An Alum Shares the Best of Boston
Kate Weiser (COM’19) built Bucket List Boston into a full-time platform spotlighting the city she started exploring as a BU freshman. Photos by Hope Allison
An Alum Shares the Best of Boston
Kate Weiser (COM’19) has built a popular travel and lifestyle platform inspiring others to explore the city and the region
When Kate Weiser arrived at Boston University from Westchester, N.Y., in August 2015, she assumed Boston would be “cute and nice for four years” before she returned home. But after wandering through neighborhoods between classes—choosing a different corner of the city to explore whenever she had free time—Weiser (COM’19) found herself entranced.
She photographed everything on her phone: coffee shops, side streets, storefronts, small details that caught her attention. By the end of her first semester, her phone storage was full.
Over winter break, Weiser created an Instagram account to share her photos. She also applied to join a local Instagram community and was told her page did not feature enough of Boston. Undeterred, she decided to build one that would. Sitting in her Kilachand Hall room, she searched for a word that began with “BU” and landed on “Bucket List.” In January 2016, she launched @bucketlistboston and began posting daily.
Now 10 years later, the account that started as a personal archive has become a full-time business—and has more than 220,000 followers. Weiser runs Bucket List Boston with a small team, highlighting restaurants, events, and neighborhoods across the city and New England.
Bostonia spoke with Weiser about what it means to build a brand around a place, how she decides what earns a spot on her feed, and why, a decade later, she still feels there is more to discover.
Q&A
With Kate Weiser (COM’19)
Bostonia: When you first arrived in Boston, what changed your mind about the city? Was it the walkability, the history, the architecture?
Weiser: Honestly, all of it. I was surprised by how walkable the city is. You can go from neighborhood to neighborhood and really understand how they connect just by walking. That helped me learn the city in a way that feels different from somewhere like New York.
The architecture really stood out to me too. There is so much history built into the streets. You turn a corner and suddenly you are looking at brownstones, cobblestone, or something that has been there for hundreds of years.
And then there are the cafés and neighborhood spots. Boston has so many places that feel intimate and local. They are not always flashy, but once you find them, they feel special. I think I realized pretty quickly that this was more than just a college city. It felt like somewhere you could build a life.
Bostonia: You started Bucket List Boston as a BU student. What were the early turning points that helped the page grow, and when did it start to feel like more than just your own photo archive?
Weiser: Getting rejected from IG Boston three times was actually a turning point. The feedback that my page didn’t have enough of Boston pushed me to make it entirely Boston- and New England–focused. I also made a promise to myself not to miss a day of posting for the first two years. That consistency built loyalty and helped people expect something new every day.
The shift happened when classmates told me they had gone somewhere because they saw it on my page. That’s when I realized I was influencing how people spent their time and how they saw the city. It stopped feeling like a personal project and started feeling like a responsibility.
Bostonia: You’ve spent nearly a decade building the page. How would you describe Bucket List Boston now?
Weiser: I would describe it as a travel and lifestyle platform dedicated to sharing the best of Boston and New England through visually appealing photos and videos. But more than that, it’s a curated guide to what’s actually worth doing in the city.
A lot of what I focus on are places that might not be obvious at first glance. Boston has so many hidden gems, but they’re not always in your face. I like doing the digging so that people don’t have to.
I’ve also described it as a love letter to Boston. If you scroll through the page, I hope it feels like someone showing you the most beautiful corners of the city and saying, “You should go see this.”
Bostonia: Can you share a few hidden gems you’ve highlighted over the years and what you love about them?
Weiser: One that’s always been special to me is the Boston Athenaeum. It might not be completely hidden, but it feels like a gem. It dates back to the 1800s, and I first became a member when I was a sophomore at BU. I use it as my office now. It feels like a home away from home and has been part of my Boston story almost from the beginning.
I also love the Mapparium. For a long time, you were not allowed to take photos inside, so when that changed in 2024, it was really exciting for me. I am such a visual person, and finally being able to show people what it looks like felt huge. The globe reflects the world as it was when it was built, so there are countries that do not exist today and others that had not yet formed.
Bostonia: What has been one of your most popular posts?
Weiser: My video of Casa Romero in Back Bay has by far the most views I’ve ever had on a single post. It reached about 3.4 million views. I was completely shocked, as you can never really expect something to go viral like that.
I obviously love that spot, which is why I highlighted it in the first place, but I did not anticipate that level of response. I was blown away by how many people watched it and engaged with it. It just shows that sometimes you really cannot predict what is going to resonate.
Bostonia: How do you decide what to include and what to leave out, especially when partnerships are involved?
I run everything through a personal filter. I ask myself, “Would I actually go to this? Is it something I genuinely love?” If I’m invited somewhere, I vet it. I read reviews, I ask around, and I only post if I’ve had a great experience. I would never want someone to go somewhere because of me and feel like it wasn’t worth it. I stand by everything I post.
Bostonia: How does Bucket List Boston generate revenue?
Brand partnerships are a big part of it, both with national brands and local businesses. I also do consulting, helping small businesses think through their brand and social media strategy. That’s been a natural extension of what I’ve built over the years.
More recently, I’ve added affiliate marketing and started expanding onto other platforms and my website. The goal is to diversify so the business isn’t reliant on just one stream or one platform, especially since social media is always evolving.
Bostonia: You studied public relations at COM. What from your time at BU still shapes how you run the business and tell stories today?
Media relations was huge. I learned how important it is to build and maintain contacts, and I still use that mindset. I understand how PR teams think and what brands are trying to achieve, which helps me tell their stories in a way that still speaks to my audience. BU also encouraged internships, and I had a lot of them. That real-world experience helped me figure out what I wanted and what I didn’t.
Bostonia: Do you have a favorite area of the city?
I got engaged in the Boston Public Garden, so that will always be a really special place for me. My husband and I used to walk through it all the time, and it just became part of our routine. He chose it as the spot to propose.
I love going there in every season. It is beautiful whether it is snowing, covered in fall foliage, filled with cherry blossoms, or dotted with Swan Boats in the lagoon. I also love that the center of our city is nature. There is something really special about that, and it still feels magical every time I walk through it.
Bostonia: When people scroll Bucket List Boston, what do you hope they take away? And what role do you want it to play next?
If someone lives in Boston, I hope they realize there’s more to do than they thought and feel inspired to get out and explore. If they don’t live here, I hope Boston rises to the top of their bucket list and feels like a city worth planning a trip around.
Looking ahead, I want it to be the go-to platform people reference when they’re deciding how to spend their time in the city. I’m expanding onto new platforms and building more organized resources, including digital guides, so it’s easier to actually find and use the recommendations. Ultimately, I want Bucket List Boston to shape how people experience the city and to be part of how they remember their time here.
Bostonia: Are there parts of the city you still want to explore more, or places that are currently on your own bucket list?
I would love to get to know Chinatown better. I have spent time there, but I feel like I could go deeper. The same goes for the North End. There are so many little spots beyond the obvious tourist stops that I would love to feature. I also pay attention to analytics, and North End content consistently performs well. That tells me people are curious and want more from that neighborhood.
In general, Cambridge always feels like it has something new going on. I recently went to a shop in Davis Square called Glass Ripples that has beautifully curated home goods. I love discovering places like that and then building a mini itinerary around them, maybe pairing it with a nearby cafe or bakery. That process of stitching together a neighborhood experience is something I still genuinely enjoy.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.