Boston's new beat

By Chantal Martineau

Sure, Boston's opulent old brownstones and elite universities still stand tall, but on my recent jaunt to Beantown I chose to skip the sights and indulge my inner hipster. On the itinerary? The newest trendy bars and restaurants, contemporary art galleries and chic boutiques galore.

Lekker

New New England

After breezing past Boston Common and a few historical spots along the Freedom Trail, I found myself in the city's South End, where food, fashion and fine art are all at their most cutting edge. This is especially true in SoWa, the area south of Washington Street. Art galleries carved out of former factories neighbor stylish shops like Lekker, a home furnishings emporium featuring European imports, and Parlor, a women's boutique specializing in up-and-coming local designers. For cool contemporary art, visit Bernard Toale Gallery.

Lekker, 1317 Washington St., 617-542-6464

Parlor, 1248 Washington St., 617-521-9005

Bernard Toale Gallery, 450 Harrison Ave., 617-482-2477

Life in style

For lunch, why not make a meal of imported cheeses and other foreign foodstuffs from Formaggio, also in the South End, to enjoy in the Public Garden? Alternatively, check out The Butcher Shop, a wine bar-cum-full-service butcher. Stay in the neighborhood for dinner at Franklin Café, which serves up unpretentious nouveau American cuisine and creative cocktails like the Greentini (that's a green tea martini, for the uninitiated) until the wee hours. Or head north to the Back Bay area for haute French fusion at Mistral, where diners arrive in droves as much to feast as to flaunt.

Formaggio, 268 Shawmut Ave., 617-350-6996

The Butcher Shop, 552 Tremont St., 617-423-4800

Franklin Café, 278 Shawmut Ave., 617-350-0010

Mistral, 223 Columbus Ave., 617-867-9300

Spice bar at nine zero

Hip hotels

Whether exploring Boston's antique charms or hipster hideouts, it's always best to sleep in style. Tucked between the Theatre and Financial districts is the Nine Zero, a chic boutique hotel that offers free pet sitting. The Onyx, with its swanky Ruby Room lounge, is the hottest bed in the North End. And in the building that houses the nation's first headquarters of the YWCA, Hotel 140 in Back Bay has only 40 rooms, giving it an intimate feel.

Nine Zero, 90 Tremont St., 617-772-5800

Onyx, 155 Portland St., 617-557-9955

Hotel 140, 140 Clarendon St., 617-585-5600

Cape flair

Just as New Yorkers have the Hamptons, Bostonians have Cape Cod. I made the trip, about an hour's drive from the city, intending to sample stuffed quahogs and fresh lobster. What I didn't expect to find among the pretty weathered shingled cottages of a town called Sandwich was the Giving Tree Gallery. Set in a Zen-like sculpture garden spread over four acres of sparse woods, this gallery houses and sells some of the most sought-after contemporary jewelry this side of Barneys.

Back in the city, Bostonians were still celebrating the arrival of their very own Barneys in Copley Place. By New York standards, anyway, it means Beantown has finally arrived.

Giving Tree Gallery, 550 Route 6A, East Sandwich, 888-246-3551

Barneys New York, 100 Huntington Ave., Boston, 617-385-3300

(Chantal Martineau is a freelance writer who splits her time between New York and her native Montreal. She is a regular contributor to The Globe and Mail and Time Out New York.)

Getting There

Air Canada offers the most non-stop flights between Canada and Boston, with service from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax. Book now. And don't miss our super savings on hotels (nightly rates starting as low as $69 USD) and car rentals.

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