At the corner of Summer and Washington Streets, now known as Downtown Crossing, sit Macy’s (once Jordan Marsh) and Filene’s. These two department stores, located above the convergence of the MBTA’s Red and Orange Lines, were once the retail center of the city. That locus may have shifted to the Back Bay/Copley/Prudential area, but Downtown Crossing still bustles. With its strong Irish flavor, J.J. Foley’s caters to rock-and-rollers, artists, scenesters, and bike messengers by night, and by day it serves the local suits and anyone else who wanders in. Hibernia, next door, is equally matey and Celtic. A stone’s throw away is the Good Life; its faux–Rat Pack ambience is just self-conscious enough so that its mix of cocktails, jazz, singles, and simple, solid food works quite well. West Street is home to the Brattle Book Shop, the nation’s oldest antiquarian bookstore. The top floor is lined with fine bindings, complete sets, first editions, and other collectibles and scholarly items sold at quite reasonable prices. Bargains abound downstairs, with secondhand books on every conceivable subject. Outside are stalls of books for a buck. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. To borrow the motto of another famous bookstore, " Wise men fish here. " Downtown’s most famous restaurant, Locke-Ober, is closed for renovation. But the hearty Dakota’s steakhouse, super-hip Radius, and comfortably sophisticated Maison Robert, located behind King’s Chapel in the old City Hall, are still going strong. Haymarket was once the city’s center for produce and meat, and today on Fridays and Saturdays a thicket of vegetable stands set up by the few remaining farmers and butchers do a thriving business from dawn until dusk. Take a hint from the old ladies of the neighboring North End: shop early. Check out the Union Oyster House, where Daniel Webster once downed copious amounts of brandy and shellfish, or grab a slice from Al Capone’s Pizza.

Haymarket itself has been transformed into an urban mall. It’s where tourists, the bridge-and-tunnel crowd, and professionals from the financial district mingle. The Rack is an entertainment multiplex disguised as a pool hall that serves lunch and dinner outside as well as in, featuring dancing, live music, and more special events each month than you could remember. Conglomerate-minded chef Todd English, who hasn’t let vast commercial success spoil his food, operates one of the city’s most interesting seafood places, KingFish Hall.

Also scattered about downtown are Silvertone, where the good food is a match for the bustling scene, and Oskar’s, where people in Prada smoke cigars. Two outstanding wine spots are the Vault and Les Zygomates, which enjoy the casual sophistication that many places try for but few achieve. Oh yes, the Big Dig is just a short walk from almost any place mentioned above. It’s the world’s largest construction project and has to be seen to be believed. After all, it’s your tax dollars at work.

The North End, along with Beacon Hill, is the most European part of Boston, with its narrow streets and neighborhood air. Cradle of the Revolution (Paul Revere lived in North Square), it’s now Boston’s Little Italy, with a profusion of churches (including " Old North, " from which Paul got the " two-if-by-sea " signal), restaurants, and specialty-food shops, mostly on Hanover and Salem streets. Try Joe Pace (basic Italian groceries, as well as meats and cheeses); the Salumeria Toscana and Salumeria Italiana (fancier olive oils, pastas, meats, and cheeses); Polcari’s (herbs, polenta, dried beans); Dairy Fresh Candies (not just sweets, and more engagingly Italian than the generic name would suggest), plus two fine liquor stores, Martignetti and Cirace V & Sons. There are restaurants and cafés every few blocks, but don’t get so full you can’t make it to historic Copp’s Hill Burying Ground for a view of Charlestown.

Sure, it’s the nouveau place for affluent young professionals to park their Saabs, but idyllic Charlestown still feels historically Boston, right down to its commemorative plaques. Quaint street lamps light row houses that line weaving, hilly streets, and tourists snap photos and coo over the phallic Bunker Hill Monument. Charlestown runs the sweep from the Schrafft’s building up to the monument and down to the Navy Yard (or " Yahd, " if you’re a Townie), but the center of town is where you’ll find most amenities and good-looking joggers. Please your palate with fresh sandwiches and treats at Sorelle, sample gourmet thin-crust pizza at Figs or fine cuisine at its big brother Olives, or opt for funky Moroccan dining at Tangierino. For watering holes with local character(s), sit down at the Warren Tavern (where George Washington once stayed), or head to the Navy Yard’s Tavern on the Water for a great view of the Boston skyline — and, incidentally, of Nomar Garciaparra’s apartment in the swank complex next door. If staring into Nomar’s windows gets boring, you can always spend pleasurable hours at the Charlestown Working Theatre.

