Ideas for travel to Boston

[howardlander]

My wife and I are going to be spending a few nights in Boston in September. We are staying at the Godfrey Hotel right near Boston Commons. Any suggestions about what to see or do, where to eat etc would be most welcome. I lived in Wakefield until I was 11, but have spend almost no time there as an adult.

Thanks much
Howard

[pfrduke]

My wife and I are going to be spending a few nights in Boston in September. We are staying at the Godfrey Hotel right near Boston Commons. Any suggestions about what to see or do, where to eat etc would be most welcome. I lived in Wakefield until I was 11, but have spend almost no time there as an adult.

Thanks much
Howard

Depending on your budget/dietary preferences, there are a couple places in very easy walking distance to recommend as splurge dinners. No. 9 Park is really excellent - the prune stuffed gnocchi is a signature - and has both a great a la carte menu and a chef tasting. It's right at the northeast corner of Boston Commons. Just around the corner on Beacon Street is a more modern steakhouse called Mooo... Both will set you back a bit but are (in this food lover's view) worth it.

[Section 15]

My wife and I are going to be spending a few nights in Boston in September. We are staying at the Godfrey Hotel right near Boston Commons. Any suggestions about what to see or do, where to eat etc would be most welcome. I lived in Wakefield until I was 11, but have spend almost no time there as an adult.

Thanks much
Howard

Just to be completely anal, it is Boston Common (not Boston Commons). Just want you to avoid being immediately pegged as being from "away."

Have a great vacation. Boston is a very walkable and relatively low key city to explore.

[bundabergdevil]

My wife and I are going to be spending a few nights in Boston in September. We are staying at the Godfrey Hotel right near Boston Commons. Any suggestions about what to see or do, where to eat etc would be most welcome. I lived in Wakefield until I was 11, but have spend almost no time there as an adult.

Thanks much
Howard

Have you considered not going at all?

[cato]

I’m sure you with be inundated with recommendations, but having lived in the area for a few years and visited a few times since, you really can’t miss with spending some time wandering the Freedom Trail.

To pfrduke’s point, my wife and I also enjoyed a lovely dinner at No 9 Park, but that was quite a few years ago.

I hope you have glorious weather.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I was just there this weekend (Thursday night through Sunday afternoon). For context, it was my family of four - me, wife, and 12 and 8 year old boys. We stayed in the Seaport district near the convention center.

We did not go to any particularly noteworthy restaurants so I will stay silent on that. We had one lunch at Flour Cafe which is a nice local chain for a casual lunch, but not worth a special trip.

We did the following tours/activities - note that we had a city pass so that influenced some of our decisions:

- Fenway Park Tour - really great. We are Yankees fans but loved the tour. If you like baseball at all, check it out.
- We did an informal tour of Harvard - not the regular university sponsored one but a different one that meets in Harvard Square but also given by a current student. We did not particularly like it. The student was nice enough but the "script" only focused somewhat on what one would expect of a tour of Harvard. We all lost interest and quit the tour before the end.
- City View trolley tour. Good way to get a sense of the city. A lot of it also depends on the driver. Ours was supposed to be their best but we found him incredibly annoying, even though he was also knowledgeable. But it helped to give us some context for our activities the next day.
- Swan boats in Boston Common. Fun, quick activity since you are staying nearby.
- Tried to go to Cheers but it was right when they were opening and there was a huge line so we took a picture outside and moved on.
- Freedom Trail - we were going to do a tour but decided to just do most of it ourselves - you can download good tour guides on your phone. Highly recommended - great sense of the history of Boston. You can choose what stops to emphasize. We started at the beginning of the trail and went all the way through the north end but didn't cross the river.
- Tea party museum - really well done. I'm usually not a fan of museums where people dress up and portray characters but here it really worked. Particularly good for kids but also enjoyable for adults.

[budwom]

My wife and I very much like Davio's which has two locations in Boston: one near the seaport, one in the Back Bay. They have other U.S. locations, but they're not like a chain restaurant...very nice upscale dining in a relaxed setting, i.e. you can wear shorts or blue jeans. Great food and service.

The aquarium is also a nice place to visit...very good walking town, you can see a lot of the historic sites on foot...

[howardlander]

- Freedom Trail - we were going to do a tour but decided to just do most of it ourselves - you can download good tour guides on your phone. Highly recommended - great sense of the history of Boston. You can choose what stops to emphasize. We started at the beginning of the trail and went all the way through the north end but didn't cross the river.

I looked up the Freedom Trail and it turns out that one of the stops is Boston Latin High School, which is where my Dad went! So I am really looking forward to it. Could you be more specific about which tour guide you downloaded?

Thanks
Howard

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I looked up the Freedom Trail and it turns out that one of the stops is Boston Latin High School, which is where my Dad went! So I am really looking forward to it. Could you be more specific about which tour guide you downloaded?

