Chinatown and Leather District Walk (Self Guided), Boston

Prepare for a thrilling time in a vibrant and colorful Boston neighborhood, Chinatown. This is the third largest Chinatown in the United States and it offers great food, shopping and sights. It is popular with Boston locals and visitors alike who delight in the large selection of Asian restaurants and bakeries.

Those in the know will tell you that Boston's Chinatown has the best dim sum restaurants of anywhere, and to dine in them is to go to food heaven. Start your adventure by going through Chinatown’s traditional opening gate with its foo lion statues that are meant to ward off evil spirits.

For some truly fabulous dining, head over to Beach Street where there is a dazzling array of eateries. Find a taste bud-pleasing range of Asian cuisines on offer in addition to Chinese. They include Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese. While you are on the street, peruse window displays and rummage through shops where you can find just about everything, from live turtles and tacky souvenirs to clothing and statues of Buddha.

Boston's Chinatown is also renowned for its leather industry. Tour the Leather District, a nine-block area where wholesalers and manufacturers have their premises inside 19th-century brick warehouses.