The world knows Boston for Brahminism and baked beans; creme pie and cod; Revere's ride, and that splash of tea in 1773.

Attitude, history and style run rampant on this city's cobblestoned streets, where the gridlocked masses go to creative extremes just to "pahk their cahs." Ah, the Boston Accent -- defined by top linguists as "one-third Harvard, one-third hick and one-third mick." (Visitors: Consult the Wicked Good Guide to Boston English for help ordering a grinder and a frappe at the spa.)

From the tony shops of Newbury Street to the North End espresso huts, each Boston neighborhood impresses its own distinctive charm. And an hour drive in any direction produces a choice view of beach, forest or mountain.

Olde as Boston's soul may be, it is spry on the surface. With more than 60 colleges and universities, the beantown claims the highest student population in the U.S. That coupled with its forefront status in the biotech industry guarantees -- and delivers -- a population of sheer brainiacs.

So when you roll in to town with your normal accent and ask a native, "Where can I get scrod around here?"; don't be surprised if the response is something like, "How delightful to hear the pluperfect subjunctive."