# Possible Boston Visit



## MULTIZ321 (Mar 11, 2006)

I possiblly will be attending a business seminar in Boston June 4th-6th.  My wife is thinking of coming with me and for us to spend a couple of extra days after the seminar to sightsee.

Neither of us have been to Boston and we're wondering if 2 days (possibly 3) would be enough to see the major sights.  What itinerary would you recommend. We'd probably stay at a hotel - I don't think we'd be able to get the Custom House in that time frame (plus we couldn't do a week at this time).

Thanks 

Richard


----------



## ladycody (Mar 11, 2006)

Two or three days would give you enough time to cover _alot_ of ground.  *Barter a bit with the Trolley Tours and though they're expensive...they provide maps, and transportation and historical banter when you ride...get off and on throughout the day on the freedom trail (which covers _alot_...so start early.) You can usually pick up free aquarium passes too.  You'll find a variety of Trolley tour operators over by the museum and in the Fanueil hall Market place (I've had good luck with these). 

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are a fun spot to browse and nibble and you can spend the better part of an afternoon there.  

Go out to dinner at the Union Oyster house (right near Fanueil Hall)...it's a bit pricey but has good food and a ton of history.  

Right across the street from this is the holocaust memorial...extremely simple in design and mindboggling in it's effectiveness.  

The North End of Boston (little italy) is a short walk from quincy market and depending on when you are there...you might run into Haymarket square (open Fridays and Saturdays...and the quote below sums it up rather well):



> Haymarket is a truly unique experience.... _It takes you back to yesteryear before big-box grocers ruled the world _ (and charged an exhorborant amount for produce). The market includes foods from around the world, from avacados to zuchini...you will find it here. There are some meat markets and fish markets as well as some fish vendors. My favorite stand is the fresh herb stand where I try to find and use a cheap new herb each week that I go.
> 
> Haymarket is one of MY personal favorite attractions in Boston, but I have yet to take any visitors there for the very reason others have mentioned. Yes it's smelly (duh, it's a FOOD market with fish!), it's loud, people are obnoxious, it's crowded and vendors can be rude. Bring a lot of dollar bills because you'll be shelling out just $1 at a time for "lots" of food, depending on the prices of that time.
> 
> The true function of Haymarket is not to make you feel "comfortable" or excel in customer service. It is to get you the cheapest food at the lowest prices anywhere in the area, period.



I looove Haymarket...it just feels like stepping back in time to me...but it's not for everyone.

Dont try to see it all...you'll kill yourself.    It's a good sized city with an awful lot of history.  Plan on a full day with the Trolley Tour (do _not_ browse fanueil hall and quincy market while on this tour...save it for another day...there are too many areas that _need_ the trolley to be utilized for more comfortable viewing (read: ' _less exausted from walking point to point_') and follow it up with dinner at the Union Oyster House.  Then take some wandering time...at your leisure through the other areas.

You will LOVE Boston...lordy I miss it now.


----------



## MULTIZ321 (Mar 11, 2006)

Ladycody,

Thanks for your tips - your descriptions were very helpful.


Richard


----------



## pcgirl54 (Mar 11, 2006)

*Boston*

Richard,

Three days are great. I agree with Fanuiel Hall as a must do,nearby is the North End and do visit Mike's Bakery while there. So is the Paul Revere House and the Old Church.

Prudential Center/Copley Square known as The Back Bay area. In the Pru you can buy tickets to The Duck Tours and Trolley Tours. Nice Marriott and Westin at Copley Plaza.

http://www.bostonusa.com/visitor/resdet.php?seqnum=1966&type=org


http://www.bostonducktours.com/



Not too far but wear comfy shoes is Boston Common and Tremont/Newbury Streets.

All great walking around places with shops and great places to eat.

http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/         Here's a great link.


----------



## MULTIZ321 (Mar 11, 2006)

*Freedom Trail*

PCGirl54,

Thanks for the added info -

Someone told us that to walk the entire Freedom Trail is about 3 miles - is that true?  I thought it was longer.



Richard


----------



## cluemeister (Mar 11, 2006)

*Red Sox*

Nothing like catching a Red Sox game at Fenway.


----------



## ladycody (Mar 12, 2006)

The Freedom Trail is slightly under 3 miles...but that's in from point to point.  By the time you've walked into the various stops of the trail and wandered...you will have done considerably more walking than that (a bit of which may be on cobblestones).  

Another PS...if the blue man group is playing in Boston and you can get tickets...GO.  It's a _completely _ indescribable show and seems to have universal appeal.  I loved it.  (seriously...dont ask what it's about because I highly doubt anyone could make it sound like something you actually want to pay to see...if anything ask around and find out if people liked it...     )

Have a great trip!  If I can answer anything else...let me know.


