My adult daughter and I will have a 5-hour layover in Boston while changing planes in late October. We get in at 3pm on a Thursday and depart at 8pm. We've never been to Boston and would love to catch some of the ambiance, if possible. (Will late October be too late to catch any fall color?) Is it "doable" to leave airport and see something before we have to be back? If so, what do you locals suggest? Thanks! And please feel free to email me directly with suggestions!

Well, you'll only have about 3 hours of "play time" which will fall during "rush hour" if on a weekday. I wouldn't go much farther than the North End - well, maybe Fanueil Hall. I'd recommend you go to Hanover Street and pick a place for a great Italian dinner. You can see the Old North Church while you're there. You probably won't see much foliage in the city, and yes, it will probably be too late for any color from the air. Best wishes!

Agree you have about 3 hrs max to actually do anything, b/c you need to allow 30 min to get somewhere and to get back - and have to return 60 min before your flight -

Possiblities:
As suggested, the North End - add Paul Revere's house to your site seeing !

Or, if weather is nice, taking the water shuttle from Logan Airport to the Boston Waterfront area (I think the info is on massport.com)
Then you'd have a choice of seing some of the waterfront park area before dark and either walking up into the North End or across the street and up into Faneuil Hall area. And you could return by regular auto taxi.

Regarding fall color - not too late in some southern locations, but not realistic with time span you have.

I would second recommendation for early dinner/late lunch in North End as long as you are willing to pay for cab to get to/from and plane is on-time and you do not have to retrieve luggage.

The time you have is really the absolute minimum I would use to plan on leaving the airport.

(PS - I hope you check back here and also get some direct email responses - many of us here are reluctant to open ourselves up the potential problems of emailing other posters - I did it once and still regret it)

Personally, I wouldn't risk it given your limited time. I'd definitely wait until the plane arrived in Boston to check the weather before committing to leaving the airport. It will be dark by about 6pm in late October... or raining .....or snowing.

Sorry to sound so negative but in balance Boston is worth a much longer visit!

I wouldn't take a chance either. The traffic could be horrible and you may get stuck not able to get back in time. I agree with the last poster - you may not arrive on time so may have even less time to work with. Schedule another trip specifically to really enjoy Boston.

here's one more vote for 5 hours being too short. Security lines at Logan can be dreadful...sometimes 45 minutes. I don't like to risk it, when I'm headed to the airport I never get there less than 90 minutes before my flight. And it is rush hour so traffic is a question.

Sorry! I think the layover needs to be a minimum of 6 hours before you consider leaving the airport.

Thanks, much to all who replied. Turns out it is just 4-1/2 hours, not five. And I'm wondering about whether or not we will have to go through customs, since this will be our first stop in the US. If that is so, then we obviously wouldn't have time.

I did have to laugh, Dreamer2, at your "Italian dinner" suggestion....we'll be returning from 10 days in Italy!!! hahahahahaha

Thanks, all! When we're ready to come back to Boston, when is the best time for fall colors? (We miss them terribly. Grew up in Illinois but now in Texas...no fall here to speak of!)

Sarge

2nd week in Oct is usually peak foliage around Boston.
You will arrive at Terminal E (international arrivals-customs-immigration-retrieve bags,etc). Can take up to 1 hr. Then have to get to outbound terminal.
Which carrier outbound?C If terminal A (Delta) there are several good restaurants (after passing thru security) to choose from. If terminal C there is a Legals Seafood before security that is very good. If you don't know which terminal, go to www.massport.com and you can find out.
Agree with other poste

International flight and customs, agree you now need to stay in airport. you will have time for a nice leisurely dinner and stroll around the airport ! Hopefully weather will be warm enough you may be able to step outside for a bit and breathe some fresh air ! come visit us another time - have fun in italy - ciao -

Immigration and customs can eat up a lot of time - and yes you have to clear immigration where you first hit US soil.

Even the 5 hours on a domestic itinerary - I wouldn't leave the airport. But now w/ only 4.5 hours and it being transatlantic - absolutely no way.

John_T..thanks for info. We are going from E to B, apparently. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I appreciate it. Hope we can get back to Boston soon.

Thanks to everyone else who advised. Sure appreciate it!

Better food in Terminal B - I would opt for Legal Seafoods, but there is now listed some new Todd English venture - that might be worth a look at. Both restaurants are now chain-type, but started in Boston - so you can almost pretent you got to go to Boston.

The food options in Terminal B are inside security. Nothing special. The better food option for you would be terminal C (which is a short walk from B). I think there is a place to recheck bags outside arrivals in Terminal B, if not you will have to schlepp your bags and recheck in B(US Air or AA?). You will also have to get boarding pass if you didn't get that in Europe).
After arrival, I would get to terminal B, recheck bags and get boarding pass then walk over to Legal Seafood in Terminal C for a liesurely meal.

Correction: Recheck bags outside arrivals in Terminal E.