My husband and I are taking our 4 kids ages 15, 13, and 9 year old twins, and our dog to Boston in August. We are renting a large houseboat from VRBO that is parked in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Can anyone tell me what this area is like and what the transportation is like from here to the the usual tourist sites? I know there is a water shuttle that goes to the North end. How walkable is the bridge from Charlestown with kids?

Any tips on cheap but good eats in this area or elsewhere in Boston would be appreciated. We are on a tight budget. Thanks!

I walk over to this area during my lunch break most days; its a beautiful area. I have never walked over the bridge, but take a much more pleasant walk through a park that then crosses over the locks aat Charles River and then ends up ear the North station T stop which will take you anywhere you want to go in Boston. I have pass, so I don't know what the prices are. I think you can get a family day pass though. Check MBTA.com for the price of passes. Once you walk over the locks, its a quick walk to Fanuel Hall, the North End, and the Freedom Trail. You could even walk to the Museum of Science from here.

For relatively inexpensive places In Charlestown, there's a Finagle a Bagle for breakfast and lunch. In the North End, you'll find Pizza Regina. And, near the Fleet Center (AKA North Station) near Causeway and Staniford Streets is a really good mexican restaurant, Viva Burrito. In that area you'll also find Au Bon Pain which is pretty good for sandwiches, salads, and the usual breakfast stuff. You could also wander over to Whole Foods which has really good salad bars and take out kinds of things.

Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

Thanks for the info! Do you know the name of the park you mentioned? About how far is the hike to the North station T stop?

Your restaurant suggestions sound great!

Anyone else know of other cheap eats with local flavor (no chains) in the Charlestown or North End area?

If you look back in the fodors posts (I'm not sure how) but it was
Author: jeanneba28
Date: 07/29/2007, 06:00 pm
and the title was "Boston with 3 children" there were a lot of good suggestions.

Not really sure the name of park, so I googled it; it is Paul Revere Park. See link.

http://www.bostonharborwalk.com/plac...hp?nid=1&sid=3

I'm not sure where the house boat sits, but I would say that it is about a 10 minute walk from the Marriott Residence Inn to the T stop.

There aren't really a whole lot of places to eat on that side of Charlestown. There's a Sorelles gourmet sandwich shop and an ice cream place up the steps from the Marriott. MGH has a cafeteria in the Navy Yard (building 12?)which you might want to consider. The Marriott has an outdoor cafe, but I don't know their prices and haven't eaten there. Other than that, the closest places I can think of are the North End or around the Garden/North Station area where there are alot of sports bars. I've eaten at the Fores on canal street, food was okay, not all that cheap, but there were alot of young kids in there with their parents. So, this about exhausts my knowledge of restaurants in the area.

The water shuttle is pretty handy for connecting to the T at Aquarium.

I've walked over the bridge many times and it is fine - the pedestrian part is seperated from traffic and as you walk you can watch the water under your feet since it is grated. I would say it is around a 10 minute walk from the start of the bridge to north station.

Thank you so much to all who replied. I really appreciate the links and information.

We are very excited about this trip!