----------



## GinLyn26 (Mar 13, 2006)

I saw the Blue Man Group last summer in Toronto and I loved them.  Very entertaining and witty.  Don't sit in the "poncho" area (you'll get splattered on) on don't wear good clothes and DO sit in the "poncho" area.


----------



## lmlab (Apr 26, 2006)

Not sure if you are still looking for ideas.......in case you are here's a few more:

History - USS Constitution and Bunker Hill Monument - both free, both in Charlestown (one end of the Freedom Trail if you do the whole route)
Museums - For art - the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner. the Museum of Science is great - they have a planatarium. the Aquarium is good (not the best I've been to) they also have an IMAX theatre there.
Go to the top of the Prudential Center - there is a viewing area as well as a restaurant (expensive, good but not great food) but the VIEW IS FABULOUS. My husband always takes business associates who are new to Boston there.
China Town - near the theatre district. Lots of places to eat. If you want to catch a show I think they still have a half price ticket booth at Quincey Market - at the end near Government Center. You purchase the day of the show - of course, it's what is left.
Someone mentioned the trolley - the advantage of being able to get on and off is great but in my opinion the Duck boats are more fun (although a bit hokey)
Go to the Public Gardens and ride the swan boats. Look for the "Make way for Duckling's" statues
Walk along the Esplanade along the Charles River, head into Cambridge and check out Harvard Square.
Suffice to say there's lots to do in Boston.
Enjoy


----------



## Hoc (Apr 27, 2006)

If I had only three days and had never been to Boston before, I would definitely spend one day walking the Freedom Trail.  It takes most of the day.  Get an audiotour at the Freedom Trail Park office.

I would spend part of another day going over to Cambridge and walking the Harvard Campus (including Harvard Square and a visit to the Coop), with possibly a tour of Fenway beforehand.  That, combined, would take about a half day.

Make sure to have at least one meal in the North End (great Italian), and at least one seafood meal (my favorite is Legal Seafoods).  And don't forget to enjoy Boston's nightlife.  Great bars with live music everywhere, and a pretty busy theater district with half-price tickets the day of many of the shows.

I'd also consider shopping at Filene's Basement for a couple of hours, and then some of the other things recommended above for the rest of the time.  You'll be missing Salem and Old Plimoth Plantation, as well as Lexington/Concord and Minuteman National Park, but they are all outside of Boston and you can save those for another trip.


----------



## MULTIZ321 (Apr 27, 2006)

Thanks to all for the great ideas.


Richard


----------



## Beaglemom3 (Apr 27, 2006)

Richard,
  I grew up in Boston, not outside of it as many claim, but in the city. I know it like the back of my hand and was a Freedom Trail tour guide when I was in high school (the Revolutionary War was still going on then !). I can help you maximize your time so that you can fit many things in efficiently and so that you won't be stressed/tired.  
  I would be pleased to take you and your family around in Boston and outside of Boston out to Lexington & Concord which are right close to where I live now.
  I have had the privilege of taking out some other fine Tuggers before like the wonderful Janette and DH.
  Thank you all for your comments on my beloved city of which I am unabashedly proud of.
  Beags


----------



## Dollie (Apr 27, 2006)

No one has mentioned any of the museums.  There are many, here are a few interesting ones:

Museum of Fine Arts
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Museum of Science​


----------



## Beaglemom3 (Apr 27, 2006)

Dollie said:
			
		

> No one has mentioned any of the museums.  There are many, here are a few interesting ones:
> 
> Museum of Fine Arts
> Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
> Museum of Science​



Dollie,
  I used to hook school and go to the "MFA"+ & Gardner Museums. They are incredible. I still love to go there and spend hours. Their cafes are very good, too. Nice to see someone who has an appreciation for them.
B.
P.S. We're not too far from you in the summer (Quechee)


----------



## MusicMan (Apr 27, 2006)

Beaglemom3:  My wife and I will be in Boston for one day in September for a cruise.  We're arriving on Thursday night (9/21).  Doing SOMETHING in Boston on  Friday and then taking a 6am bus to Montreal on Saturday to board the ship to cruise BACK down to Boston.  What would you suggest as the most productive use of our one day?  The trolley?  The Duck tour? any/all other suggestions/comments/remarks appreciated.


----------



## Conan (Apr 27, 2006)

I'd put the Museum of Fine Arts and/or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum way ahead of the Aquarium.


