A walk through Harvard Yard leads you Memorial Chapel where on Sundays in term Peter Gomes preaches. Harvard's war dead are listed, both German and American. Nearby is Memorial Hall, the copper-topped Victorian heap where you can catch Dave Brubeck or filmmaker Mira Nair.
The vaulted gallery that separates Sanders Theater from the student commons displays the names of Union and Confederate war dead alumni.
Cross Quincy Street to the Fogg Art Museum, which currently features a special exhibit on the Fogg's role in teaching and preservation. Next door is the Film Archive where you can hear guest directors speak about their work. The film schedule is at the entrance.
If you walk back through the Square and out Brattle Street, you come to Longfellow's home. Check for hours at the kiosk info center in Harvard Square beforehand. The merchant homes of the 18th and 19th century are worth the walk. Occasional poetry readings and chamber concerts take place on the grounds of the Longfellow House.
As you return on Brattle, notice the American Repertory Theater, which offers classics like Godot but in the summer lighter fare such as Hershey Felder's bravura George Gershwin. ART has a student-run experimental theater too.
On your way back, notice the Brattle Theatre, a revival house with an authors’ series and a film noir night (Mondays). You may catch Normal Mailer, Paul Theroux, or local mystery storywriter Robert Parker in person as part of the Wordsworth author series.
Stop at Burdick's cafe or the Indian restaurant near the Brattle Theater.
People under 30 may like the Borders Cafe on Church Street. Folkish ‘50s types may like the concerts at the Passim across the street. In East Cambridge (bus it), you can find Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants.
If you're the self-propelled type, pick up the Harvard Gazette, which has comprehensive listings of exhibits and guest speakers, many open to the public. Reach them on line through www.harvard.edu.
Walk the Cambridge Common for Revolutionary War cannon and commemorative monuments to Washington and leading figures of other eras.
Quick Tips:
Take a tour from Holyoke Center, the big gray building located in Harvard Square. That way, you get the lowdown on what's for free and what requires an entrance fee. You also learn lots about the individual Harvard houses and who their graduates were, both famous and deranged. At the "I" sign Harvard Info in the Holyoke gallery, pick up a free copy of Harvard at a Glance, with a map of the Yard (say "yahd"). Above all pick up a your free copy of the Harvard Gazette which lists all weekly events in its Calendar section (also online).
When you tire, consider the Pamplona cafe for a light lunch at Bow and Arrow streets, next to Saint Paul's church. The Pamplona is owned by 87-year-old Josephina, purportedly a veteran of the Spanish Civil War. Dine al fresco, depending on how hardy you are or cozily in the basement. The specialty is gazpacho.
Do remember that the Harvard COOP bookstore has a cafe in its mezzanine where you can scour the New York Times or a paperback while you lunch. Go into the children's section on the basement level where there are lots of Windsor chairs.
Best Way To Get Around:
Walk around Cambridge; on the subway, Boston is only 15 minutes away.
Boston
You owe it to yourself to shop at the famed Filene's Basement for low budget items of surprisingly good stuff. Watch for the right labels, try things on, and visit the travel desk between the ladies bag and jewelry counters (it's a place, not a person).
Cambridge
Walk or bike your way through away up Brattle Street toward Longfellow's House, which offers tours, poetry readings, and music recitals in the summertime.
The bus service around Cambridge and nearby MIT (see Frank Gehry's futuristic building) is first rate.