nearest, and only when it is within that area's reach (twice the radius of a circle the size of the area where Wikidata gives its size, otherwise 1.5 km) and no nearer the centre of a neighbouring town in this guide; 59 places to stay are counted this way. Sights are counted the same way. Main sights: the 10 sights in these areas covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. Stations: railway and metro stations in Wikidata. All distances are straight-line from the area's centre point; on foot or by road they are longer.
Restaurants, cafes and bars: as mapped in OpenStreetMap, counted in the area whose centre is nearest, the same way as the places to stay.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0), map data of 21 September 2026.
Main sights
Boston's main sights and the area each is counted in
The 10 sights in these areas covered by the most Wikipedia language editions, a measure of how widely documented they are.
| Sight | Area | From the centre |
|---|---|---|
| Museum of Fine Arts Boston | Fenway-Kenmore | 3.8 km |
| Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum | Fenway-Kenmore | 4.2 km |
| John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum | Dorchester | 5.6 km |
| Museum of Bad Art | Dorchester | 4.3 km |
| Boston Common | Beacon Hill | 0.9 km |
| Old North Church | North End | 0.7 km |
| Copley Square | Back Bay | 1.9 km |
| Bunker Hill Monument | Charlestown | 1.8 km |
| Old State House | Beacon Hill | 0.2 km |
| Symphony Hall | Back Bay | 3.0 km |
Hotels by area
Hotels in each area of Boston
Questions
Where to stay in Boston: questions travellers ask
What is the best area to stay in Boston?
That depends on what the stay is for, so this guide does not rank them. The facts: the most places to stay in this guide are in Back Bay (15), Leather District (11), North End (9); the area whose centre is nearest the city centre is North End (0.6 km); the most sights recorded in Wikidata are in Beacon Hill (16); the area centre closest to a station is Hyde Park (Hyde Park station, 0.1 km).
Which area of Boston has the most hotels?
Back Bay, with 15 places to stay in this guide, of 59 counted across 22 neighbourhoods.
Which area of Boston is Museum of Fine Arts Boston in?
Museum of Fine Arts Boston is counted in Fenway-Kenmore: its nearest area centre, 0.6 km away. Fenway-Kenmore has 3 places to stay in this guide.
Which area of Boston is Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in?
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is counted in Fenway-Kenmore: its nearest area centre, 0.4 km away. Fenway-Kenmore has 3 places to stay in this guide.
Sources: areas, sights and stations from Wikidata (CC0); places to stay from each operator's own public pages and from Wikidata. Boston travel guide · How this guide is made.