Boston itinerary: 1, 2 and 3 days

Start at the market place, which has been the trading centre of the town since the medieval wool trade. The square is the natural orientation point: the Guildhall, the parish church and the shopping streets all sit within a few minutes of it.

St Botolph's Church, known locally as the Boston Stump, is the reason most people come. Its tower is one of the tallest parish church towers in England and was a landmark for sailors on the Haven. The interior is free to enter; the tower climb runs on limited days and hours, so check before you build a day around it.

Walk from the church down to the Haven, the tidal river that made Boston a port. The waterfront is quiet now, but the scale of the old warehouses and the Custom House tells you what the town once was. Finish with the Maud Foster windmill if it is open, or the Guildhall if you want the courtroom where the Pilgrims were tried.

The second day is for the parts of the town that sit outside the immediate centre. The Maud Foster windmill is a working mill and one of the tallest of its kind in the country; it opens on selected days, so check ahead. Nearby, the Maud Foster drain and the paths along it make an easy flat walk.

Use the afternoon for the Haven in more detail: the dock, the old pilot buildings and the path towards the outskirts. If you have a car or are willing to take a bus, the villages and the flat fenland landscape around Boston are the real character of the area, and they need a half-day rather than an hour.

Two days also lets you eat properly rather than grab a sandwich. Boston has a long food market tradition and a good spread of pubs and small restaurants in the centre.

Three days is where Boston earns its place. The town itself is done in a day and a half; the third day is for Lincoln, Stamford or the fens, all of which are within reach if you plan the transport.

Lincoln is the obvious day trip: a cathedral on a hill, a castle, and a medieval quarter that takes a full day. Rail connections from Boston usually involve a change, so check times before committing. Stamford is smaller and quieter, with stone streets and a good market tradition of its own.

If you have a car, the third day can go the other way, into the flat, empty fenland that surrounds the town. This is big-sky country, not postcard country, and it rewards a slow drive with stops at villages and churches.

Boston is a cheap base by English standards. Accommodation is the main variable, and prices rise in summer and around local events. Food and drink in the centre are ordinary town prices rather than tourist prices.

The town's main sights are either free or carry a small charge, which is why a day here costs far less than a day in a major city. Budget more for transport if you are using Boston as a base for day trips.

Boston is a small town, not a city, and it works on small-town rhythms. Shops and some attractions close early, and Sunday can be very quiet. Plan the day around daylight and around confirmed opening hours rather than assuming everything is open.

The station is a walk from the centre, so allow time at both ends of a day trip. If you are arriving by air, the nearest practical airports are in the East Midlands and around London; both need a train or a drive onward, so treat the transfer as a half-day.

If your trip is a first visit to the UK, Boston is not the place to spend your limited days. The parent country plan puts London, Edinburgh, York and Bath first, and that is the right order for most people.

Skip Boston if you want coastline, hills or a big-city food and nightlife scene. Come here if you want a quiet, cheap, walkable English town with a genuinely remarkable church, and if you are happy to use it as a base rather than a destination in itself.