Even prior to former Boston Mayor Tom Menino dubbing the South Boston waterfront the Innovation District, the Hub was a center of progressive ideas. Innovation has long been a part of the city’s fabric dating back to its very beginnings. Here’s just a small sampling of sites associated with some of the more prominent Boston firsts.

“I thought telling the story of just one historic ship would be fun for about three years,” says Anne Grimes Rand, president of the USS Constitution Museum. Rand came to the museum more than 25 ye

Boston happily plays host to many talented musical performers and groundbreaking theatrical acts, and the next two weeks see some real crowd-pleasers. We've got groovy chart-topping classics, a Grammy Award-winner, and a magical mix of stage shows featuring vampires, the Brothers Grimm, and mysterious goddess-worshipping islands.

Stuck in a rut and need a quick fix? Ask people-person Heather Coughlin at the Loews Boston Hotel for help. Heather has all the details on directions, transportation, and tours, and enjoys going the extra mile to make a guest feel at home. She knows exactly what a visitor needs to know when staying in Boston, like where to find the best lobster rolls, how to get to Fenway Park, and what to do if it's a rainy day for your Boston Common wedding.

Provincetown, or “Ptown” as it’s more affectionately known, has been a popular destination for longer than most people imagine. When the Pilgrims first landed here on the Mayflower in 1620 prior to their more famous landing in Plymouth, they stayed for five weeks before moving on to form a more permanent settlement across Massachusetts Bay.

Premiering in the U.K. in 2012, super-producer Cameron Mackintosh’s new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera was, as expected, a record-breaking hit. Now that the blockbuster musical has embarked on a U.S. tour, it was inevitable that it would stop at Boston’s own lush and lavish Opera House in the Theatre District.

Step back in time by visiting the Boston area sites most closely associated with the birth of the United States of America.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is one of Boston’s true masterpieces. More than a jewel for visitors, it’s a treasure trove. “It is a window to the past,” says Dr. Christina Nielsen, curator of the collection and director of program planning, “and in some ways feels like a time capsule, like you’ve traveled back in time and can see and experience the vision of a creative individual who lived in a very different era.”