Hello everyone,
I moved to Boston in the fall to start full-time work. I've been extremely busy with the new job, setting up the new apartment, and learning the T system!
Now that I know the city pretty well and can get around, I'm asking for suggestions for activities for the summer. I know the usual: Pru Center, Newbury, Fanuil Hall, North End. I'm looking for suggestions on fun things to do on weekends for me as I'm still meeting people. Like museums, beaches, I know the free Shakespeare in the Common, etc. Anything would be great, thanks! I love the city so much and just looking to enjoy it in the summer also! Thanks in advance!

-Chris from Boston

There are events at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade several nights each week. Boston Pops, Friday Night movies, assorted brief festivals and shows, oldies concerts, etc. Here are two sources for the schedule so far:

http://www.hatchshell.com/events.php

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/hatch_events.htm

Lots of things going on around July 4th week - Globe will have a section listing these.

Have you tried sailing on the Charles - they are the sailboats you see near Longfellow Bridge. It is really cheap. Called Community Boating (you could probably find the website thru google) and they have a progressive instructional sequence where you can sail with more experienced sailers and learn - or teach if you already know how to sail. Great way to meet people -
Italian festivals in the North End almost every weekend.

Beach - no car, Manchester Singing Beach is accessible by train and a short walk. Car - try Rockport and Gloucester.

Take a Harbor Cruise - if you work in Boston proper, they have lunchtime brown-bag cruises.

Now that you know Boston, do some research on Lowell and take train up there - a growing number of good restaurants, summer folk music festival, Lowell Spinners (Single A short season affiliate of Red Sox), canal cruises.

Take a day trip on the ferry to Provincetown. Make sure you do not miss the last ferry back!

Go to Newton and rent a canoe to paddle on the Charles River. Save enough energy to paddle back upstream to return the canoe (also don't remember website but have found it by google in past)

These are just the ideas I can think of quickly - there are many free and really cheap things listed each week on Thursday in the Boston Globe.

Glad you like Boston - this was an average to slightly more rotten than average winter, so if you still like it, you will survive fine here.

I believe there are summer concerts every year at the Christopher Columbus Park.

A day trip to Salem on the train is easy and fun. Salem is a really cool little city with lots to see and do, and not all of it witch related either.

For a really short but also really cheap boat ride take the ferry from Long Wharf over to Charlestown Navy Yard is, where the Constitution is docked. You get great views of the skyline, get to be out on the water and it only costs the price of a T ride. Then walk back across the bridge to the North End. One of my favorite ways to kill a couple of hours.

Go to Harvard square to visit the Fogg, or the Natural History musuem, or just walk around the square.

If you want to meet folks with common interests, take a look at classes at the Cambridge School of Adult Education. I've taken a photography seminar there, but they have lots of interesting stuff and would give you an opportunity to meet people. Not very expensive at all.

You know the big musuems: the MFA, the Gardner. Check out the new Institute of Contemporary Art on the waterfront (the building is way cool), or go to the JFK Library.

If you have a car, you can drive out to Tanglewood for a Saturday morning open rehearsal and enjoy the lawn. Its a long drive, but doable for a day. better to make a weekend out of it, but lodging can be expensive.

You can explore the Harbor Islands as well Boston Light (the oldest manned lighthouse in the US). Here's the link (also has information about the other Harbor Islands) http://www.bostonislands.com/events_bostonlight.html. Also, if you have a bike, riding along the Esplanade is a lot of fun. The MFA also has a series of summer movies, I believe. And there's also the Boston Pops (before they move to Tanglewood for the summer). In August, there will be all the festivals in the North End on the weekends. It's also fun to just go out after work (I don't know if you work in downtown Boston) to the places at Quincy Market and the waterfront (Tia's comes to mind, but I am probably dating myself). Boston is great in the summer!

HI--just a "housekeeping" tip....if you are not getting as many responses as you would like, top your own post. That is, add another note to your earlier post rather than posting the same message again later. It is less confusing for those answering you and for you too!

For some smaller sights I haven't seen mentioned on this thread yet:

1. Trinity Church (Copley Square). Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End also isn't half bad if you're in the area and it's open.

2. some historic houses you can tour: Otis House and Nichols House (both in Beacon Hill), Gibson House (Back Bay). Also JFK's birthplace in Brookline, not far from Coolidge Corner. And see below for two Cambridge options.

3. Christian Science Center complex, just adjacent to the Prudential Center Building and Copley Place. Check out the Mapparium and take a look into the church.

4. Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge is really lovely. It's reachable by a couple of the trackless electric bus routes out of Harvard Square.

