Boston from CA wedding trip in May 2022
 

Hi, we are a couple from California who are going to a wedding June 12th at the Canoe Club Ballroom. Never been to Boston or surrounds. After we fly into Boston and explore before the wedding and a day and a half after, we would like to suggestions on where to go after. I don't think that we'll need a car for Boston and the wedding but what do you recommend? I think I'd like to see Acadia, we love nature, water, history, art and architecture. Suggestions on where and how to go, what to see and where to stay would be awesome. Too bad the Sox are not going to be playing while we are in town. Thanks!

How much time do you have to travel? If you stay in MA you can visit Cape Cod and the Islands( Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.)
You mention Arcadia. I assume you mean the National Park in Maine?

Welcome to Fodors. You don't say but reading between the lines this does sound like a short trip with some brief exploring around Boston pre-wedding and 1.5 days post wedding. Unless you have omitted 7 or 8 days I don't see how Acadia enters the picture. The Park is nearly 300 miles from Boston - sort of like "We'll be in LA a few days and want to see Lake Tahoe" (yes, LA is more than 300 miles from Tahoe but the driving is faster ;) )

So . . . tell us your exact dates and we can help.

OOPS - I just noticed . . . your title says the trip is in May but the wedding is June 12 . . . so, do you actually have 2 or 3 weeks??

Boston Full of History, Architecture
 

Walk the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail to see Revolutionary War sites; explore the 1634 Boston Common and Public Garden; drink Samuel Adams beer in the 1780 Warren Tavern or 1795 Bell in Hand Tavern where American Revolutionaries such Paul Revere and George Washington frequented; explore Beacon Hill which isone of the oldest and most picturesque neighborhoods in the United States; hang out in famous Harvard Square; visit the 1723 Old North Church, significant for its role in the American Revolution; and take a Charles River cruise; and, eat at the Italian restaurants in Little Italy in the North End such at the 1926 Regina Pizzeria. Visit the Old Corner Bookstore, Fanevil Hall, Paul Revere House, Boston National Historic Park and Longfellow House. Wander around the noted Museum Fine Arts. Go to Concord-Lexington and view Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond; out the Minute Man National Historic Park and tour Old Manse. Try Crema Cafe on Brattle Street for delicious coffee. Ride on the historic 2.6 mile Ashmont - Mattapan Streetcar Line through a scenic check park-like setting.

If you do have the time, I think Acadia would be great unless someone here says that drive would be nuts in the summer. But check on the bug situation in June (deer ticks? blackflies?). If May, check weather records. Also check on flights home from Maine. Personally, I think I'd rather be there in the fall.

Otherwise, how about the Berkshires, Lenox, Tanglewood, etc....?

You can also go to Salem on the train from Boston, but I would want a car to go to Concord/ Lexington and Walden pond.

June can be lovely with warm sunny days and lovely flowers in bloom, but it also can be cool, damp and rainy. So be prepared for all conditions, sometimes in the same day. The ocean has not warmed up much by June, so visiting the beaches, especially north of Boston would mostly be for enjoying the scenery and nice walks along the shore. A trip up to Acadia could be nice, it is a long way but there are things to see along the way.

Not familiar with Canoe Club, but looks like its on South Shore maybe 30 minutes outside of Boston depending on traffic. Are you staying near the event or staying in Boston. If near the event, you can take commuter train back and forth to Boston.

When I had out of town company, my favorite day trips outside of Boston were Concord/Lexington, Rockport/Gloucester and Newburyport. Overnight trips to lower and outer Cape Cod (Chatham, Wellfleet, Provincetown) and White Mountains in NH, Ogunquitt Maine. Always wanted to make it to Acadia. Tried it once and only made it as far as Booth Bay. Its a long drive.

If you have your heart set on getting to Acadia NP, you could take the Amtrak Downeaster from Boston North station through New Hampshire into Maine. Rent a car in Maine and maybe fly home from Maine instead of coming back to Logan. There are at least 2 Downeaster trains per day out of BON.
From Boston South or Back Bay you can take a train to Mystic CT seaport.

Acadia is too far unless you have the time. Although Boston has lots of art, I would also add Rockland ME's Farnsworth Museum that focuses on Maine artists especially the Wyeths. Three easy possibilities for on the water would be a boat trip out of Portsmouth NH either the harbor tour or inland rivers (also check out Strawbery Banke Historic Area for architecture), Portland ME Casco Bay mailboat cruises, or Bath ME Maritime Museum lighthouse cruise (might not have any in May). Maine south of Portland is very built up with busy towns. If you go north of Portland it gets more like the Maine you might be thinking of. Rockland is a big city for Maine but close by you can find easy hikes and rural areas. Lobster shacks might be open on weekends and a must do if weather is warm enough to eat at a picnic table. If you only get as far north as Portland, visit Fort Williams park and enjoy the view of Casco Bay.