Boston Logan to Fenway/MFA area

Old Oct 20th, 2015, 09:41 AM
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Boston Logan to Fenway/MFA area

Hi. What a good way to get from the airport to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts? The T? Uber?

Riding the T, is the closure at Government Station going to affect me - both getting to/from the airport and getting around Boston?
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Old Oct 20th, 2015, 10:24 AM
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State station, the station next to Government Center, is a logical get-off point if you can't get off at Gov. Ctr. so if you're getting off in the Financial District/Faneuil Hall area, not much difference as they're not even a block apart.

But if you're transferring onward out toward Fenway, you can also transfer to the Orange Line at State, which will take you out in the same direction as the Green Line, just a few streets apart. I've taken the Orange out to the MFA, getting off at the Ruggles stop, it's about a 7-10 minute walk from there, in a sort of rough neighborhood but in daylight is totally fine. It's not as ideal as getting off in front of the MFA like the Green Line does but it gets the job done.

Other alternative would be to transfer at State to Orange line, take one stop back to Haymarket and get the Green there. Or get off at State and walk up to Park Street and get the Green there. (There's a secret squirrel Orange line connection at Park Street, but I can never reliably explain to people how to get there)

In any case, if you do use the Green line, you can only take the E branch train. You can take any Orange line train.

I'm not an Uber user and would rather just take the T, but I know it and the area well. Depends on how comfortable you are.
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Old Oct 20th, 2015, 10:50 AM
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If by "good way" you mean minimal hassle, then either Uber or a cab would work. I took Uber once when the line for the cabs was absurd and it wasn't as inconvenient as I'd feared, but I'd still normally take a cab because it is easier to just go to the taxi line rather than finding your Uber driver. And I say that as someone that hates Boston cabs and uses Uber and Lyft almost exclusively except from the airport.

If by "good way" you mean the cheapest possible way, then you could take the T. But... it will be a major PITA and the closure of Government Center only makes it worse. To take the T, you have three lousy options:

Option 1
- Take the Silver Line from your terminal to South Station
- Take the Red Line from South Station to Park Street
- Take the Green Line (make sure to get the right train number) to the closest stop to your destination
- Walk from your ending station to wherever you are going

Option 2
- Take the bus from your terminal to the T station
- Take the Blue Line to State Street
- Take the Orange Line from State Street to Haymarket
- Take the Green Line (make sure to get the right train number) to the closest stop to your destination
- Walk from your ending station to wherever you are going

Option 3
- Take the bus from your terminal to the T station
- Take the Blue Line to State Street
- Walk from State Street to Park Street
- Take the Green Line (make sure to get the right train number) to the closest stop to your destination
- Walk from your ending station to wherever you are going

If by "Fenway/MFA" you actually mean Roxbury or the MFA itself instead of nearby, then you could skip switching to the Green Line and take the Orange Line to Ruggles and walk. Still way more hassle than a cab, especially with a minimum of 3 buses/trains, but not quite as terrible as if you really need to go somewhere along the Green Line.
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Old Oct 20th, 2015, 11:41 AM
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Take the free Back Bay Shuttle from Logan to Copley Square.

WALK ABOUT TWO BLOCKS MAX. Take the Green Line H train from the Prudential stop (on Huntington Avenue) to the MFA. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a block and a half away from the MFA.

If you want to go to "The Fenway", a part of town, you can cross "The Fens" (an open green space). Make your way through a district of frequently seedy 1900 apartment buildings toward the "New Fenway", a really glitzy new development of housing and shopping in the Boylston Street-Brookline Avenue neighborhood. Fenway Park is at the opposite end of Brookline Avenue to your right. You can get on the other parts of the Green Line in Kenmore Square and go anywhere.
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Old Oct 20th, 2015, 12:09 PM
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The Back Bay Logan Express is not free. It is $5.
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Old Oct 20th, 2015, 12:25 PM
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Thanks all. I think I might take a cab or Uber bc I have an early flight and might not be thinking too clearly upon arrival.

How much approx. will that cost?

And since you all know the T system so well - how about getting from MFA to the Fogg? Uber as well?
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Old Oct 20th, 2015, 12:28 PM
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If your destination is the Museum of Fine Arts, use travelgourmet's option 1, above.

Take the free Silver Line bus to South Station. It stops at every terminal. You'll transfer to the Red Line inbound and get off at Park St., then get on the E Green Line train to the MFA stop on Huntington Ave. (I think Ackislander meant E and not H.) This ride is completely free since your transfers are within the station.

