Boston
 

I need ideas/suggestions of things to do in Boston in November. Do we need to rent a car to go around or do they have efficient public transportation? what is the weather like in mid November? Is it snowing? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

you definitely don't need or even want a car for downtown Boston.

The weather may be cold and wet. It certainly could snow in November, but its not really all that common. we get most of our snow in January-March. Mostly it will be grey and chilly, and maybe some cold rain. Bring warm, waterproof outerwear in layers and you'll be good.

You can do the normal tourist things like walk the Freedom trail if the weather is okay. Or exploring the North End, or Harvard square, or the architecture around MIT, or a Fenway park tour.

For indoor type of activities in bad weather:
the museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, the Fogg museums (at Harvard), the Mapparium at the Christian Science center, the Sargent murals at the Boston Public Library, the JFK library is accessible via public transport as well.

The Boston Symphony will be in season, as well as the Boston Ballet, the Boston Lyric opera, and various theater companies and shows should be available. November is a great time for cultural activities here.

A car is less than useless in Boston since often you can;t get there from here.
It's a great walking city - you just need comfy shoes and proper clothing for the weather - layers with a medium jacket (leather) works for me but I like cold.

Weather will be chilly/cold and you can get sunshine, rain, sleet or snow (less likely but no guarantees). You will know a day or two in advance.

We had family that lived on Beacon Hill so visited a bunch of times. Do not miss:

Freedom Trail
Kennedy Library
Multiple great museums
Lexington Concord

Not sure if they do whale watches at that time - but great if they do.

Do not rent a car; public transportation is good. Stay in main tourist area of Boston. If you find an inexpensive hotel, it is in the wrong area. Hotels call themselves all sorts of things to try to lure you into staying in very inconvenient or creepy areas. The weather will likely be best described as "raw" - cloudy, windy, cold precipitation.

nyt, I wonder how you suggest doing the Kennedy Library and Lexington/Concord without a car? Also, those would take a full day, so a lot depends on how many days the OP has.

Here is some info on public transportation options to Lexington and Concord:
http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/getti...oncord-boston/

For Kennedy Library, take the Red line T to the JFK/UMass stop and library shuttle bus from there.

Kennedy Library doesn't take a full day. Maybe half, and as Samba points out, easy to get to by public transit. Now, that still may not be a priority since the OP's time is limited, but its worth a mention.

I agree about Lexington/Concord. Hard to do without a car, especially in questionable November weather. With a short visit I would save those for another time.

As others have said do not rent a car. We enjoyed the Old Town Trolley tour. You can get on and off at the different stops. Get the two day pass and you can take the whole tour on first day and then get off at the stops the second day. We love Boston. Go to the Public Garden.

JFK Library - easy without car. Lexington and Concord - close to impossible as the train does not stop near tourist stuff and then you have to deal with a variety of bus connections. You can rent a car for the day or take one of the day bus trips/tours offered.

Take one of the walking food tours - North End (Italian) is better than Chinatown, but both are good.

Boston has public transport. It shouldn't be snowing, it will be cold or at least chilly (unless you're from Duluth, in which case you'll think it's spring).

A car would suck - too many adjacent parallel streets in Boston run the same way and on street parking is usually restricted to natives - it's a real pain to navigate and park.

Unless you are unlucky, the mid-day temperatures are likely to be in the 50's Fahrenheit with perhaps frost early in the morning.

The public transportation system is the MBTA ("T") and comprises extensive bus, subway, trolley and commuter rail. There are passes that allow you to use everything except the commuter trains very cheaply. You can buy them at the airport station and the other large stations. There is an MBTA website with a journey planner.

If you want to go to Lexington and Concord, rent a car for the day. You won't need it for the rest of your trip. Enterprise will deliver to your hotel and drop you off at your hotel when you return. If you stay in the Back Bay, it is easy to get onto I-90 ("the Pike"). There are more direct ways to get to Lexington especially but they involve a lot of traffic and badly marked roads.

The Kennedy Library would take a full day only if you move your lips when you read. It is next door to the Mass (people in Massachusetts abbreviate everything, especially Massachusetts) Department of Archives and History which would make a nice rainy afternoon with the Kennedy Library.

Similarly, Harvard Square, Harvard Yard, the Harvard Museums (art, natural history) all make a nice afternoon clustered together with lunch before.

The Museum of Fine Arts ("MFA") and the Isabella Stewart Gardner ("the Gardner") are only a block apart and within easy walking distance of Fenway Park if you are a baseball fan. That would be a brutal day, though.

I've not yet been (but plan to this fall) but also on the campus of the JFK Library and State Archives is the new Ted Kennedy Institute for US Senate. I work in a major law firm in Boston and every time this comes up, the lawyers I'm with RAVE about it. https://www.emkinstitute.org/ Combine the library with this and maybe the archive and that's a full day with a gorgeous view.

Note: I've only ever found the Archive useful for my genealogy research. I'm not sure what a visitor without MA roots might be interested in otherwise, so take that for what it's worth.