First trip to Boston!

[busy mom]

We are planning our first trip to Boston this summer.

We only have 4 days, so would love suggestions on your not to miss places to visit, and favorite (casual) places to eat.

Any suggestions welcome!!!

 

[clori]

Are kids going and if so what ages. I live near Boston so don't eat there that often but you can go to Faneuil Hall which is basically a giant food court. You can also go to the North End and get pizza slices for lunch etc. There is a brand new place called Eatily at the Prudential Center that has some casual food (I haven't been yet). The Cambridge Side Galleria also has a food court.

There are many attractions depending on your interests. There is the Museum of Science, Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art, Children's Museum, Aquarium etc. For history there are places such as old burial grounds, Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum, Old State House, Old South Meeting House, USS Constitution and Museum etc. For Sports there is Fenway Park which may have tours and a small Sports Museum. The Boston Commons has a big splash pool and playground. The Boston Gardens has a Swan Boat ride. The Duck Boat is a land/sea tour. Nearby on the subway you can get to LEGOLAND discovery center and Boda Borg.

 

[busy mom]

Thanks Clori. No kids this trip, just my DH and I.

 

[Pintail]

That Duck tour was fun. We liked Legal Sea Foods, great crab cakes.
We stayed at Marriot Long Wharf, and were able to take a water taxi from BOS airport. It goes to other hotels as well.
There is so much history, amazing city.
The Hop on-hop trolley was good, and was easy to get on. I will be a great trip!

 

[Sweettears]

The Freedom Trail is worth checking out. Also the Union Oyster House. Its on the trail. Oldest operating restaurant in the US. Plus excellent chowder.

 

[Psychodisney]

We bought the Go Boston card and enjoyed many attractions on the card. Had a beautiful day for whale watching. See if the Red Sox are in town. It was very easy to get to on the T. Also enjoyed the Kennedy Presidential library/museum.
As far as food, definitely go to the North end. Tons of Italian restaurants and try Mike's Pastry or Modern Pastry.

 

[unrequited23]

I second the Duck Tour. I'd recommend the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum if you are into that sort of thing, even over the MFA. The tour of Fenway was pretty awesome too, if you can't score tickets to a game. The T doesn't run super late (about 12:30am on my last trip) so if you are making a late night of it budget for a cab. There is an open air seafood place very close to the Children's Museum that is right on the water that we always eat at our first day in town--I can't remember the name of it right now.

 

[mary0305]

Another vote for Mike's Pastry. Cash only though. Yummy!! We visited the one in the North End, but they have one near Harvard. Get a pass for the T (train). Really easy to get around using it. The Freedom Trail is great. Courthouse Seafood in Cambridge is a small local seafood market/restaurant. Nothing fancy, but good. Walk around MIT and Harvard.

 

[PrincessBelle23]

Walking around near Fanuile Hall is nice and it's near the harbor so you can easily walk the harbor walk route along the water. It's nothing special but I think it's pretty, and it's not far from the North End. You can also take a boat ride around there - for something more formal/fancy they have the Odyssey dinner/lunch cruises. It's a little pricey but there's food and dancing and I think they're a lot of fun. They also have cheaper boat tours/sunset cruises you can take through other companies. The North End has TONS of little restaurants and stuff - unfortunately I don't have a specific one to recommend but there are definitely some casual ones we've gone by and I don't think you can go wrong with any of the food there - just make sure you stop at Mike's Pastries - YUM!
I also think the Fenway tours are fun - even if you're not an avid baseball fan it's neat to see the different areas of the park and hear about it's history. Duck Tour is really fun too!

 

[MEM]

Are kids going and if so what ages. I live near Boston so don't eat there that often but you can go to Faneuil Hall which is basically a giant food court. You can also go to the North End and get pizza slices for lunch etc. There is a brand new place called Eatily at the Prudential Center that has some casual food (I haven't been yet). The Cambridge Side Galleria also has a food court.

There are many attractions depending on your interests. There is the Museum of Science, Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art, Children's Museum, Aquarium etc. For history there are places such as old burial grounds, Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum, Old State House, Old South Meeting House, USS Constitution and Museum etc. For Sports there is Fenway Park which may have tours and a small Sports Museum. The Boston Commons has a big splash pool and playground. The Boston Gardens has a Swan Boat ride. The Duck Boat is a land/sea tour. Nearby on the subway you can get to LEGOLAND discovery center and Boda Borg.