----------



## falmouth3 (Apr 27, 2006)

Blue Man Group is always playing and their tickets are always available at the Bostix kiosk right in Quincy Market.  That's day of show for 1/2 price!

I would absolutely recommend going to Old Ironsides - one end of the Freedom Trail.  You can also get there on the siteseeing trolley, otherwise it's a bit of a long walk.  It's free and so is the naval museum there.  The naval personnel love to talk about the history of the ship and how the crew lived and fought on it.

I like walking the Freedom Trail.  You can buy a guide book for the trail for about $6 in a local book store.

If you want to wander outside of Boston, you can go to the national park in Concord.  Salem is north of Boston and it's a pretty town that really emphasizes it's witch trial history.

One of my favorite places is Plimouth Plantation, about an hour south of Boston, near Plymouth.  There they have a recreation of the town that the pilgrims built.  Each employee there has assumed the personality (and accents) of the actual residents of the town at that time in history.  I loved it there!

There are lots of museums and the aquarium if it rains, or if those types of activities appeal to you.  We also have a nice science museum and two IMAX theaters right in town - one at the aquarium and one at the science museum.

Have a great time!!


----------



## ladycody (Apr 27, 2006)

I love the Museum of Fine Arts!!! I used to like going to the reflecting pond and the Christian Science Center Plaza (not sure if that's the technical name for it)...near the Pru too....(sigh)...really missing Boston now.  

Nice offer beags!!!  I grew up an hour outside of Boston...but was brought in regularly while growing up.  After graduating from college, I lived in Brighton for 3 years and worked at the Boston Harbor Hotel.  I worked there for another year after moving out of town.  Do you remember Bailey's back in the day?!?!?  Just off the commons with the best sundae's ever?!?!? dripping with marshmellow and fudge...so much so that they _had_ to put a plate under the glass dish...LOL.

(sigh)


----------



## Beaglemom3 (Apr 27, 2006)

ladycody said:
			
		

> I love the Museum of Fine Arts!!! I used to like going to the reflecting pond and the Christian Science Center Plaza (not sure if that's the technical name for it)...near the Pru too....(sigh)...really missing Boston now.
> 
> Nice offer beags!!!  I grew up an hour outside of Boston...but was brought in regularly while growing up.  After graduating from college, I lived in Brighton for 3 years and worked at the Boston Harbor Hotel.  I worked there for another year after moving out of town.  Do you remember Bailey's back in the day?!?!?  Just off the commons with the best sundae's ever?!?!? dripping with marshmellow and fudge...so much so that they _had_ to put a plate under the glass dish...LOL.
> 
> (sigh)



I grew up in Southie/South Boston (of Good Will Hunting fame) but am now gentrified in Weston (ha, like that will ever happen !) Yes, I remember Bailey's AND Thompson's Spa & Schraft's !! Do you remember the plate that held the gooey sundae syrup was metal ? We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary at the Boston Harbor Hotel restaurant - excellent !! I was a nurse at Boston City Hospital (St. Elsewhere's) a loooong time ago. 
How'd you like our 2004 Sox ?? Incredible.
Let me know when you get back here, okay ?
XOXO,
Beags


----------



## Beaglemom3 (Apr 27, 2006)

MusicMan (Formerly JP) said:
			
		

> Beaglemom3:  My wife and I will be in Boston for one day in September for a cruise.  We're arriving on Thursday night (9/21).  Doing SOMETHING in Boston on  Friday and then taking a 6am bus to Montreal on Saturday to board the ship to cruise BACK down to Boston.  What would you suggest as the most productive use of our one day?  The trolley?  The Duck tour? any/all other suggestions/comments/remarks appreciated.



What are your interests ? Sports, art, history, shopping ? Hoc knows how to pack in a lot of living in a 24 hour visit to Beantown.
Let me know and I can help you with an itinerary.
B.


----------



## Hoc (Apr 27, 2006)

ladycody said:
			
		

> After graduating from college, I lived in Brighton for 3 years and worked at the Boston Harbor Hotel.



Before I got into timesharing (and bought my unit at the Custom House), the Boston Harbor Hotel was one of my favorite hotels in that City.  Very nice rooms, sometimes with a Harbor View, and extremely convenient to get there from the airport via ferry.  I also liked the Parker House for its historic value, though not nearly as opulent.

P.S. - The Boston Harbor hotel restaurant made a breakfast with Johnnycakes and green apple butter that was really amazing.


----------



## ladycody (Apr 28, 2006)

Thanks for the compliments on my old place of Employment...It's a beautiful property and I still take a great deal of pride in my previous association with it.

