Boston in March
 

I have an opportunity to go to Boston March 23-27 from Ottawa,Canada. Any suggestions what to do there for 3 days as it will take two for travelling back and forth. I would be staying at a hotal on or near the harbour. There aren't any direct trains to Boston, even from Montreal, airfare is high and thinking of taking a bus though it takes 10.5 hours. Is it worth it to go in March? Thanks for any suggestions and opinions.

10.5 hours on the bus each way sounds like torture to me. March is still half-winter, half-spring here. By late march, perhaps there will be some budding of leaves, but no spring flowers yet.

I can't tell you whether it's worth it to come to Boston or not - there's always plenty of things to see/do in Boston no matter if it's 90F in July or 10F in January. I think most people come here for the history, which is available all year-round.

Beware of a hotel "near the Harbor" - some are better locations than others. Give us the names of the hotels you're thinking of and we can make suggestions.

In terms of what to do here - the obvious thing would be walk the Freedom Trail. Unless it's pouring rain or unseasonably cold, late March is warm enough to walk outside for a few hours. Other things to see/do would be visit Cambridge, Harvard Sq, visit some museums etc. Tell us what your interests are and we can make more suggestions.

March isn't Boston's best month, but I think the city is always great! We actually have a bunch of suggested activities and restaurants on our wedding website, since its in Boston this summer: http://patrinaswedding.blogspot.com/...in-boston.html

Boston is just turning to spring now--the Duck Boat tours have started, pedicabs are roaming the city, and weather is nice enough to be walking all over.

As for transportation, it might be fastest to drive yourself. I know that's the fastest way to get from Montreal to Boston (about 6 hours)

Thanks for replying yk, katrinab

yk,

Not sure of the name of the hotel since I didn't book it but I'm sure it is one of the best ones. I'll ask and let you know. I like cultural things as well as markets, interesting shops, and love to walk/hike around seeing the architecture. I also love good food so any 'not too pricey but 'must check out' restaurants would be appreciated.
I'd like to see Harvard and Cambridge. Are they easy to get to or would I need a car?

katrinab,

First of all contrats! Looked at you website. Very well executed. I am thinking now of driving but read in another thread that traffic into Boston can be bad. I'm not a nervous driver though. I've driven to Cape Cod in the summer and it took 8 hrs. going around Boston. BTW what the cost of gas right now?

You don't want to drive IN Boston. Traffic in Boston is pretty bad, but if you arrive after rush hour is over you'd be okay. Next thing you want to do is to park your car in a garage and forget about it for 3 days until you're ready to leave.

For historic sites & Freedom Trail, here's a list to get you started:
Historic Sites
Freedom Trail - free Self-guided tour
http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/visitor/visitor.html

Free NPS Ranger guided Freedom Trail tour
http://www.nps.gov/bost/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm

Along the route, stop at
Mass State House for free guided tour
http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomt...settshouse.asp

Bunker Hill Monument and Museum free
http://www.nps.gov/bost/historyculture/bhm.htm

USS Constitution free guided tours
http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/...nformation.htm

Boston African American National Historic Site - free
http://www.nps.gov/boaf

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The Boston Public Library, designed by McKim, Mead and White offers a free Art & Architecture tour
http://www.bpl.org/central/tours.htm

Across the street is Trinity Church, designed by HH Richardson. You can tour it yourself:
http://www.trinitychurchboston.org/art/tours.php

A few blocks away, the Boston Symphony Hall offers a free tour:
Wed at 4pm; 2nd Sat of each month at 2pm
http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/toc_01_g...d=bcat10930012

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For architecture, for modern ones, you should check out the new Institute of Contemporary Art:
http://www.icaboston.org/about/thenewica/

Also at Harvard are buildings by Gropius and Le Corbusier, and at MIT are buildings by Gehry and Eero Saarinen.

Both Harvard and MIT (and Cambridge in general) are easily reachable by the T (subway in Boston). harvard and MIT offer free walking tours of the campus. I haven't had a chance to take either one yet, but I assume they should cover some of the buildings..

Harvard University Campus tour
http://www.harvard.edu/siteguide/faqs/faq18.php

MIT Campus tour
http://web.mit.edu/infocenter/campustours.html

Lastly, there's the Gropius House out in Lincoln, which is really worth seeing.
http://www.spnea.org/visit/homes/gropius.htm

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For markets, you should check out Haymarket, which has vendors selling mostly fruits and veggies. Nearby is Faneuil Hall which is more touristy and has a huge food court.

Definitely agree with yk on driving to but not in Boston. Not a good way to get around the city, but if you avoid rush hour you'll be fine getting here. No other real points of traffic on the way either.

Right now gas here is a little under $2/gallon.

Thanks for all the info guys (gals)

I found out that I will be staying at the Marriot (Longwharf)
the parking in their garage is $42US per day so I may try to find another place to park the car for the duration.

We're paying about 80 cents a litre up here in Ontario so a litre is slightly smaller than a quart so $2/gal is encouraging.

Gas prices in the US can vary tremendously from one state to the next (due mostly to different tax structures) and even from one part of a state or city to another. Here's a reference "gas Temperature map" that I find is very handy when I'm on a long trip that involves crossing state lines. For instance, it shows that gas is much cheaper in most of Massachusetts than in most of New York state.

If you go to the ZIP Code level, it will show the specific data points, i.e., prices at specific gas stations. In my city, the current price ranges from $1.79 to $1.99.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

Thanks A, wish they included Canada as well.

Depending on which days of the week you're visiting, you may or may not save $ by parking your car elsewhere. During the week, the area garages charge just about the same as your hotel. However, if you're here over a weekend, the garage rates are much cheaper, such as this Post Office Garage:
http://www.posquare.com/rates.html

The way I read it, is that it'll cost $42 for 24 hours during the week, but only $9 for 24 hours during weekends.