Begin with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, focusing on its highlights, including celebrated works spanning ancient civilizations, European and American art, and other major collections.

Continue to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which is housed in a Venetian-inspired palazzo built around a dramatic courtyard and combines European, Asian, and American art.

Head to Copley Square, to see some of Boston's historic architecture. Visit Trinity Church, a landmark Romanesque church, then explore the Boston Public Library, whose grand building combines monumental Beaux-Arts architecture with murals, sculpture, a magnificent courtyard, and richly decorated interiors.

Optional add-on: Visit the Christian Science Plaza, where a modernist complex and reflecting pool provide a striking contrast to Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library nearby. Nearby, step inside The Mapparium, a three-story stained-glass globe.

Continue to Beacon Hill, one of Boston’s most distinctive historic neighborhoods, where narrow brick sidewalks, gas lamps, Federal and Victorian townhouses, and intimate lanes create a striking contrast with the grand architecture of the Back Bay. Before dinner in the neighborhood, wander through Louisburg Square and along Acorn Street, one of the city’s most picturesque lanes.

Optional add-on: If it fits your schedule, take in a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, o other performing group at Boston Symphony Hall.

Begin at the Harvard Art Museums, whose collections range across European, American, Asian, Islamic, and other traditions. The design of the museum's building brings together Harvard's three former museums beneath a single glass roof. Then explore Harvard Yard, taking in the university's historic buildings and courtyards.

Optional add-on: Continue to the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Le Corbusier's only building in North America and one of Harvard's most important modernist landmarks.

Return to Boston and head to the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, focusing on its changing exhibitions and contemporary artists. The museum's dramatic waterfront building is itself part of the experience, with a cantilevered form and shifting views across Boston Harbor.

Optional add-on: If your visit coincides with its seasonal opening, continue to the ICA Watershed in East Boston for another contemporary-art experience in a former industrial setting.

End with dinner in the Seaport District and afterward, stroll along the waterfront, where contemporary architecture, public spaces, and views across the harbor provide a striking contrast to Boston's historic neighborhoods.