Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
100 Northern Avenue, 617-478-3101
www.icaboston.org

ICA is a visionary glass box designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro that cantilevers over the waterfront, the neighborhood is finally emerging as a vibrant arts district, with destination restaurants, green parks and condos.

As Boston’s first new art museum in decades, the I.C.A. is already a cultural cornerstone, with rotating exhibitions and a permanent collection with works by Nan Goldin, Cornelia Parker and Julian Opie.

Visitors can dine at its Water Cafe (run by Wolfgang Puck Catering), and the adjacent plaza merges with the newly expanded Boston HarborWalk, designed to reconnect the harbor to the rest of the city (though immediately surrounding the museum itself are a number of vast parking lots).