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Please help with four days in Boston-Cambridge-Salem

Please help with four days in Boston-Cambridge-Salem

Old Mar 29th, 2015, 07:05 AM
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Please help with four days in Boston-Cambridge-Salem

For various reasons, having to do with the availability of biz class award tickets, and the fact that I've been in Washington and New York fairly often recently, I decided to fly to Europe this summer via Boston. And since I've only been to Boston once before, in the dim and distant past, with just enough time to walk the Freedom Trail and visit Faneuil Hall, I'm giving myself four days there. I should arrive at Logan just before 7:00 pm on Friday July 10, and leave at 10:30 pm Tuesday July 14.

Over on the Europe board latedaytraveler kindly offered to help with the Boston leg of this trip (for Europe see http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-itinerary.cfm ) and I thought it would be better to move the Boston discussion over here. I also wondered if anyone in the area would be interested in a mini-GTG?

This is what I wrote about my interests on my European planning thread:
"For those who haven't "met" me before, I'm an older female traveler who likes scenery (preferably mountains and waterfalls), architecture (preferably Art Nouveau and pre-baroque) and prefers "decorative" arts to "fine" arts. No beaches, no nightlife, no driving"
To which I would add an interest in Asian art and religions.

After hitting the guidebooks I am thinking of spending the Saturday in Salem visiting the Peabody Essex Museum and checking out the sea and the town. (Saturday because the museum is closed on Monday and transport is usually worst on Sunday).

I am thinking of spending Tuesday (at least the afternoon) at the Museum of Fine Arts. That way I can take advantage of the AC (or shelter from the rain), after checking out of my hotel. (Anyone know if BA has a lounge at Logan, and if so, does it have showers?)

That leaves two days for wandering around Beacon Hill, Boston Common and Back Bay, visiting at least two house museums (any votes for which two?), the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the State House, the Arboretum and the Mt. Auburn cemetery. And possibly Harvard Yard and the Harvard museums. Maybe four days isn't enough.

Bearing in mind that I've already walked the Freedom Trail, anything not on that list I should absolutely make time for? Anything I could skip?

I could also use help with where to eat, bearing in mind I am still in shock at the hotel prices. Even a double room at the Youth Hostel is $200/night! I started with a reservation for a single-shared-bath at a Cambridge B&B, but after I got a good deal for London I upgraded myself to an en-suite room at the Kendall (pre-paid rate) - still Cambridge but closer to the T. But eight nights in London, en-suite with kitchenette on Drury Lane (LSE student dorm) will cost less than four nights in Boston. So maybe one meal with entrees in the $25 range, but surely there are places in Cambridge with edible food in the $10 to $15 entree range? I suppose I can always eat at the Whole Foods...

Is there a multi-day pass for public transport?

Thanks for any input.
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 09:43 AM
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Given your interests, the Peabody Essex is a no-brainer. The chinese house is fantastic, and you should definitely visit it. Since it is full summer, you should go to Salem by ferry. No traffic issues! Here is the schedule:
http://www.bostonharborcruises.com/s...chedule-rates/

The museum is a short walk from the ferry pier. I also like the tour at the Seven Gables house, lots of biographical stuff on Nathanial Hawthorne.

If you have the time, consider a docent tour of the Boston Public Library. The building is gorgeous, and the John Singer Sargent murals are definitely worth the time.

Also, while its not your preferred architectural style...the Gehry building at MIT, the Stata Center, is about a block from your hotel. Definitely walk past it and have a look. There are a ton of interesting buildings at MIT.

In the vicinity of your hotel are 2 adjacent restaurants. EVOO, which is at the high end of your range, and does the farm-to-table thing, is very good. On the less expensive side is Za, a pizza place that I think is also quite good. There is also a Legal seafoods right there. That's on the pricy side too, although if you just want to go have chowder and a glass of wine, it makes a nice lunch or light dinner.

