Harvard University

Harvard was founded in 1636 and the core of it is still Harvard Yard, a walled block of brick halls and elms in the middle of Cambridge, with Massachusetts Hall of 1720 the oldest building standing. Widener Library sits on one side, built as a memorial to a graduate lost on the Titanic. What is worth more than the walk for most visitors are the museums: the Harvard Art Museums, rebuilt by Renzo Piano under one glass roof, and the Museum of Natural History, which holds the Blaschka glass flowers - some four thousand botanical models made in glass by a father and son in Dresden over five decades, accurate enough to have been made for teaching. Student-led tours run from the Yard.

What you actually see

• Harvard Yard - brick halls and elms, Massachusetts Hall from 1720.
• The Harvard Art Museums - three collections under one Piano roof.
• The Blaschka glass flowers - four thousand glass botanical models.
• Widener Library - built as a Titanic memorial.

When to go

April to October; the Yard is at its best in autumn. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Most buildings are closed to visitors - this is a working university. Museums charge separately and close on some days. Harvard Square is crowded. The John Harvard statue's inscription is famously misleading and the tours say so.

Nearby

MIT is downriver; Boston is across the Charles.