Beags...I dont plan to get back there until next spring...but when I do...I can guarantee that at least 2 full days will be spent in Boston.  (Gotta visit the Cape and the White mtns too if there's time.) I'll look you up when the time comes!

Sox Rock!


----------



## Hoc (Apr 28, 2006)

Beaglemom3 said:
			
		

> Hoc knows how to pack in a lot of living in a 24 hour visit to Beantown.



Comes from some of the whirlwind weekends I've done.  I flew from LA to Dublin on a three-day weekend.  Left Saturday morning, got back Monday night, and did the whole town in the interim.

Same thing with Atlanta.

Also occasionally will do an extended weekend in New York (it looks like I might just do another of those over Labor Day, despite a 1-week trip there in a couple of weeks).  And the occasional 3-day weekend in Honolulu.

Now Boston, it takes at least a full week every couple of years.


----------



## bigrick (Apr 28, 2006)

I recommend the free Freedom Trail walk done by the National Park Service.  The walk begins at their office across from the Old State House on State St and Devonshire.  And the Red Sox!  Boston is a great walking city.  Last year we stayed 2 weeks at the Custom House in May and had a blast!  Boston Commons is always full of interesting people if you like to watch!  Boston By Foot puts on some great tours by very knowledgeable guides.  We took all their tours last year.  

There's lots to see and do in Boston.  Go for 3 days and whet your appetite to return!


----------



## judyjht (Apr 28, 2006)

Beags - Is it you that has access to Sox tickets??  I would love to take my husband to a game.  Of course, I would pay for the tickets - hoping for good seats - not the bleachers!  Thanks


----------



## Beaglemom3 (Apr 28, 2006)

judyjht said:
			
		

> Beags - Is it you that has access to Sox tickets??  I would love to take my husband to a game.  Of course, I would pay for the tickets - hoping for good seats - not the bleachers!  Thanks



I get them occasionally, mostly last minute and sometimes just singles. I did better last year and even got to go to Opening Day/Ring Ceremony - incredible !
So, the short answer is yes, I do get tickets from a good friend, however, it's almost impossible to predict how many and when. 
I have a single for the return of the Evil Empire on May 1st, but who wants to go alone ? No fun.
You can get tickets if you do some serious hunting or buy from scalpers just before the game (I'm not a supporter of that, but these are desperate times).
B


----------



## bigrick (Apr 28, 2006)

I don't know if May 2005 (when they were the World Series Champions) is different from when you want to go but in May 2005 we easily went to two day games on the spur of the moment.  

We went to Fenway initially to see the layout and learn the ticket process.  We found the window on Van Ness for same day, pre-game ticket sales.  We were too late for that window.  There were plenty of people selling that day's tickets at face value.  Presented with the chance to see them now, my wife wanted to go now.  A great day!

The next game we arrived early enough to buy from the window so I could charge the seats and save my cash for in the park.  Both times we sat down the right field line, under the cover.  Look for the seats you want while chowing down on a Polish dog.  My kind of shopping!

I like keeping room for whims like this when we travel.  The only thing I like to prepay is maintenance fees so I get more trade power and can trade future weeks now!


----------



## Hoc (Apr 28, 2006)

Beaglemom3 said:
			
		

> I have a single for the return of the Evil Empire on May 1st, but who wants to go alone ? No fun.



I thought the Sox and Yankees were playing at Yankee Stadium this year.  In fact, the week before we were going to be in NYC.


----------



## Beaglemom3 (Apr 28, 2006)

Hoc said:
			
		

> I thought the Sox and Yankees were playing at Yankee Stadium this year.  In fact, the week before we were going to be in NYC.



As I write, I am gazing upon my single Grandstand, Section 24, Row 16, Seat 21, $45 ticket for Monday, May 1, 7:05 pm.

This will be the return of "Juan Damone" as he is called here in Boston. I'm not sure what/why he is being called that, but I intend to clap & cheer for him. We owe him that for that Grand Slam in the 2004 penant race.

Hoc, when are you returning ? I'll try to sniff out some tickets seeing that you're from the "left coast" !
B


----------



## Hoc (Apr 28, 2006)

Beaglemom3 said:
			
		

> Hoc, when are you returning ? I'll try to sniff out some tickets seeing that you're from the "left coast" !
> B



  My thought is that I am probably skipping this year, and will return sometime next spring or early summer.


----------



## Beaglemom3 (Apr 28, 2006)

Hoc said:
			
		

> My thought is that I am probably skipping this year, and will return sometime next spring or early summer.



Good. That'll give me some lead time for BoSox tickets to the ring ceremony when we win this year's World Series !!!


----------

