Things to do in Boston?
 

Greetings from 'down under'! I'll be in Boston for a week from around 18 or 19 April (missing Patriot's Day marathon!) and wonder if anyone can help with some suggestions for 'touristy' things to do both in and around Boston? I plan to walk the Freedom trail but would appreciate any suggestions you might have. Ideally, I'd also like to do some day trips out of Boston (need to be bus/train as driving on the right side of the road still scares me;) ) Many thanks, in advance, for your suggestions!

I went to college 50 minutes west of Boston and have been there more times than I can remember (maybe the parties at my friends' in Back Bay didn't help).

Anyway, the one touristy thing I do recommend is the Duck Tours. It's a great way to see the city and have fun. It can be a little hokie with the whole "quack quack" thing but you're there to have fun.

A couple of my favorite places for food and drink is sitting at the oyster bar at Union Oyster House (and getting oysters and clams shucked right in front of you....don't bother with the dining room). I also love The Daily Catch on Hanover St. in the North End for calamari or steamed mussels. That place is the size of my cubicle. Lastly, I can't forget Boston Beer Works across from Fenway on Brookline Ave. or on Canal St. near North Station. Love thier sour cream and chive fries.

Walk through the North end, the Italian neighborhood. Great spots for dinner ^ and quite interesting to hear so much Italian spoken in the open on an American street in this millenium. Quick run through Faneuil Hall. Freedom trail as you said -- include visiting some of the graves of the patriots and founding fathers.:o Duck tour is worth it, you may need to reserve ahead, maybe not at that time of year but check anyway. Yes it is slightly campy but it is a good tour nonetheless. Do stop and walk through the Holocaust memorial also, it only takes a moment but you will remember it forever. Walk thru Boston Commons. Oh ya and if you must, you could stop at Cheers.:rolleyes:

museum of fine arts

For day trips out of Boston you can use the MBTA commuter rail system (www.mbta.com). You could head north towards Gloucester/Rockport and the ocean, south to the city of Providence in Rhode Island, or west towards my neck of the woods and check out the history (Paul Revere, the Minutemen vs. the British, etc.) in Concord. If you're looking for a longer trip, you can take Amtrak from Boston up to Portland, Maine, which is an interesting coastal city. If you need more info, feel free to PM me.

If you're a baseball fan, go for a tour of Fenway.

Welcome to FT, Pooch!

Lots to do around the city of Boston... My recommendations will generally emphasize indoor stuff since April weather is a fool's bet, but you can have some really nice days here in April just the same...

-- Take a subway ("T) ride over the Charles River to Cambridge and have a look around Harvard University, which is the oldest in the US. Many buildings open to the public. Sign up for a student-guided tour. Harvard has a couple of terrific museums too.

-- Also, Harvard's school of government often hosts participatory forums with U.S. and world leaders, authors, historians, even, occasionally, celebrities. Most forums are open to the public, and they are always free of charge. Check the schedule before you arrive to see what will be on during your visit.

-- Visit the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum. The museum retraces his presidency in film and artifact; the library holds all his papers. The building was designed by I.M. Pei and sits on Boston Harbor, with a beautiful view of the city. Accessible by subway.

-- Have a mid-afternoon dessert in the courtyard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and then tour a few of the galleries. It's a gorgeous museum.

-- Stroll down Newbury Street, the heart of Boston shopping... Lots of upscale boutiques; it's as chic as Boston gets, for what that's worth.

Day trips by bus/train/boat:

-- Cape Cod. Catch a bus to Woods Hole (Peter Pan bus lines, $32 return), wander around the town, which is a major center of oceanographic research as much as it is a tourist destination. Have a good seafood lunch in Woods Hole, then hop a ferry to the island of Martha's Vineyard (45 min. each way). The ferry is about $13 return. It's a nice day trip.

-- Or take a fast ferry from Boston Harbor to Provincetown, on the outer tip of the Cape. There are two ferry services, both in the range of $70-75 return. They do not operate in winter but should be running during your visit.

-- Go on a whale watch. (There are several companies offering whale watch outings from Boston Harbor. I've only linked to one. It might pay to comparison-shop...)

-- Take a commuter train to Gloucester, as I believe was mentioned by an earlier poster. Beautiful shoreline, lovely town, home of commercial fishing industry as depicted in "The Perfect Storm" (book/film).

-- If the weather cooperates, rent a bike and follow the Minuteman bike trail from Cambridge through Arlington, Lexington and Bedford. It's a lovely ride and it takes you right through the area where the Revolutionary War began. You can stop and explore the towns you pass through, or grab drinks and snacks for the road. The trail is accessible from the city on the MBTA - take the Red Line to Alewife station.

