All three local branches make good places to retreat when you've had enough of the abundant shopping around them. The sprawling Downtown Crossing store contains two levels of books and one of music, the Back Bay location has an entrance off Newbury Street, and the Cambridge Borders is one of the only quiet places in the mall.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Boston 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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