Beantown offers much more than beans: Boston is America's premier city for walking and eating well

The way to get to know America's best walking city is, well, on foot. Charming, compact and accessible, Boston feels like a small town but offers the cultural advantages of a metropolis--eclectic neighborhoods, varied architecture and a fair amount of hustle and bustle. And thanks to an influx of thousands of college students, the 350-year-old city seems youthful despite its genteel reputation and rich heritage. This is, after all, where the American Revolution started.

It's quite easy to explore both the city's cultural and culinary landscape. Although known as "Beantown," Boston hosts many excellent vegetarian restaurants that offer much more than the eponymous baked beans.

Start by trekking the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile red path, that takes you on a self-guided tour of 16 American Revolution sites. Your first stop should be Beacon Hill's gold-domed State House. Make a few more stops and you'll eventually end up at the Old Corner Bookstore, which once housed the publishers of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Head for lunch at the Milk Street Cafe, a cafeteria-style dairy, kosher restaurant that offers large portions of low-fat, home-style cooking. Serving a clientele that includes office workers, shoppers and local politicians, this sunny glass-enclosed restaurant lives up to its motto: Real Food, Real People. If you're ravenous, opt for one of the bountiful sandwiches, Such as the grilled eggplant, red peppers, tomatoes and zucchini with a honey mustard spread ($4.95). For something lighter, try the spicy chilled gazpacho with the cafe's moist date-nut bread.

Now that you are feeling fortified, follow the trail farther. Once you pay homage to the Old North Church (immortalized in Longfellow's poem "One, if by Land, Two, if by Sea") and the Paul Revere House, where America's most famous messenger hung his colonial hat, you'll find yourself in the heart of the city's oldest residential area, the North End. Enticing pastry shops and cafes line the streets of Boston's Italian neighborhood. One of the oldest and best is Caffe Vittoria. Order an espresso with biscotti and observe the other patrons, mostly elderly men who would otherwise be playing bocce or arguing in Italian about politics.

You'll also want to wander around Boston's vibrant waterfront. A few blocks away from the Central Wharf is the vegan Country Life Restaurant run by an amicable family of Seventh-day Adventists. They cook without refined grains, sugar or animal products, and everything 'thing (even the gluten) is prepared from scratch. This casual self-serve restaurant, where businessmen mingle with backpackers, has an all-you-can-eat buffet that changes daily. A typical lunch might consist of homemade garbarizo dumpling soup, wheat balls and spaghetti, green bean casserole and selections from a fresh vegetable and fruit salad bar, plus bread and beverage ($5.70 for lunch; $6.95 for dinner). The popular "you won't believe it's soy milk" ice cream ($1.50 a cup) is a refreshing way to finish a hearty, inexpensive meal. It's no wonder the Boston Vegetarian Society holds its dinner meetings here.

Your next destination is Jamaica Plain (known as "JP"), one of Boston's most integrated neighborhoods. JP is blessed with three links of the "Emerald Necklace," a series of parks, ponds and green spaces that stretch across the city.

Jamaica Plain also offers the Five Seasons, one of Boston's first and finest macrobiotic restaurants. Featuring an open kitchen, this funky, cozy place is best known for its savory, mostly organically and locally grown vegetarian fare. Try the pan-fried udon noodles with tofu, watercress and scallions ($7.25) or spicy black bean enchiladas with guacamole, organic brown rice and homemade corn chips ($7.95). Top off your meal with a cup of organic coffee and gingerbread with hot pear sauce and tofu whipped cream ($3.50).

Save an evening for an extraordinary epicurean vegetarian meal at Aujourd'hui, a posh, award-winning restaurant located in the Four Seasons Hotel. Reservations are recommended; jackets are required while ties are optional. Window tables overlook the Victorian-style Boston Public Garden--the crown jewel adorning the Emerald Necklace--where century-old, pedal-driven swan boats glide along Lagoon Pond, escorted on occasion by real swans.

Aujourd'hui's sumptuous five-course vegetarian tasting menu features fresh, seasonal New England produce. You might, for example, dine on flavorful grilled portobello mushroom carpaccio with ricotta pecorino; pesto pizza with goat cheese, Swiss chard and kalamata olives; roasted parsnip risotto with apples and cabbage; and a heavenly strawberry soup with angel food cake.

A knowledgeable wait staff presents everything in grand style. The price for this bountiful feast is $56 per person, but this is vegetarian food at its very finest. And what a delicious way to end a delightful visit to Beantown.