AJA55

This will be our first visit to Boston. After doing a bit of hunting, I have come up with a list of things to do. A Monday through Sunday visit. How?s this look?


First full day - Find bakery, deli, liquor store and grocery store. Any suggestions? I know this sounds strange but we love visiting grocery stores when we travel. We will be located in the Copley/Back Bay area
Eat lunch out at local restaurant. Suggestions? Walk around neighborhood.

2 - Cambridge and lunch at Barkely?s

3 - Trolley Tour and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

4 - Bus tour of Plymouth Plantation

5 - Walk The Freedom Trail

6 - Tour Public Gardens, graveyard, lunch and shop on Charles Street

Last day, plane leaves at 1:30. Have a nice brunch somewhere. ???????

stormygirl

Definatley head to the North End to find the best bakeries and delis. Fantastic Italian places.

The Freedom Trail is rather long, not sure if you will want to walk the whole thing in a day. But parts will be covered on the Trolley Tour, Public Gardens and if you explore the North End.

We love Boston, have fun!

gail

sounds like a decent framework. You could skip Plimouth Plantation if you wanted to see more in Boston.

On Friday and Saturday check out Haymarket - an open-air market (fruits, veggies, fish, meat, etc.) near the North End (Italian area of Boston). It is authentic and locals really shop there. Combine visit there with meal in North End - I would just wander through streets and check out menus posted outside restaurant and pick what looks good to you. This is also on/near Freedom Trail if that helps with logistics and goegraphy. Could stop into Faneuil Hall for a view of history and, if take a stroll through shops of Quincy Market, especially if you need to buy some gifts to take back home.

travelisfun

I think your plan sounds good. I would consider doing the Freedom Trail earlier in your trip (maybe day 2 or 3). You'll get a good idea of the history of the city and see a lot of sights early in the trip. That way, if you see something that you want to come back to, you'll be able to do it later in the trip. Also, if you are interested in seeing the USS Constitution, I would plan some time for this separate from the Freedom Trail. It's at the end of the trail and by time you get there you might not have much time. I really liked the tour there.

Anonymous

You might want to rent a car and go to Plymouth by yourself, rather than taking a tour. Plimoth Plantation is a living-history museum with an extraordinarily strict aversion to anachronisms -- your bus won't take you past the parking lot, so you've got a tour TO Plimoth Plantation, not OF it.

With a car, you'll be able to set your own pace, visit the Mayflower II (if it's in town), the Pilgrim artifacts museum in downtown Plymouth, etc.

Yes, everything you've heard about driving IN Boston is true, but this excursion would mean driving OUT of Boston, against the dominant traffic flow, so it would be almost entirely composed of ordinary highway driving.


Finally, I suggest that you get out a map of Back Bay/Downtown and locate your hotel, the Public Garden, the Freedom Trail, and the Trolley Tour to make sure you've organized these effectively.

cmcfong

Have a pizza at Reginas!

LJS0070

Definately go to Quincy Market, stop in at Durgin Park for lunch. (some of the best food in Boston & the experience is unforgetable). Don't miss walking around the North End, great bakeries, deli's and Italian restaurants. Pagliuca's, my favorite !!
Ride the T, if you like shopping, go to Downtown Crossing. For a great view of the city, try the top of the Prudential Bldg. Would highly recommend the trolley tour and the duck tour.
Enjoy !!!

bennie

A few months ago, someone posted here about a tour they took of the North End. The guide took them to groceries, wine stores, cheese stores etc. It sounded great. www.cucinare.com

AJA55

Stormygirl & LJS0070 - thanks to ya both for the "North End" hint. We will make sure that we hit there. And Stormy thanks for the heads up on the Freedom trail. The travel video made it sound that it was not big deal to do all in one day.

Gail - In all my research I haven't heard about Haymarket! !

Travelesfun - Thanks for the suggestion on the Freedom Trail.

Anonymous - I have been batting around the bus tour and renting a car. I'm still on the fence about this. It may cost more that the tour and I just hate not having an idea where I'm driving! ! LOL We do have a map and know approximately where we will be located but not exactly. The B & B that we have reserved has more than one property in the Back Bay area. But they do have a map on their site showing where they are all located.

cmcfong - Where is Reginas located?