I work in Boston and live about 12 miles away. Clori has given you excellent suggestions. The Swan Boats in the Public Garden are inexpensive and unique. The Freedom Trail is great for history buffs. When I first moved to Boston 32 years ago I took the Old Town Trolley tour which is a great way to start your trip. We also have several world-class theaters if you want to take in a show. We have so many restaurants to choose from that I don't know where to begin - I would start with TripAdvisor - its pretty accurate and I have posted reviews there.

 

[MEM]

The Freedom Trail is worth checking out. Also the Union Oyster House. Its on the trail. Oldest operating restaurant in the US. Plus excellent chowder.

I second this recommendation of Union Oyster House. I would not, however, recommend Legal Seafood which has locations all over Greater Boston - the food in my experience does not match the price.

 

[MEM]

We bought the Go Boston card and enjoyed many attractions on the card. Had a beautiful day for whale watching. See if the Red Sox are in town. It was very easy to get to on the T. Also enjoyed the Kennedy Presidential library/museum.
As far as food, definitely go to the North end. Tons of Italian restaurants and try Mike's Pastry or Modern Pastry.

I'm not a big fan of Italian pastry (I know, sacrilege!) but Flour bakery + cafe now has three locations in Boston and her baked goods are considered fabulous. Flour also serves salads and sandwiches.

Also, summer time is Food Truck time! Everything from Vegan to Vietnamese.

 

[clori]

I woud suggest getting a weekly T (public transportation) pass for $21.25 each for unlimited bus/subway and taking the t as needed. A daily unlimited is $12. If you like pizza and history you might enjoy https://www.bostonpizzatours.com/tour-calendar.html though depending on when your going you might find a better price on groupon or living social. If you want to use one day as a day trip you could do Salem MA or Plymouth MA (depending on your interests) though there is plenty to do right in Boston. Unfortunately you need 3 to 5 people to do Boda Borg which is a very unique interactive experience.

 

[gasman61]

Have you made your housing reservations? My DH and I had a wonderful 1st visit to Boston last October. We stayed here https://www.bedandbreakfast.com/ma-boston-moroccan-luxury-suites.html, and I would highly recommend it! We also did the hop on/hop off Trolley tour https://www.trolleytours.com/boston/hop-on-hop-off. We did not have a car there and were able to Uber from the bed & breakfast to downtown very inexpensively.

 

[Imnatari]

I'm located just north of Boston, it's a great little city!!!

I've been very happy using a city pass when I've traveled to unfamiliar cities (used it in Seattle and NYC), there is one for Boston that has the museum of science and other popular attractions. Personally, I am a huge fan of the Museum of Fine Arts and recommend it to anyone visiting. I could spend days there!!!

The public gardens and Boston commons are beautiful parks. Be sure to ride the swan boats!

The theatre district has some great, big name shows - and some smaller ones too - that are worth seeing.

Hope you enjoy your trip!!!!

 

[kreckl]

When are you going?
Where do you live (asking to see what may interest you- like a whale watch, island hopping, etc)?

 

[Jimsig]

There is an open air seafood place very close to the Children's Museum that is right on the water that we always eat at our first day in town--I can't remember the name of it right now.

The Barking Crab? It is a fun place.

A lot of great suggestions above on what to do. I also agree with a PP about Legal Sea Food being overrated, good seafood but you can do better for less $$$ elsewhere. Try The No Name http://www.nonamerestaurant.com/ on The Fish Pier in the Seaport or the Barking Crab. For pizza in the North End go to Pizzeria Regina http://www.reginapizzeria.com the one in the North End in the original and IMO the best. I think the pizza ovens might be the originals from 1926 and that's what makes it so good. If you do the Duck Boats be sure to use this one, http://www.bostonducktours.com/ again IMO the best.

 

[hsmamato2]

I like the duck boat tours out of Science museum (love that place) anything as noted over near the harbor is nice, there is a city run water taxi (boat) that operates right near all the big ticket tour boats, it costs like $2 for a nice ferry ride over to the USS Constitution, which you can expand by getting history maps, and walking to see some of the sites.... that boat ride is always a highlight for our crew and it's cheap!

 

[kreckl]

We love the Boston Harbor Islands. So many beautiful little places - and only a few minutes from Boston http://www.bostonharborislands.org

 

[capegirl]

The JFK Presidential Library/Museum is well worth the trip. Beautiful setting overlooking Dorchester Bay. Word of warning; unless you have nerves of steel avoid driving in Boston; it's quite an adventure.