Downtown Hotspots

The urban playground may appeal to tourists with its gondolas and Segways, but there’s no better place for residents to take a jog or a pre-concert stroll.

Lately, buzzworthy restaurants and bars keep luring us away from Mass Ave’s eaten path.

Those who deride the Cultural Trail as a glorified sidewalk should stroll through Fletcher Place. A mere sidewalk does not attract three sleek apartment buildings, 10 independent eateries and bars, and enough house-hunters to quadruple home values.

In the next two years, the area’s population will increase by a few thousand people once the Downtown Transit Center, a Cummins headquarters, 360 Market Square tower, Whole Foods, and the 21c Museum Hotel all cut their ribbons within a few blocks.

With ground breaking on a seven-building addition later this year, the young-adult playground will grow even bigger by the end of the decade.