Why it is worth attending
Run since 1897, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and the city's defining ritual: on Patriots' Day (the third Monday of April), a million spectators line the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to the Boylston Street finish, and the entire city becomes the event. For travelers the calculus cuts both ways. Attending is free and genuinely moving - the Boylston finish stretch and Kenmore Square roar loudest, arrive early for barriers positions. Avoiding matters more for most: hotel prices double or worse across Marathon weekend, central streets close, and museums fill. Muslim families spectating will find the crowds dense but orderly; note Ramadan's calendar drift relative to April in coming years when planning. Book months ahead or plan around it entirely - there is no middle path.