5. There are some excellent parks to walk and explore. Try the Esplanade along the Boston side of the Charles River. Also the Arnold Arboretum and the Jamaica Pond area in JP. And there's good hiking in the Blue Hills area south of Boston and the Fellsway Reservation area north of Boston; a car is good to reach these two but you can manage it by local bus service.

6. If you have a car, the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln is worth a visit.

7. The main branch of the Boston Public Library (Copley Square) is worth seeing for its John Singer Sargent murals and courtyard.

8. Harvard's and MIT's campuses are well worth strolling around, and Harvard's museums are very good.

Some interesting areas to walk and explore besides Newbury Street: The parklike mall on Commonwealth Avenue for the statues and interesting townhouse architecture. The Centre Street business district in Jamaica Plain. Charles Street in Beacon Hill for antiques and such. Brattle Street heading out of Harvard Square for some big and fancy historic era homes, two of which are open for tours (the house at the Longfellow National Historical Site and the Hooper/Lee/Nichols House). The Castle Island area and adjacent beaches in South Boston.

You've had some worthy day trip suggestions in Salem, Provincetown, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Tanglewood. Some other excellent day trips to consider, all of which can be reached via commuter rail or local bus: Lexington, Concord, Gloucester, Rockport, Ipswich (on summer weekends in the past, you've also been able to catch a local bus from here to Crane's Beach or Essex), Newburyport, Plymouth. Consider Providence, RI, also reachable via commuter rail.

And if you have a car, you can explore much of New England. Cape Cod, the Maine coast, New Hampshire's White Mountains and seacoast, Vermont's Green Mountains, the Pioneer Valley area (Northampton and Amherst), the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, minor league baseball in Lowell MA or Portland ME or Pawtucket RI or Nashua NH or New Britain CT are all possible and fun.

To meet people you might wish to join the Boston Ski and Sports club, the AMC and/or the Boston Young Professionals Associations. I've had mixed impressions of each one, but they each offer some fun activities around Boston.

I bike and run along the Charles River. The farmers'markets start in June. Copley Place has twice a week tues and fri..if you are intown. There are many but not knowing where you have settled...,

If you go on the Boston Harbor cruises/boats go to Spectacle Island - look up the schedule when it opens - last summer it had jazz bands on Sunday and the grill going outside which was lots of fun - and the island has one of the best views of the other islands from the top, a nice walk -

If you bike - rent ifyou don't own and follow some of the great bike paths around the Emerald Necklace and join in the fun on Sundays when they close down Memorial Drive to traffic so you can really enjoy biking -
It think they have already started the Sunday closings for walking, biking, etc - you can google it and get the dates and times, but I believe it started last month

The Arboretum

Join the MFA/ FIrst Fridays: of every month for music, food, friends -

Take a day each weekend and spend it in another area; one day in the South End (maybe in May - for the SOWA art walk - I think it is May 17/18 this year
www.sowaartwalk.com

this is one of my favorite things in the spring in Boston - art, restaurants, galleries, artists in their workshops, it has it all and you could use both days if you really enjoy and take your time -

Then another time, do the North End Market Tour with Michelle Topor and spend the rest of the day really exploring that area -

Another day, al along the Charles, another in Harvard Square, another ....etc, etc.

visit some of the properties of

www.thetrustees.org

View from the Prudential Skywalk and drinks

did you do a duck tour???

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: go to some of the artists talks or neighborhood nights - chekc out their event scheudle

CONCERTS/dance performances at the ICA in the summer are increible !! on the waterfront, what more can you ask for?

Bank of AMerica Pavillion/ Live Nation -
concerts there make the summer !

The movies at night behind the Boston Harbor Hotel,
the movies are on Friday night, but they have music and other line ups too - great location, fun stuff

www.bhh.com/special_summer.htm

The fast ferry to Provincetown

Visit: Gloucester, Marblehead, Rockport, Manchester by the Sea

Visit: Hingham, Cohasset, on down to Plymouth

and the Cape/islands if you can-

We can fill every weekend !!

oops: you might like this link, adn there are more:

www.massbike.org/bikeways/indexb.htm


and Franklin Park Zoo !

For Mother's Day last year I took my parents to the Arnold Arboretum. It was a great place to wander while the Lilac were blooming. Also with a friend we took a tour of the Forest Hills cemetary. This tour focused on literati who were buried there. Lots to do in Boston in the summer!

In June you can go to the scooperbowl. It's a fundraiser for the jimmy fund with all you can eat ice cream. I think it's $8.

http://www.jimmyfund.org/eve/event/s...l/default.html