Tough call in the dead of winter, but I might suggest a nice Italian meal in Boston's famous "North End" or likewise at historic Faneuil Hall.

--Moose

Re: what is Boston famous for?

The answer IS    mltnbob!  lol!!

Seriously, depends on what "floats your boat"

Not sure if it operates this time of year, butt a good idea would be to take a "duck tour"

http://www.bostontours.us/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=334

or a similar Gray Line bus tour for 1/2 day to get the overall feel of the City.  Good for any city you visit.  Then you can return to explore more of what you like.

get scrod at Durgin Park, Legal Seafood, etc.

just tell the taxi driver "I want to get scrod!"

or the prime rib at Durgin Park...hangs off the edge of the platter. looks somewhat symbolic.

North End for Italian food is the best, try Prezza
I would stay away from Faneuil Hall more of a tourist trap. Unless you like to shop then it's a gold mine. Try Newbury Street great shopping, food,  and people watching.  South End is a nice place these days to. very up and coming

Hey, we have to give credit where credit is due...we all enjoy his great pics.

-- Modified on 1/5/2009 1:11:16 PM

- Tour Fenway Park:
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/tour.jsp

- Eat in the North End.

- Take a 2 hour "Spirit of Boston" Cruise around the Harbor.

- Visit Newbury Street, and see the overpriced stuff

- Visit Fanuel Hall.   The food at some of the stands is quite good, and a lot of fun!

Hope this helps.

Boston is very historic, you could go to:

* USS Constitution (the oldest commissioned ship - http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/).
* Bunker Hill memorial (http://www.cityofboston.gov/FreedomTrail/bunkerhill.asp)
* If it's not too cold (for true Bostonians that means it is above 0 degress ) you could walk the Freedom trail (http://www.cityofboston.gov/FreedomTrail)
* Go to the Old State House (http://www.cityofboston.gov/FreedomTrail/oldstate.asp)


Lots of other things like Faneuil hall & Newbury street is always fun. Boston Common is nice on a sunny day, I think they have an outdoor ice skating rink there now.

Anyway, have fun!

What is Boston famous for?

Shitty, neverending traffic and terrible accents.  

Can't you people pronounce an "r" every once in a while?  And stop putting an "r" at the end of words that end in syllables.  Just ask someone from Boston with a thick accent to pronounce "Tuna" and you'll see what I mean.

Like any city, Boston is a vast mixture of cultures and neighborhoods. Things change almost every block.
China town, The theater District (many great currently running plays, etc), Shopping in many places.

One tactic might be to get a map of the "T" and see what can be found in walking distance of each T stop (Boston Gardens in the summer, Museum of science, Museum of fine arts.) a T-based list of attractions might be best for a visitng Provier who can duck out between appointments. You can buy an unlimited pass for a day or longer periods.