This Old World–style neighborhood has long been a stronghold of Boston’s immigrant population. Even today, an ethnic mix persists, with Italians and Central and South Americans sharing the streets with native Bostonians. Eastie bears the burden of beastly tunnel traffic and runway noise from Logan. But it wins the tradeoff with still-somewhat-reasonable housing prices. As East Boston spruces itself up, both long-time residents and first-time buyers are snatching up Victorians in neighborhoods like Eagle Hill and Jeffries Point. The neighborhood’s diversity — which looks to remain — spills into the architecture, street scenes, and eateries (yum).

Don’t-miss spots are the favorites of old-timers (sorry, guys), such as the bustling restaurant and nightspot Caffè Italia, which has a vibrant and un-ironic piano bar in back; the sparkling outdoor Piers Park on the water; and Santarpio’s, which serves simple pizza pies to folks who queue up around the block on a nightly basis.

South Boston is a town within a city — with its own local politics, parking rules, lingo, beaches, competing newspapers, and annual parade. Once a solid working-class Irish enclave, Southie now reflects an influx of young professionals as well as the younger generations of " natives. " Triple-deckers that once housed extended families have become three-unit condos. You can order a latte at the Cranberry Café before heading for a facial at Larry Baron’s Newbury Street–style salon. There’s authentic Mexican cuisine at Salsa’s, or decent Italian fare at Café Porto Bello. Buy a vintage outfit at Maude Mango before checking out the Southie singles scene at the Boston Beer Garden or the Blackthorn.

And you can still get a cheap beer with a neighbor at the Quencher Tavern, bangers and mash at Mul’s Diner, or a blue-plate special at the L Street Diner. Burn it all off at the Curley Recreation Center (full membership is $50 per year!), or go for a run along the ocean and around the fort at Castle Island. Southie is what you make of it. The rough edges have smoothed over the years, but its character remains.

This old-line Boston neighborhood may be the most sexually, racially, and culturally tolerant section of what’s too often a polarized city. It’s got an upper class, a middle class, a working class, and — alas — the remnants of an underclass. Its residents are white, black, and Hispanic; gay, lesbian, and straight; single and married; students and geezers. Some families have lived for generations on the same street. Others are refugees from Cambridge, Somerville, and the South End looking for more living space at lower prices. JP is a great place to live and visit, but the bad news is that it too has gotten more expensive, whether you’re renting or buying.

Hyde Square is probably the neighborhood’s most intensely happening section. The Brendan Behan pub is the real thing, authentic enough to draw unannounced visits from U2 whenever they’re in town. Sorella’s offers one of the best and cheapest breakfasts around. Rhythm and Muse, an independent retailer, sells a distinctive collection of books and CDs and offers comfortable places to sip coffee and tea. Bella Luna does gourmet pizza and more. Downstairs, you’ll find the Milky Way, a bowling alley and nightclub (yes, Tuesday is karaoke night). At El Oriental, the furnishings may be sparse, but the Cuban food is sumptuous and earthy (try the roast pork with yellow rice and red beans, or go funky and sample the tripe soup). Equally Latin in a different way is Tacos El Charro, a joint so Mexican it even imports its Coca-Cola from the old country. The shrimp entrée is spicy, but not to be missed.

The Monument area of Centre Street passes for downtown, with banks, a CVS, and a number of retailers both cool and uncool: visit Gadgets for great kitchen stuff and Boomerangs for secondhand and vintage clothes — all profits go to AIDS relief. As for food, there’s Indian (Bukhara), Korean-Japanese (JP Seafood Café), pan-Asian (Wonder Spice Café), and Irish (James’s Gate). And then there’s JP Licks, the ice-cream emporium awarded a " Best " in our annual readers’ poll.

Closer to the Forest Hills train station is Doyle’s. Forget Cheers — this is Boston’s best neighborhood bar, with a mind-boggling array of single-malt Scotches and single-batch bourbons at affordable prices. On any given summer Sunday afternoon you’re likely to find the local lesbian softball team drinking next to delegates from most of the city’s municipal-workers’ unions. The Dogwood Café is just as casual but a bit more relentlessly hip. And Jake’s Boss Barbecue is a little corner of Texas tucked away in the wilds of Beantown. Speaking of which, Jamaica Pond, the Arnold Arboretum, and Forest Hills Cemetery provide some of the greenest acres in town. And not to be missed is the Green Street Gallery, offering museum-quality shows in a clean, well-lighted space in the MBTA’s Orange Line station of the same name.

In the past few years, Jamaica Plain’s sleepy suburban-feeling neighbor has started to house the spillover from its cousin to the north. Artists are opening boutiques, several established restaurant owners are setting up shop, and the area boasts a vocal neighborhood group.

