Neighborhood 48H guide
Back Bay: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Copley Square, Newbury Street and brownstones.
Boston’s grandest 19th-century neighbourhood, laid out on filled marshland, with brownstone streets, Newbury Street’s boutiques, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall and Copley Square’s Trinity Church and Boston Public Library.
Photo gallery
Photo: Swativ28 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Central, elegant and walkable to most sights.
Who it's for: First-timers, shoppers and couples.
Pros
- Architecture
- Shopping
- Central
Cons
- Pricey
- Busy Newbury Street
- Parking
48H in Back Bay
Copley Square, Newbury Street and brownstones.
10:00 – Boston Public Library
Bates Hall and the courtyard.
12:00 – Trinity Church
Richardson’s masterpiece.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
See / do
See / do
Boston Public Library
700 Boylston Street
McKim Building with Bates Hall and a free courtyard, with art and architecture tours.
Photo: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →See / do
Trinity Church
206 Clarendon Street
Richardsonian Romanesque church on Copley Square, open for tours.
Photo: Swativ28 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
Fairmont Copley Plaza
St. James Avenue
1912 grand hotel on Copley Square.
Check rates on Expedia →Hotel · Expedia
The Lenox Hotel
Exeter Street
Family-owned 1900 hotel by the library.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Back Bay.
In Boston, short-term rentals must be registered every year with the City’s Inspectional Services Department and show the registration number on the listing; most must be the host’s primary residence. Check for the number before booking.
Browse vacation rentals in Back Bay on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Boston
- Beacon Hill — Gaslit lanes, the Common and the Public Garden.
- Downtown & Faneuil Hall — The Freedom Trail’s heart and the harbour.
- North End — Little Italy and Paul Revere’s Boston.
- Seaport & Fort Point — The ICA, the Tea Party ships and new restaurants.
- South End — Victorian rows, galleries and restaurants.
- Fenway & the Fens — Fenway Park, the MFA and the Gardner.
- Cambridge & Harvard Square — Harvard Yard, museums and bookshops.