The best inexpensive meals are probably ethnic..you can definitely find Chinese, Vietnamese and other types in the area. And you are right on the edge of MIT...there are surely other cheap options. I just don't know the neighborhood well enough to make recommendations. Take a look at chowhound's "Greater Boston" board, you will get good food advice there.
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 10:00 AM
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There is a 7 day Link pass for $19 that seems to be a pretty good deal(unlimited subway & bus in Boston). I think you can buy it from any ticket machine. The other alternative is the Charlie Card (a hard card that you would add cash to and could use on subsequent visits). You can't get a Charlie Card from a machine but you could order one in advance from the MBTA website. Subway rides on a Charlie Card are $2.10 each, so you might want to do some guesstimating on which will be a better value for you. The commuter rail ticket to Salem would be a separate fare from either kind of T fare.

If you like decorative arts you are in luck--Isabella Stewart Gardner, PEM and MFA are all treasure troves from a variety of eras. Harvard Museums are very fine, but not so much for decorative arts.

I like the Harrison Gray Otis House on Cambridge Street in Boston (you asked about house visits). It's a very grand and colorful house in a kind of odd location (very near standard Beacon Hill stuff).

I don't eat out much but Central Square in Cambridge has many wonderful ethnic restaurants, inexpensive, of which some of my faves are Mary Chung (Szechuan and Chinese) and Moody's Falafel Palace. These are local and not fancy. In Harvard Square I like Le's, a pan-Asian place and Cambridge 1 for pizza. North End can be pricy but I can recommend Antico Forno on Salem St. for reasonable and many Italian choices.

Boston is a very popular tourist destination in the summer. I wish you could stay more cheaply!
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 10:06 AM
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china_cat,

I've never heard anyone recommend a docent tour at BPLibrary. I am intrigued to look into it.
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 10:12 AM
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I didn't find the ferry pier to be all that short a walk to the PEM, but I did that route once on a hot day, perhaps that affected my attitude. I did love the ferry ride, but I don't think I'd make it a regular thing. The train station is a very close walk to the PEM and that's how I usually go. Google maps is your friend. Only you can judge what will work best for you.
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 10:15 AM
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Oops. More! The PEM, in addition to the Chinese house which is IN the museum, has a number of historic houses that you can tour very nearby. They span a number of eras and are definitely worth the extra time/tickets. Best to look at the PEM website for much more detail.

And Boston MFA has one of the best Asian art collections in the US. Really very fine.
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 10:41 AM
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Anyone know if BA has a lounge at Logan, and if so, does it have showers?

Yes on the lounge (assuming you are in J/F or have elite status - I don't believe they offer any paid entry), but no on the showers. It is a pretty basic space and they have cut back on booze quality lately. I don't believe there are any showers anywhere in terminal E, unfortunately.

the Kendall (pre-paid rate) - still Cambridge but closer to the T

The Kendall is actually in an excellent location. Next to the T and a short ride either way to Harvard or Boston.

surely there are places in Cambridge with edible food in the $10 to $15 entree range

Depends what you are looking for. If you want table service, $15 may be a bit tight. But many ethnic restaurants will come in for that or less. Chinatown would have a lot of options. Staying in Cambridge, Central Square will be cheaper than Kendall, but Shabu and Mein may come in under $15.
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 10:45 AM
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Wow, thanks for all the info!

Had no idea there was a ferry to Salem! Maybe take the ferry to Salem in the morning, when it will be cooler to do some walking, and the train going back. A docent tour of the Library sounds just my kind of thing, too.

Suspect the MFA might take all day - maybe the New American Cafe for lunch? I expect Bravo will be too expensive. Will move Harvard museums down the list and Harrison Gray Otis House up.

Thanks for the restaurant recs. Ethnic is great, especially Szechuan for Chinese, although pizza is likely out as I have an allergy to American dairy products. I was thinking Legal Seafood might be my Boston splurge but EVOO might be better. Anyone have a favorite place for lobster rolls?

