Boston For A Day ... Help From Locals, Please
 

We will arrive by ferry from Salem near the New England Aquarium. We want to visit the Isabella Gardner Museum, the Prudential Skyway, Trinity Church, Copley Square ... I assume the T is the best way to accomplish this? Any suggestions for good Italian restaurants or Irish pubs in the area we'll be visiting? We've been to Boston before but not enough to really know what we're doing, so any input is appreciated! Thanks!

Oh, yes, the New England Aquarium? How does it rank among others in the country, and is it worth the $20 ticket? Thanks again ... :)

Okay. This is easy. You are VERY wise to come and go by ferry to Aquarium because, as you see, it is a good point for starting and ending all kinds of trips!

You can get on the T at the Aquarium stop, ride to Government Center and change to the Green Line. Any outbound car will take you to Copley Square, where you will find Trinity Church and you will be only two blocks from the Pru.

There is a second T station in the Prudential Center itself, on the Huntington Avenue side. There are lots of maps and plenty of people to give directions to the station.

From the Pru Station, take a Green Line car to the Museum of Fine Arts. Walk past the modern end of the MFA to the Fenway (a park but not THE Fenway Park). Turn left past the Museum School. Walk to the traffic light, turn right, cross the grassy area, and you will be at the entrance to the Gardner Museum.

To return, take a Green Line car from the MFA back to Government Center and go to the surface. Walk down State Street past the Old State House to the Aquarium again (you could change to the Blue Line and ride, but it is only a few blocks and a nice walk).

The Aquarium was once one of the best in the country but it was horribly mismanaged by its Trustees and fell behind. If you haven't been to a big one, it is still good, but it isn't among the best any more. Or so they tell me, I haven't been in a long time and I lived next door for ten years.

There are not to my knowledge any good Irish pubs where you will be going. There are several in the Quincy Market area, but they aren't really family places.

You will be very near the North
End at Aquarium (three long blocks) where you will find just about any kind of Italian or quasi Italian food you want. I often disagree with recommendations on here for places like Giacomos that feature big portions at the expense of quality, but that may be what you want. Bostonians are good about posting, so you should get plenty of recommendations.

Thank you SO MUCH, Ackislander! You are always a wealth of info (you are always so helpful with Nantucket!) The transportation info is EXACTLY what I wanted to hear. Not that I can't figure these things out on the spot, but it's so much faster and easier if you have some info ahead of time. Again, thanks! (I would be interested in your recommendations for Italian restaurants ... our previous experience was at Artu's, and that was very, very good but I know our party likes to try new places.

Re NE Aquarium. Skip it - better fish and better exhibits at manhy other aquariums, although the penguin exhibit I love.

Can't improve upon above post.

Ack, Gail ... we've been to Monterey, Ripley's/MB, little Clearwater, and Baltimore aquariums so I think we will skip NE then.

Gail, any restaurant recommendations from you?

Thanks again ...

You can go to mbta.com to look at the subway lines and everything you need to know about public transportation.

My suggestion would be first visit the Gardner Museum, then the Pru/Copley etc. The Gardner closes at 5pm, and I worry you may miss it if you end up spending too much time during the day in Copley/Pru. The Prudential Skywalk is open until 10pm during summer season. Just FYI, the Trinity Church charges admission for guided and self-guided tours. I was disappointed when I walked past it a few weeks ago and wanted to pop in for a quick look.

Trattoria Toscana is near Gardner Museum. I haven't been but it's got decent reviews. Here's link to Boston Globe review from 2005
http://www.boston.com/dining/globe_review/1153

Also, the cafe/restaurant inside Gardner Musueum is really lovely (good food and nice setting).
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/information/cafe.asp

Thank you for your input, yk! You've all been very helpful ... I'm printing out this thread to take with us Saturday. :)

Elsie, re: restaurants, I wouldn't recommend G'vanni's on Prince St (it's inexpensive but the food isn't very good.)

I've had great food and service at Artu's, too, but last time I dined there was six years ago. Hopefully, it hasn't changed.

-- Cantina Italiana (read reviews here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cantina-italiana-boston ) serves good food.

-- Ida's is an ok place. Small and cash only. (reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/idas-boston )

-- Giacomo's (Hanover St), in my experience, is not a bad choice but the wait can be ridiculous.

-- Figs (a very inexpensive Todd English restaurant)in Charlestown - just across the bridge from the North End. I go there at least once a month and the food and service are consistently good. Just a 15 minute walk from the North End. Pizzas are large, you can order half and half, and the complimentary bread served with olive oil and black olives is delicious. It opens at 5:00 PM. Go there early and you'll enjoy great food and service. (Reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/figs-charlestown )

-- Ernesto's. A different kind of place. Pizza is served by the (huge) slices. Small place, freindly service, inexpensive. (Reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ernestos-boston )

Incidentally, for overpriced pizza in an unbearably loud environment, try Pizza Regina (11 Thacher Court, North End).

HTH. :)

In Government Center (across from the T station) is the Irish restaurant called The Kinsale - I would bring my family there. One side has a more pub atmosphere and the other half is more restaurant.

