I’ll be honest: When I started planning my trip to Boston, Cambridge wasn’t very high on my priority list. It looked far away from everything else and truthfully, I was just hoping to spend all of my time exploring Boston proper. But I crammed in more than I expected in my first three days and so ended up with a morning completely free before my bus trip back to New York.

It turns out Cambridge isn’t all that far from Charlestown, where I was staying – Boston is much smaller than New York, geographically, and I never quite got used to it! It was a pleasant 20 minute ride on the bus or train, but felt as though it was a world away.

Cambridge is mainly universities (Harvard and MIT) as well as Harvard Square, which is where I did most of my exploring. Honestly, half a day was plenty of time to get a feel for the town. I poked through the shops at Harvard Square, roamed the campus (they offer free tours but I opted to explore on my own) and then headed back to Boston after about two hours.

When I was younger I had big dreams of going to Harvard, so it was fun to see the campus and live vicariously for a bit. Plus, what girl in the mid-2000s didn’t want to be Rory Gilmore in the Ivy Leagues?!

If you’re interested in visiting Cambridge, the Red Line on the T serves Harvard Square, and several bus routes cut through as well!