As others have covered restaurants I won't add to the expertise in that area, but feel free to PM me for expanded explanations or other ideas. I hope you have a wonderful visit.

Duck Tours! You can reserve on-line a few days ahead. Spring isn't generally sold out non-stop (insider info as DH is one of the original drivers...).

Also - the new ICA: http://www.icaboston.org in South Boston. You can tag on lunch at the Legal Seafoods Test Kitchen.

I just got back from a week in Boston.

If you take the duck, don't sit in the back.

Finlene's Basement.

Boston has a small Chinatown with good food.

For hotels try priceline.com I have had fantastic luck with them.

There are many cheap buses that wll take you to New York 4 hours each way for about $30. google Chinese bus boston.

Lobster and Clam Chowda.

Hi Pooch,
If you like Sydney, you'll like many aspects of Boston. Transport options, at least in the city, are good.

Highlights for me on our most recent trip were:
- Day trip to Salem (Mrs Bizi is into ghost tours and the like);
- Mrs B insisted on a drink at Cheers, where we indeed made some friends, and you're guaranteed to be talkoing to other tourists ;).
- Stopping into Marblehead (almost Disney-like historical town, just north of BOS) for lunch and to walk and browse amongst the galleries;
- A great drive through Cape Cod, right down to Provincetown. That was a shock, but great fun and totally unexpected for an American town!
- plus all the in-Boston suggestuins above. MIT is also on the T to Harvard. If the weather is good, walk across the bridge to MIT.

Not so impressive, but still worth considering:
- Filene's Basement isn't nearly a patch on NYC's Century21 opposite the WTC in NYC. Not even as good as the DJs sale in Sydney ;). However your luck may be better!
- Legal Seafood gets good writeups in the guides but wasn't up to the standards of good Sydney seafood. Overrated food and understaffed for service. However, try the chowder whenever possible!
- Newbury Street is fine for a walk; maybe on the way to MIT/Harvard across the water?

We stayed near a beach area not far from the airport and had a car, so I can only comment (positively) on the train into the city, but no other public transport.

Boston streets were extremely confusing so I don't blame you for not wanting to drive in town; however it's very easy on the freeways, so it might be worth the trouble - maybe with a friend?

Hope this helps.
Cheers! ^

talk about "old home week"
 

having grown up in boston. all of the prior suggestions are excellent ^^ but how come nobody mentioned the swan boats at the public "gahden" ;). yeah, it's corny but it's a fun little ride (http://www.swanboats.com/new/welcome.shtml) and i even remeber when adults were 25 cents and kids only a dime-late '60's people-i'm not THAT old ;)

i'll also add that if you're a history buff, explore the state house on beacon hill (the hall of flags is pretty cool) and a walk on beacon hill to look at homes with the "purple windows" (glass is so old that it has turned purple tho some folks "cheat with purple curtains behind clear glass)

now as to the blessed red-sox (hey, i can now die a happy goalie ;)), according the the 2007 schedule, they are home april 20-22 vs the yankees and 23-24 vs toronto. you should at least try and take a tour but if you can go to a game, it would be even "bettah", tho trying to get tix to a yankees (arch-rival/anti-chri$t) series is pretty much next to impossible but ya nevah know.

lastly-check the weathah right up until the day before you leave as the old saying in boston is "if you don't like the weathah, wait 5 minutes"(.....i remembah snow in may and 80's in february)

oh and lasty, we don't have an accent ;), it's just that the alphabet only has 25 lettahs-there are no r's in the english language :D

enjoy your trip, you'll have a blast

Also growing up in Boston I have to second this. If you really want to see what Boston is all about and the true heart of the city you should go down near Fenway for a Sox game. Even if you can't get in you could stop by Boston Beer Works for a bite, have a drink at the Cask and Flagon and Who's on First. If you do venture over there go early and take the subway, a taxi would just be stuck in traffic before a game.

i compeltely phorgot about the cask 'n flagon-that is the palce to be before, during and after a game and yes, absoltuely take the "t" whereever you go in boston-look into getting one of the visitor passes (or whatever they're called)

Almost all tickets for the season are sold out already. What does this mean? Only that you will be in the same boat as most fans and have to buy tickets from a scalper, on E Bay, or from a ticket agency. Tickets for Yankee games may cost several times the price of tickets to a Blue Jays game.
The T has just joined the 21st century with stored value Charlie Cards (Chahlie Cahd) rather than tokens for fare payment. I don't know whether they will continue to sell the multi day tourist passes.

it's the end of the world as we know it :D