Thank you, Pinkhat and bennnie ... great info to have. I'll report back after our trip on Saturday.

Sorry - don't have Italian restaurant recommendations. Although others here with favorite North End restaurants disagree with my strategy, in nice weather I prefer to wander thru the North End, read window menus, and see what kind of food mood I am in.

Sorry to repost, but I'm not seeing the reply I did on this thread, so will put this up again. Apologies if it's only my server that's not showing it:

I don't agree with some of the North End restaurant advice you're getting so far:

1. Pizzeria Regina on Thacher Street is not overpriced and arguably the best pizza in the city. The PR outlets in food courts are pretty ordinary, though. Upper Crust and Santarpio's are other excellent pizza spots in Boston proper, but the Thacher St. PR is the place I'd recommend first. Ernesto's is indeed quite good and they give you a big slice, but it's not my first choice for this locally.

2. do not recommend Fig's, Artu, or Ida's. One can do a lot better. Will agree that G'Vanni's is cheap but not worth the visit. Giacomo's is good, though they take no reservations and lines can get long there. Cantina Italiana is just OK -- one can do better than this place also.

3. some suggestions for North End Italian besides pizza:

a. Southern Italian: Maurizio's, Pagliuca's (also lunch), Saraceno's (also lunch).

b. cheap Southern Italian lunch: Galleria Umberto, Mangia Mangia.

c. Northern Italian (dinner only): Mamma Maria, Prezza.

d. Southern Italian baked items: Antico Forno (also lunch).

e. Southern Italian seafood: Giacomo's, Daily Catch (also lunch).

f. bakeries: Mike's, Modern Pastries, Maria's.

g. espresso with a cannoli dessert: Caffe Vittoria.

h. gelato: Gelateria.

Thank you, bachslunch! I've put your recommendations onto the list ... :)

Thanks again, everyone. We only did the Gardner Museum because of time constraints ... were there much longer than I'd planned to be. It is fabulous, though the security guards are over-the-top, hovering and unprofessional, IMO. The Museum and Courtyard are gorgeous, and I want to visit again in the future. We didn't have time to get to a good Italian restaurant ... ended up at The Cheesecake Factory at Pru Center, and it was the first time I've been disappointed in that chain. The waitress forgot to put in the order for our appetizer, then my food came out cold and someone else's pasta was dry. When my burrito came out the second time, it was barely warm, and was a foot-long tortilla filled with rice, and about five chunks of chicken. Would not go back to that one! :(

I will use your restaurant recommendations on future visits though. :)

You know that security is very tight because of the huge robbery several years ago?

They are not being unprofessional, just very, very careful.

The theft at Gardner (happened in 1990) is the largest art theft in history to date. Among the loot are the only surviving seascape by Rembrandt, and a Vermeer. The loss is estimated at $300 million, and the FBI reward for info is now at $5 million.

When we last visited the Gardner (which was less than 2 years ago), I don't recall facing any excessive security checks... But either way, they just don't want anything like the 1990 heist to happen again. There're still many many gems in the Museum that worths A LOT.

Ack and yk, I understand what you're saying about the security at Gardner, and I know about the robbery. But I have visited many museums, and seen nothing like what is, IMO, overkill there. I think they can still be secure and NOT be as intrusive into the experience as they are. Thanks again to both of you for all your advice. :)

elsiemoo, I'm sorry you had such an experience at the Gardner - as a member and someone who is there at least 8-12 times a year, I do not understand them being so hovering and unprofessional - I wonder if they were new guards, or if there has been a turnover or what -
I will inquire next visit - they can absolutely be vigilant without hovering or making a visitor feel uncomfortable-

Usually, they are so helpful in answering questions or telling interesting stories about a piece or some of the history - it is such a lovely museum, I do hope you give it another chance someday - b/c you are right, there is so much to see you can go again and again and again....

elsiemoo - I once had a guard at the Gardner "remind" me not to touch a piece of furniture - they were right and I wasn't thinking - but there was something a bit over the top about the response. I hadn't actually touched the chair but was getting too close for their comfort I guess.

There were several examples I could give you of their being over-the-top: #1 ... I leaned over to look at a small picture's detail. The audio player around my neck lightly (barely) touched a table. Now I could understand a guard stepping up, tapping me on the shoulder, and asking me to step back. But this guard wordlessly swooped in, grabbed the audio player, without a word, and sort of glared at me. #2 ... In the very last room of the tour, that guard constantly paced back and forth across the room, with his head down, almost bumping into people, and muttering things into a handset. I've never seen anything like it ... and it's an atmosphere that is offensive and not likely to keep people anxious to visit again. I've never seen anything like it at a museum. :( A shame, as it is a gorgeous place ...

elsiemoo: you should write a note and tell them this, seriously ! Maybe they don't know and these guards should be reminded of making people welcome -
maybe they could mention it at the next 'meeting' or whatever they do with employees - please think about it, b/c you are right that is horrid and it is a wonderful place - if I were Director, I would appreciate a note like that