Experience all of Boston, including the State House.

Paul Revere. Sam Adams. Fenway Park. The Boston Marathon.

Any mention of "Boston" conjures historic people, places and events such as these. This September the AAO-HNSF 2010 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO will join them in its association with the famous city.

The theme of this year's meeting is "Helping you reach your personal best." As you would train to reach your personal best in the Marathon, you can start now to prepare for Boston. Plan your meeting schedule, decide what sessions to attend, and where to meet your friends. In your plans, see if you can find time away from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, because there's so much to see and do in Boston.

Here are a few things to consider:

Revisit history
Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the nation's oldest cities, and the capital of, and largest city in, Massachusetts. Every school child learns about Boston's role in American history, so walking the Freedom Trail and visiting these historic sites are a natural addition to your trip. The Trail starts at the Boston Common—50 acres that constitute one of the oldest parks in the country—and takes you past the Massachusetts State House, atop Beacon Hill. Stop at the Granary Burying Ground, with the graves of Sam Adams and John Hancock. Old Faneuil Hall Marketplace still has a marketplace on the first floor and more than 17 restaurants.

The Trail takes you to Paul Revere's House, the oldest building in downtown, built in 1680. Nearby is the Old North Church, where Revere's friend held two lanterns—"one if by land, two if by sea"—to tell Revere how "the British are coming." The church's steeple bells were the first brought to America, and Revere was one of the bell ringers (in addition to being a silversmith and patriot, of course).

Farther on, the Trail takes you across the Charles River to the Charlestown Navy Yard and berth of the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," where it first launched in 1797. Up the hill is the Bunker Hill Monument, marking the first major battle of the American Revolution in 1775.

See some sites
Boston is known as a "walking city," and you can see much of it best on foot. There are parks, gardens, open-air markets, and neighborhoods to walk through, like historic Beacon Hill, with its cobble brick streets, or Back Bay's Victorian townhouses, and the 17th-century streets of the North End. Don't like folded maps? There are now popular self-guided iPod and GPS tours.

Don't forget the country's first public library and museums like the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, with its great artworks and gorgeous indoor courtyard. For sports fans, of course, there's the Red Sox at Fenway Park. However, they're out of town during the Annual Meeting.

Chow down
Boston restaurants go well beyond baked beans and "chowdah." Here are some suggestions for the best places to check out while in Boston, as rated by Zagat.com. Suggestions include the type of cuisine and the neighborhood where you can find them:

• L'Espalier (French, Back Bay)
• Ya (Japanese, Leather District)
• No. 9 Park (French/Italian, Beacon Hill)
• Sorellina (Italian, Back Bay)
• Taranta (Italian/Peruvian, North End)
• Troquet (American/French—Theater District)