A taxi or uber would obviously be easier but wouldn't be free.

If you buy a T pass at the airport then the Logan Express bus is free. But we could give better advice if we knew how and where you're going while you're here.
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Old Oct 20th, 2015, 01:08 PM
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How much approx. will that cost?

Spitballing a bit here, as I never go that far from the airport, but probably something like $25-$30.

And since you all know the T system so well - how about getting from MFA to the Fogg? Uber as well?

That is a tough route on the T. You have to take either the Green or the Orange into Park Street and then head out on the Red line. It is a pretty circuitous route. There is a bus, the #1 that goes along Mass Ave, but that might take as long as the T when you factor in getting to Mass Ave.

Uber will be easier, though obviously a bit more expensive.
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 03:05 AM
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travelgourmet on Oct 20, 15 at 4:09pm
The Back Bay Logan Express is not free. It is $5.

Thanks for the correction. Still cheap at the price and very easy.
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 05:15 AM
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Still cheap at the price and very easy.

Cheap? Yes. Not sure I would consider it terribly easy if you aren't staying near one of the stops.
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 09:08 AM
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It's an easy way to get to the MFA and Fenway.

39 Bus from Copley to MFA. Green Line (E Heath St car) from Copley or Prudential to MFA.

Green Line B, C, D to Fenway.

OP didn't say anything about where s/he is staying. Maybe it's a day trip. My sister does it a lot from BOS to New York for museum shows.
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 09:25 AM
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Logan to MFA:
"Take the free Silver Line bus to South Station. ...
transfer to the Red Line inbound and get off at Park St., then get on the E Green Line train to the MFA stop on Huntington Ave"
This is the way I would choose to go by T. Mostly I end up circling the block prowling for on-street parking or just dump the car in the museum garage, which speaks to how much fun the T ride is.

From the MFA to Harvard Square for the Fogg, the T trip planner estimates 34 minutes. Green line to Park St and change to Red line. Really?
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 10:08 AM
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MBTA.com will give you routing address to address and is a good site for research
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 10:14 AM
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Hi all. I'm doing an overnight - staying at the Verb Hotel. Plan to fly in, and go straight to MFA, then drop off my backpack at hotel before heading over to the Fogg.

(I'm not sure I'm following what you all seem to be disagreeing about??)
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 03:45 PM
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I'm not sure I'm following what you all seem to be disagreeing about?

The disagreement is about the value of convenience vs money. Barring absolute and total gridlock on the roads, the most convenient way to get to the MFA is to take a taxi, followed by Uber/Lyft. The question is whether the other options are convenient enough to be worth taking, knowing that you would save maybe $20-$25 by doing so.
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Old Oct 21st, 2015, 04:00 PM
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So you're going from the Verb to the Fogg. You can take uber or a cab; walk to Kenmore and take the Green Line inbound to Park St. and transfer to the Red Line to Harvard Sq.; or walk about 10-15 minutes to Massachusetts Ave. and take the #1 bus to Harvard Square.

No one is disagreeing really--just offering all the options. Taking a taxi or uber will cost more, but will maximize your time. With limited time, that would be worth it to me.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2015, 02:41 AM
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Let me add another possibility: if the weather's decent, it's a nice bike ride from the Kenmore area to Harvard Sq via the bike paths along the Charles River. Boston/Cambridge have a bike sharing system called Hubway that's perfect for picking up a bike in one part of town and dropping it off in another.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2015, 03:45 PM
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I do appreciate all your input, was just confused by some of the posts.

I will have limited time (and limited sleep b/c of an early flight) so I am thinking that I will probably get a cab/Uber.

For NYC, I have a HopStop app which gets me around the subway system from point to point. I see Boston's system is part of that app, too.
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 10:12 AM
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Hi all. I was going to suggest a mini-GTG for my time in Boston, but it's probably better I didn't - I got up so early that by the time dinner-time arrived, I was exhausted. I had 1.5 great days in Boston - I visited the Museum of Fine Arts, teh Fogg, walked around Harvard and went to the Isabella Stewart Gardener. Boston is a wonderful city.

My travel experience: it was $12 cheaper to take Uber to/from the airport than a cab.

When I ordered my first Uber, I mistakenly selected their new service, uber Pool, where they pair you with other travelers traveling in the same vicinity. I cancelled that, and my regular Uber ride was only $3 more - and much faster.

From the Verb to the Isabella Stewart Gardener, I walked through a lovely park area. NOt sure what's it's called, but it was a nice walk.
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