From Concord, the remaining dozen miles to Boston are most quickly devoured along Route 2, although you can take slower Route 2A if you wish to follow the footsteps of those retreating British redcoats. Either way will bring you to the same gateway for the metropolitan area. Following US-3 will bring you in through wealthy Winchester and eventually onto Memorial Drive along the Charles River, past the campuses of Harvard and MIT. But unless it’s 3 am and the roads are all clear, you would be well-advised to leave your car in the gigantic Alewife T subway station commuter parking garage (about $8 a day) at the Route 2/US-3/Route 16 junction in Arlington, and use the subway to get around the city. (Cyclists note: From the Alewife T, the very nice Minuteman Bikeway follows the bed of the old Boston & Lowell Railroad between Cambridge and the edge of Concord—11 idyllic, car-free miles.)
Driving directions across downtown Boston are basically a waste of paper; signs are few and traffic is chaotic, so you’ll need to keep your eyes firmly on the road.
