North End

The North End is atmospheric, walkable and generally safe for women on their own, with some of Boston's best food. Waits at popular places are long, and the streets away from Hanover Street get quiet at night.

Boston's Little Italy and its oldest residential neighborhood, the North End is a dense grid of narrow streets full of Italian restaurants, bakeries and cafés, along with colonial landmarks like the Paul Revere House and Old North Church. The community is tight-knit and the streets are busy with diners until late in the evening, which makes it comfortable for a woman on her own, especially on Hanover Street and Salem Street. Eating at a restaurant bar or a café table alone is easy, though popular restaurants can have long waits and take no reservations. Some streets are narrow and dimly lit, and the blocks toward the waterfront and near the Greenway are quieter, so stick to the main streets after dark. There is no T station inside the North End; North Station and Haymarket are a short walk away.