LJS0070 - Durgin Park is on a short list we have of "hope to eat there" places. I think this is the place we saw on a vidio that they had Boston baked beans. One of the three things that we hope to try when we're visiting. The other two being chowda and Boston cream pie. Believe it or not I have never tasted Boston cream pie!

Bennie - Thanks ! ! Next stop cucinare.com

Jackie

I would recommend the museum of fine arts over the Isabella Stuart Gardner. It offers alot more. It is just around the corner from ISG--maybe do both if you have the time.

If you've never been to a Trader Joes grocery store, there is one across the street from the Pru on Boylston. Its the most interesting grocery store I've been in.

You said you were going to Cambridge. Be sure to include Harvard Yard in your travels.

On the day you go to Charles St, I'd also suggest walking up and down some of the streets by the State House. Can't remember the names at the moment, but its something like pickney street and the Louisburg Square (?) area.

Have fun.

cigalechanta

The Garner Museum is a gem and won't take up too much time. (there's a small cafe) You can go to MFA, only a few blocks away but it's huge but has a good restaurant(be aware of hours that they are open)Do you mean Berwicks in Harvard Square?( Brattle St.) They sell those yummy chocolate mice with silk tails in a wooden box that you can buy to bring home a gift. I love Troquet on Boylston St, across from the Common. Stephanies on Newbury St is good. There's not a good bakery in downtown.
We like Iggy's located in Watertown but sold at Bread and Circus(whole foods markets)
I hope you enjoy our city!

AJA55

Jackie - Because of your comment I went on line and looked at both the ISG and Fine Arts Museums. And it does look like the Fine Arts swings more to what we are interested. We'll hit both if we have time and the weather is ugly. We have Trader Joes here in the northwest also! ! Small world. And thanks for the hints on Harvard Yard and other streets off of Charles.

Cigalechant - Thanks for your input on the museums. The chocolate mice sound like the perfect gift to bring back. Lol.......... So me. Barkley's is a restaurant that has around 40 different hamburgers on their menu. When we travel we look for the best Hamburger joint. Got the name off of City Search. Hay! I never looked up bakeries on there! Thanks I'll do that now. Looking forward to my visit and I'm sure we will love your city.

PS....... hope the weather improves ! ! !

rebelyeller

Your ittinerary sounds fine.

You could skip the Plimoth Plantation tour and not miss much. I think your time will be better spent in Boston as Plymouth is about a 45 minute ride.

Also a trolley tour is a fun way to see the hilights of Boston, but I would suggest the Duck Tours as a fun alternative. Operated by a local, you will tour the city on an old WWII amphibious vehicle. A lot of fun. I think they have a web site.

Also, a good seafood restaurant is Legal Seafoods. A bit pricey but always good and there is one in the Back Bay. And I agree with the North End. You can go into almost any of the restaurants here and not be disappointed. I agree with previous poster that Pagliucas is one of the best. Locals eat there.

Hope this helps and have fun!

sharona

A couple of things: The burger joint you referred to is Mr. Bartley's (not Barkley's) Burger Cottage and it's on Massachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave) in Harvard Square in Cambridge. You don't say what time of the year you are visiting but if you are here while Harvard is in session just be aware that the line at this restaurant can be out the door. It's definitely a Harvard Square institution.

The second thing is that I would be sure to do the trolley tour early in your visit. Many people on this board recommend a duck tour rather than the trolley tour but I've done both of them several times entertaining out of town visitors and I think you get a much better feel for the city on the trolley tours. The trolley tour allows you to hop on and off all day at several different stops while the duck tour lasts a little more than an hour and a large part of that (too much actually) is taken up cruising on the Charles River. I also recommend taking the Old Town Trolley line, which has the distinctive green and orange trolley cars. They seem to have the largest number of trolleys, which translates into shorter waiting times if you decide to get out and explore. Someone mentioned the USS Constitution earlier in this post. It's definitely worthwhile (and free! -- at least it used to be) and the trolley tour includes the Constitution on its itinerary. You can get a 10% discount for online ticket purchase at www.historictours.com/boston.