Sitting outside at Au Bon Pain is a great place to people watch or challenge a friend to a game of chess.

And once the sun sets, evenings are cool enough to head out and really enjoy the city.

Summer Nights

On weekend nights, musicians and magicians line the streets. The best of street performers can draw crowds of as many as 200. Donate your share of change--it's only polite.

The streets of Cambridge are not the only places to find cheap music during the summer. Free outdoor concerts abound at such venues as the Hatch Shell in Boston and Charles Square in Cambridge.

Boston night life also beckons. While the Square is packed with eateries, the North End is a must for summer visitors seeking excellent Italian cuisine--usually in enormous portions.

The city also boasts a number of nightclubs, though most, but not all, require you be at least 18, if not 21, years of age to enter.

For those who meet the age requirement, Cambridge and Boston also are home to plenty of bars and even a few microbreweries.

Some prefer to grab an ice-cream cone at any of the Square's many locations (see related article below) and enjoy a quieter summer evening.

Got to Get Out of This Place

But if you're really a hick at heart, the Square's attractions may not be your style. There are plenty of places just outside the area to avoid the urban scene.

Ride your bike or take the #74 bus to Belmont center to Habitat for the Environment. It's a 15-minute walk from the bus stop to the site and the first visit is free to students.

While its proximity to a neighborhood school may not satisfy those accustomed to the truly rural, the 80-acre Audubon Sanctuary complete with garden, fields, woods and pond makes a welcome escape for days when the mercury tops 90.

If that doesn't float your boat, take a trip to Walden Woods, where Henry David Thoreau, class of 1832, made his famous retreat.

Best accessible by car, it is a good place for walking, biking and fishing. Just recently, a new center was built there in Thoreau's honor.