Love unlimited ride passes - that way I can just take a bus or metro a couple of stops if my feet are complaining (which they often are), not to mention not worry about getting on the wrong bus! So the link pass sounds like a good deal.
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Old Mar 29th, 2015, 05:51 PM
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Google maps says the walk from teh ferry to the PEM is .6 miles or 12 minutes. I imagine that does feel pretty long on a hot day, or after finishing at the museum. Its a pretty walk along Derby street with the docks on one side, and some of the historic homes on the other. And it does take you right past the Seven Gables house of that interests you.

The docent tour at the library takes about an hour. I think I learned about it here from one of yk's trip reports. I recommend digging up her reports of various day trips around Boston because they are always full of interesting ideas.

My favorite place for lobster rolls is on Cape Cod. But I've heard really good things about the ones at Belle Isle Seafood. The one at Legal's is really quite good.

And I second the recommendation for Mary Chungs. I hadn't thought to mention it, but its a great idea.
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 02:00 AM
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Seconding your research and the good advice you have received.

I would reverse your course to Salem and take the train out and the ferry back. The view of Boston as you approach is worth the entire cost of the trip especially if you take a later boat and arrive as the lights of the city go on. The restaurant at the Peabody-Essex is excellent. Could you have an early dinner and a later boat?

I lived in Boston for 30 years before I took the BPL tour. It is Worth It. Across Copley Square is Trinity Church by HH Richardson, also Worth It.

I am not quite sure where you are staying in Kendall Square, but if you are not afraid of garlic, there is a wonderful Portuguese restaurant called Atasca within walking distance. The food is better than any I had in Portugal. Mary Chung's is also a temple to garlic, and I have been known to order simply by pointing to what other people are eating.

The streets west of Harvard Square, centered around the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House, are a catalogue of really interesting domestic architecture from the late 19th and early 20th century, back when only those with private incomes became Harvard professors. On the other side of Harvard Square on Mass Ave (Bostonians abbreviate everything) is a Greekish seafood restaurant called Dolphin. It has been there since about the Year One. It is on the mezzanine level of an apartment building and is where a lot of today's Harvard faculty eat lunch because it has a very good price/value ratio.

The area around the MFA and the Gardner is a sort of culinary desert where it is not easy to pop out for something good to eat. The Museums need food trucks.

Boston does not have anything like New York's coffee shops or delis, except in Brookline, but local, non-franchise sub shops are in my experience almost universally good value despite their slightly dodgy outside appearance.
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 02:35 AM
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But I've heard really good things about the ones at Belle Isle Seafood

1) They are overrated.
2) It is way out on the Winthrop line and a massive PITA to reach without a car.

James Hook is very good and much more convenient.
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 02:39 AM
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I was thinking Legal Seafood might be my Boston splurge but EVOO might be better

I don't think EVOO is anything special. If you were looking to "splurge" in that area, I'd look at Commonwealth, West Bridge, Catalyst, or Hungry Mother. All are better than both Legal and EVOO (though I think Legal is better than EVOO).

In Central, you have Craigie on Main, which is good. A mini-splurge with very good food is Green Street Grill.
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 06:29 AM
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Thanks for all the new info!

That's a very interesting idea about taking the boat back for the view, but an early dinner for me would be 6:30 and the PEM cafes close at 4:30 - not sure what time would be dusk in Boston end of July.

Love the idea of Portuguese food, so sounds like Portuguese one night, Chinese one night, maybe Legal or James Hook for lobster roll, maybe Green Street Grill the day I'm leaving.

Pity about the lounge at Logan. I'm flying business on miles - "U" I think - which doesn't always get me into the US lounges. Should work at LHR, though.
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 06:51 AM
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Enjoy your visit...from one moving five years ago to the area. Our apartment not far from Mt. Auburn Cemetery which is indeed a unique park like place. Take 71 bus out from Harvard Sq. Definitely go to MFA and Peabody Essex Museum plus Salem sights. What else? Could be the Gardner since you like museums. Yes, we once had a Boston Library tour featuring art pieces (you can down load a guide from the library site). And across Copley Square also walk through Trinity Church (our family attends Old South Church nearby). As for eating, so many choices!
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 07:09 AM
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Glad to hear the vote for Mt. Auburn. I usually enjoy historic cemeteries.