Thanks
Howard

That would be very cool! I'm not sure what we used - my older son found something on his phone. It largely just told us where to go and gave brief summaries of what we were seeing. There are bricks in the road for the Freedom Trail that tell you where to go as well, but the info on the phone confirmed that and gave us basic information to start with.

At most of the major stops there is plenty of information available. We passed a number of more formal tours that seemed like they had good guides, but for us it was easier to just do it at our own pace.

[cato]

What’s great about the Freedom Trail is that you don’t need a guide. You can wander wherever you want, going on and off the trail, and you will inevitably pick it back up while wandering.

If the weather is nice and you have time, I recommend taking the ferry across to Charlestown.

[gep]

What’s great about the Freedom Trail is that you don’t need a guide. You can wander wherever you want, going on and off the trail, and you will inevitably pick it back up while wandering.

If the weather is nice and you have time, I recommend taking the ferry across to Charlestown.

If I recall from the couple of times I've been on the Freedom Trail, there is a brochure/guidemap at the beginning of the trail at one corner of Boston Common. Had all of the info you'll probably need. And going on it alone without a formal guide as cato mentions, you get to stop as long as you like, go wherever you like, and the brochure will easily get you back on track.

Also, I think it's Sam Adams, that has a "Red Brick" (?) beer that is only served in bars on the Freedom Trail... marked, of course, with a red brick line on the walkway

[duke2x]

I was disappointed by the Freedom Trail. Almost every stop has a separate $5-10 entry charge with no way to combine them, and the Old North Church was closed. The Union Oyster House is apparently famous, but I have never eaten there. Lobster rolls were $25 in January 2020. I passed on that. I can't imagine what they are now.

You can side trip to Plymouth and Salem without a car, but I've never done it. It's not compatible with a half day of free time in town.

If you ride the trolley, hum the Mr. Rogers trolley music.

[Bostondevil]

For museums in Boston, I don't think you can beat the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum for a unique experience.

Sports: The Red Sox have several home stands in September. Check the schedule - given how the Sox are doing this year, you might be able to get tickets, unless it's the Yankees. As a tourist wanting a Fenway experience, I wouldn't recommend a Sox - Yankees game anyway. Go some other time. For a cheap ticket that's fun for the whole family, try Harvard football as long as you don't care too much about the quality of the football being played. Lots of Cambridge townies go to Harvard football games, the snooty Harvard types only go to "The Game" (Harvard - Yale).

Theatre: If you want to see home grown theater with Boston area talent, stick to what's on offer at the BCA (Boston Center for the Arts), the Lyric Stage, Apollinaire/Chelsea Theatre Works, or Charleston Working Theater.

Most of my favorite restaurants are pandemic casualties and I haven't built up a new list so I'll let others recommend where to eat. I'm usually looking for somewhere cheap to eat with theater types after a show anyway.

If you aren't sticking to just Boston, one of my favorite food related treats is going up to the North Shore for fried clams. I'm sure they don't actually taste better on the North Shore, but it always seems to me like they do. The Clambox in Ipswich is famous - it's great but there is always a line so almost every time I decide to go there, I end up down the street (about a mile) at the Ipswich Clambake. Same great clams but the location is not shaped like a claim box. The Clambox gets the huge nod on aesthetics, but not food. So, do what I do, drive by the Clambox to get a good look at the fun, funky building, then beat the crowds by eating down the street. Other famous fried clam/seafood locations on the North Shore are Woodman's and Farnham's in Essex. I don't get it with Woodman's. Their clams are fine but their onion rings are substandard. I very much prefer Farnham's. If you do Essex instead of Ipswich, Farnham's is worth the wait. Or, go on a weekday, midday, often there is no wait.

Take the Red Line and sit on the East side of the train between Charles Street and Kendall Square for one of the best views of the Boston skyline as you go over the Longfellow Bridge. I have not checked post-pandemic, but both the Pru and the Hancock building used to have observation decks on the top floor if you'd like a panoramic view of the Boston area.

For a "when in Rome" type experience, get your morning coffee at a Dunkins. If you are inside of 128, you are within walking distance of a Dunkins, always.

History sites - I like the Granary Burial ground and the Constitution Museum. Also - check to see if the Boston Public Library is having any special exhibits. Their permanent collection is small but worth it for the bibliophile and they tend to do a very nice job with special exhibits.

If you are there on September 19th, check out the Greater Boston Arts Expo on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. It's an arts fair with performances by local arts groups - all free.

[Luke102452]

Got to go to game at Fenway, assuming they are in town when you are there.

Check out Little Italy and visit Paul Revere house.

Drive further north and check out the coastline of Maine and New Hampshire. Some neat lighthouses. Google “Lobster Shack”. It is a neat place to eat with a view of the lighthouse.

Take a whale watch tour leaving from the harbor.

Take a tour of the Samuel Adams brewery.

[Luke102452]

The Lobster Shack is in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It is about an hour 45 minute drive from Boston.