The square, which acts as the commercial center, commands a remarkable amount of green space in triangles and little blocks, creating an informal, neighborhood-y appeal. For all the (seemingly internally generated) buzz about gentrification, the area, which is served by commuter rail (and has a T stop about a mile away), still has more station wagons than Vespa scooters.

Despite a few chichi spots like Delfino’s and Gusto and the delicious, yuppified Fornax Bakery, this remains the place to come for cheap Middle Eastern fare at multipurpose grocery stores like Bob’s Pita Bakery, and for the difficult-to-find neighborhood treasure Roslindale Fish Market.

Cleveland Circle is a neighborhood at a crossroads — not just of Chestnut Hill Avenue and Beacon Street, but also of Brighton, Brookline, and Newton. Among the area’s biggest virtues is its close proximity to the B, C, and D branches of the Green Line (take the D for quickest service downtown). Although the neighborhood is defined, in part, by students from nearby Boston College, residents also include a mix of Russian immigrants, Orthodox Jews, and other newcomers to Boston. Cleveland Circle is the point at which Brighton’s gritty urban landscape gives way to a spacious city park, home to frequent league softball games and pick-up soccer matches, and the scenic Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

The neighborhood also features numerous food options. Eagles Deli has the Godzilla Burger. For Thai, there’s Bangkok Bistro. You can always get a drink and a bite at Cityside or Roggie’s. Much better than expected is the Ground Round, which now boasts a graceful terrace overlooking the park. If you sit the right way and look out toward the reservoir and the church that dominates the BC campus, you can almost forget where you are. Of course, you can always head over to Mary Ann’s, BC’s dive bar, to remind you.

With its tree-lined streets, numerous parks and playgrounds, and colorful Victorian houses, Coolidge Corner would be easy to dismiss as just another lazy suburban neighborhood. But add to the mix a bustling commercial district, rows of charming brownstones, easy T access, and an ever-growing population of ethnic restaurants, and you’ve got a popular destination.

The contradictions don’t end there. While Coolidge Corner hosts its share of chain stores — Barnes & Noble, CVS, Starbucks, and the Gap all have Harvard Street outposts — the area also boasts plenty of one-of-a-kind shops, offering everything from trendy women’s clothing to fine arts and crafts to beauty supplies. For those seeking a little historical perspective, JFK’s birthplace on Beal Street is open to the public. Coolidge Corner is also a hotbed of Jewish activity, with temples, kosher groceries and bakeries, and Jewish bookstores. And when it comes to dining, Coolidge Corner is truly global: witness Fugakyu (Japanese), Pho Lemongrass (Vietnamese), Pandan Leaf (Malaysian), Coolidge Corner Clubhouse (sports bar), Bombay Bistro (Indian), and Anna’s Taqueria (Mexican), to name only a handful.

Its location, just steps from Route 9 (for drivers) and the D Line (for T-takers), isn’t the only thing that makes Brookline Village so appealing. There’s also the neighborhood’s eclectic charm — leafy parks, quiet streets, and bustling village square. Parents pushing young children in strollers are common; equally visible are groups of single twenty- and thirtysomethings gathered on the sidewalk outside local restaurants and watering holes. Highlights include Matt Murphy’s, an Irish pub where you’ll often share your table — and maybe a pint or two — with newfound friends while supping on authentic fare; the Village Smokehouse, to satisfy your barbecue cravings; Café St. Petersburg, for a taste of Russia; and Sawasdee Thai Restaurant. Or pack a picnic lunch and settle in for the afternoon at the sunny and well-kept Emerson Garden on Davis Avenue, home to one of the oldest spray pools in Brookline.

Though perhaps not as well-known or heavily trafficked as nearby Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village, Brookline’s Washington Square shouldn’t be overlooked. With its stately single-family homes and double- and triple-decker apartment houses, the neighborhood draws a mix of residents — from older Brookline natives to transplanted young professionals to college students.

Despite the passing of two of its most renowned institutions, the music club and restaurant the Tam and the infamously divey Hammond Lounge, Washington Square still has plenty to offer in the culinary and imbibing departments. Its hub, at the crossroads of Beacon and Washington Streets, is home to Athan’s, a glorious den of impossibly elaborate pastries; Golden Temple, a consistently busy upscale Chinese eatery; brunch favorite B&D Deli; and the Washington Square Tavern, a hip and popular restaurant and nightspot. To work off all that gastronomic excess, set off on a tour of the area’s charming — and mostly hidden — network of staircases and pathways.