Boundaries:
North and Northeast from west to east: Town of Arlington, Routes 2 and 16; City of Somerville, just east of Mass. Ave., then just west of Beacon until it intersects with Cambridge Street; just north of Cambridge Street.
South to Southwest: the Charles River
West: Town of Watertown and Town of Belmont

Just across the river from Boston, Cambridge offers an exciting multicultural setting where visitors from around the world mingle in the shadow of two of the world's premier educational institutions: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Teeming with cafes, bookstores, and boutiques, Cambridge is often referred to as "Boston's Left Bank".

As a captivating, off-beat alternative to Boston, the "Squares" of Cambridge are charming neighborhoods rich in adventurous dining options as well as unique shopping, theatres, museums, and historic sites. Located between the academic powerhouses of Harvard and MIT, Central Square is the seat of City government and is home to a rich variety of international restaurants and music clubs. Central Square is the heart and soul of Cambridge. Caught in the dead centre of the city's stretch of Massachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave to locals), midway between the anchors of higher education, Harvard and MIT, Central Square exudes a feeling that is uniquely Cambridge, partially influenced by its student population but moreso by its immigrants, hipsters, yuppies, and old-timers who've mae Cambridge their home for years. They come hear to shop, listen, talk, and worship. For Central Square, home to Cambridge's City Hall, is the closest thing Cambridge has to a downtown, a nucleus in the city's centre. Here, stately churches coexist with Indian restaurants, Middle Eastern grocery stores and hip coffeehouses. Buses come and go and people pulsate in and out of the subway entrances like a heart pumps blood. For Central Square is the heart, the heart of the community.

There is a fear of the gentrification that has swept the Boston area here that really exceeds such trepidation in other neighborhoods. The Starbucks in the centre of the neighborhood is shunned and ignored, a new elite condo development across the street loathed for replacing a beloved communist bookstore. The multiculturalism, plurism, and all-around feeling of acceptance are more at risk in Central Square than anywhere else, and it seems sometimes that many are counting the days before the cheap record stores and junk shops sport trendy logos and their apartments are priced to move (them out) at $2000 a month.

Harvard Square, located around the historic brick walls of the country's oldest university, is a mecca for dining, shopping, books, and entertainment. Historically, Inman Square is a bustling shopping district and today, is home to a bounty of unique restaurants offering cuisine of unparalleled excellence and diversity.

Harvard Square is so many things: a place to watch punks and their crazy hairstyles, a place for street musicians to perform, a place for wealthy preppies and tweed-coated professors. It is also a place many bemoan has turned into an outdoor mall as local landmarks like the Tasty Diner are phased out for new construction which leases to national chain stores. Nevertheless, much of Harvard Square's uniqueness remains, which is evident in the thousands of people who pass through and visit it every day.

Harvard Square's history has been dominated by Harvard University. It has been the commanding presence here since 1636, when Cambridge was just a small village. Then, Harvard Square and the land just west were only a small village known as Newtowne. Harvard brought definition to the town, and today the city of Cambridge centres around the bustling square, which has become the closest thing it has to a downtown. Banks, bookshops and newspaper stands vie for space on its crowded streets. The legacy of the bookshops is especially prominent, the concentration of bookshops is the densest in the country.

Harvard Square joins Newbury Street and Faneuil Hall as one of the most dynamic areas of the city. Its street performers and musicians create a festive atmosphere that's authentic, not manufactured. While there are plenty of tourists, the Square is far more of a local hangout appealing to many tastes- from playing chess outdoors to playing the guitar in the "Pit".

Just a bridge away from Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, Kendall Square is home to MIT and the heart of Massachusetts' booming high tech and biotechnology industries. In north Cambridge, Porter Square boasts the region's largest concentration of Japanese eateries and shops including a popular Japanese bookstore.