BTW, forgot to offer sympathy to the Bostonians posting for your horrible winter. What's the situation now?
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 07:18 AM
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there is a wonderful Portuguese restaurant called Atasca within walking distance

Atasca is very good.

maybe Legal or James Hook for lobster roll

Legal is very convenient (both to your hotel and in that they have branches all over town - Harborside is my favorite), but I would choose James Hook for a lobster roll, if you happen to be in the area. Another option that comes highly recommended (I have not been, though) is Alive & Kicking, which puts it on sliced bread. It is a bit of a walk from the Central Square T, though, off River Street. Yankee Lobster is also pretty good, but it is out of the way, and I don't think they are necessarily better than James Hook (they are similar sorts of places).

If you were willing to drop $30 on the thing, my favorite "lobster roll" is the lobster BLT at B&G Oysters.

I'm flying business on miles - "U" I think - which doesn't always get me into the US lounges.

Mileage or not, it will get you into the BA lounge at Boston. What time is your flight? If it is one of the later flights, they serve dinner in the lounge and have limited options on board. The dinner in the lounge is buffet-quality, but not terrible. There are not any particularly better food options in the terminal - Terminal E has the worst selection of restaurants at the airport.

If you are taking the last flight (10:30 pm or so in the summer), I'd lean toward eating an early dinner in town and then catching a cab to the airport around 2 hours prior to the departure time (assuming you are leaving from Kendall). Barring any sort of crazy, unforeseen situation, it will only take you 10-15 minutes by cab or Uber/Lyft. If you wanted to take public transit (I don't recommend it) then you would want to leave earlier, as it will take 40-50 minutes door-to-door.

If you are taking the earlier "late" flight (only offered during the summer), then it is tougher to say. I think it takes off sometime between 9 and 9:30, so you'd probably want to leave Kendall closer to 7-ish (or earlier by T). That makes dinner in town a bit tougher.
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 07:19 AM
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BTW, forgot to offer sympathy to the Bostonians posting for your horrible winter. What's the situation now?

Snow is mostly melted. The T is back on track. We did get a dusting today.
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 07:56 AM
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Yes, I'm on the 10:30 flight. The earlier flight disappeared off the available-for-miles list while I was considering my options/procrastinating. I was wondering what they would do about food on such a late flight, thanks for the info. How much is a cab likely to be? I was planning to take public transport in from the airport.

James Hook is take out, right? Just lunch? The lobster roll on their website looks fabulous.

Glad to hear that Boston is recovering!
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Old Mar 30th, 2015, 09:01 AM
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How much is a cab likely to be?

If you catch it from the hotel (if there isn't one at the Kendall, there are always several at the Marriott), it is a fixed rate of just under $30. Not sure how much it would be if you were on the meter.

James Hook is take out, right? Just lunch? The lobster roll on their website looks fabulous.

IIRC, they have picnic tables out front. Otherwise, yes, it is takeout. You could take it to a bench on the Greenway.
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Old Mar 31st, 2015, 05:02 AM
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You've got some good advice and not much I can add. Be sure to check the train schedules to/from Salem (http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_ma...route=NBRYROCK ) -- trains operate infrequently on weekends.

Please don't miss walking around the Beacon Hill area, especially around Mt Vernon and Chestnut Streets. Be sure to peek through to see the interior gardens when you can.

The late BA flight to London offers "sleeper service," which as mentioned earlier gives you a chance to have a light meal before the flight. The flight itself is extremely short, so you won't get all that much time to sleep on-board.

A mini-GTG would be a wonderful idea.
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