[SlimSlowSlider]

If you are in the Fenway area, you might want to stop by the Trilium beer garden. https://trilliumbrewing.com/pages/fenway

It is right next to Time Out Market, which has a bunch of different restaurants. https://www.timeoutmarket.com/boston/


And picking up on BostonDevil's suggestion about Longfellow Bridge, I would recommend a loop along the Charles River, over both the Longfellow Bridge and the Harvard Bridge (where you will see the Smoot markings - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot). You will have great views on the Cambridge side (by MIT) but also will go by the Esplanade on the Boston side.

I also totally agree about the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. It is lovely. https://www.gardnermuseum.org/

[Bostondevil]

If you are in the Fenway area, you might want to stop by the Trilium beer garden. https://trilliumbrewing.com/pages/fenway

It is right next to Time Out Market, which has a bunch of different restaurants. https://www.timeoutmarket.com/boston/


And picking up on BostonDevil's suggestion about Longfellow Bridge, I would recommend a loop along the Charles River, over both the Longfellow Bridge and the Harvard Bridge (where you will see the Smoot markings - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot). You will have great views on the Cambridge side (by MIT) but also will go by the Esplanade on the Boston side.

I also totally agree about the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. It is lovely. https://www.gardnermuseum.org/

Ok, I clicked on that wikipedia page and I am stunned. The Mass Ave Bridge is actually named the Harvard Bridge? Wow. Nobody in Boston calls it that, ever. If you say the Harvard Bridge locally, people think you mean the footbridge which spans the Charles up by Harvard's campus, taking you from the main campus over to the B-school. I just found out that the footbridge is actually named the Weeks Bridge. Who knew? Then there is the Harvard Street bridge, which also has a name that nobody uses, the Anderson Memorial Bridge (OK, to be fair, I have heard that name before, so it gets used sometimes.)

In summation, if you call the actual Harvard Bridge by its given name, you will confuse the locals. Please refer to it as the Mass Ave Bridge (or the MIT Bridge if you prefer). If you ask for directions to the Harvard Bridge, you will most likely get sent to the Weeks Footbridge but there's a chance you will get sent to the Anderson Memorial Bridge which goes from North Harvard Street in Allston (right by Harvard Stadium) to JFK Street in Cambridge which takes you into the heart of Harvard Square.

Note: In between the Harvard footbridge and the MIT Bridge is the BU Bridge.

[wavedukefan70s]

I apologize in advance.
This stuck in my head.

https://youtu.be/YaV6qndlsQA

[House P]

I looked up the Freedom Trail and it turns out that one of the stops is Boston Latin High School, which is where my Dad went! So I am really looking forward to it. Could you be more specific about which tour guide you downloaded?

A word of warning. It appears the that Boston Latin School stop on the Freedom Trail is the site of the original building which has long-since been demolished. So, unless you Dad graduated prior to the mid-1800s, you'll have to go elsewhere. The good news is that the current location of Boston Latin is not far from the aforementioned Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. So you could make a quick detour to Boston Latin if you end up visiting the Gardner museum. Boston Latin is also next to the Longwood Medical Area, which includes several of the area's top hospitals, but I hope your travels don't take you there.

If you are even a casual sports fan and have never been to Fenway, I definitely recommend the Fenway Park tour. As BostonDevil mentioned, a Harvard football game can be a pleasant way to spend an afternoon if the weather is good. Tickets are relatively cheap, so you don't have to feel like you need to stay the entire game if you have other plans.

If you like live music, I could recommend a couple small clubs on the Cambridge/Somerville side of the river. In my opinion, the free concerts put on by students from the Berklee College of Music are one of the biggest benefits of living in Boston. Berklee is one of the top music schools in the US and it is amazing how talented these kids are. Here is a list of upcoming live performances from Berklee Students.

If you plan to spend any time in Cambridge, there are about a zillion good restaurants. My wife and I are still mostly eating at restaurants with outside dining, so we could recommend several such options in Cambridge/Somerville.

A couple folks mentioned lobster rolls. My wife is from Maine and she always recommends Alive and Kicking Lobsters in Cambridge to folks who don't want to drive hours to go to a real lobster shack. Alive and Kicking is pretty no frills. It's in a non-descript residential neighborhood and the "dining area" consists of picnic tables in the driveway, but the lobster sandwiches - they don't sell lobster rolls - are as good as what you would get in fancier, more expensive places. The sign below gives you a sense of the type of place it is.

Alive and Kicking.jpg

[Section 15]

If you like live music, I could recommend a couple small clubs on the Cambridge/Somerville side of the river. In my opinion, the free concerts put on by students from the Berklee College of Music are one of the biggest benefits of living in Boston. Berklee is one of the top music schools in the US and it is amazing how talented these kids are. Here is a list of upcoming live performances from Berklee Students.

Good point about the music scene. One recommendation, if you can get in, is Club Passim near Harvard Square for folk music:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Passim

The history alone makes it worth stepping through the doors. I mean Joan Baez and Bob Dylan...

Also, there is Scullers if you are into jazz: https://scullersjazz.com/

Point being there are almost an infinite variety of live music venues in the area.