By Lisa Deveney
Vice President, Destination Services | Meetings & Events
Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau
Boston is thrilled to welcome the Association for Financial Professionals back to The Hub for the first time in eight years! If you haven’t been to Boston’s Seaport District since the last conference, you will be amazed by the development that has occurred here since 2011. With the completion of the One Seaport complex, and the addition of dozens of restaurants, hotels, cafes, eateries and breweries, the Seaport District experience has been greatly enhanced; you may feel like the 2019 conference is happening in completely different city than the previous gathering.
ABOUT BOSTON’S SEAPORT DISTRICT
Boston is a city of history, culture and innovation, where the past, present and future are in constant conversation. The Seaport showcases this unique interplay, with 19th century warehouses transformed into artists’ lofts and restaurants on one side of the neighborhood, and the glittery headquarters of biotech and pharma companies populating the eastern side. Luxury residential towers are interspersed throughout the area, providing prime real estate for companies with Seaport District headquarters— e.g., Fidelity, General Electric, PTC, Vertex, Reebok, etc.— to recruit and retain the top talent they need to thrive.
THINGS TO DO
There is plenty to see and do throughout the neighborhood, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Harpoon Brewery. More recently, Boston rebuilt the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. If you like history, or simply appreciate Boston’s seminal role in the American Revolution, then take the opportunity to visit a museum that speaks to the civic courage and revolutionary spirit that led to American Independence nearly 250 years ago.
On the culinary front, the Seaport District has emerged as one of Boston’s hottest spots, from old favorites like the Barking Crab and Legal Harborside, to more recent additions like Row 34, Tuscan Kitchen, Chickadee, Bastille, Smoke Shop, Menton, Sportello, and Drink. While the Seaport has always featured phenomenal steakhouses such as Morton’s, Strega and Del Frisco’s, the opening of Mastro’s Ocean Club and Ocean Prime distinguishes the Seaport as the leading location for premium cuts in all of Boston. And if you’re a craft beer fan, you have to check out spots like Trillium Fort Point, City Tap House and Hopsters Brewing Company.
SEE YOU IN BOSTON
Let the Seaport be the beginning of your Boston experience, but take advantage of Boston’s compact nature; we truly are America’s walking city. Downtown Boston is just a brief walk from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, and downtown is only a half-mile from some of the city’s most iconic areas, including Beacon Hill, Faneuil Hall and the North End. If you stroll the Freedom Trail, you will see all these areas. But keep exploring! Check out the jazz clubs and French bistros of the South End and the amazing architecture and high-end shopping of the Back Bay. Go for a run or a bike-ride along the Esplanade, or meander along Boston’s Harborwalk. There’s a lot to see and do in Boston, more than ever before, and we are here to help you plan!
Check out the Hotel & Travel tab for more information on planning your Boston experience. Don’t forget to register by May 17 to Save $625.