Boston or Philadelphia
Nov 7th, 2007, 02:02 PM
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Boston or Philadelphia
My 12 year old grandson and I are going to the East Coast this summer. We are considering Boston or Philadelphia. He has been studying American History and we have four days to tour. He is also a baseball fan. Reasons why one city would be better to tour than another?
Nov 7th, 2007, 02:21 PM
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We went to Boston in September, and I think it would really fit the bill for you. The Freedom Trail is amazing - seeing the Old North Church and the place where John Hancock, Paul Revere and others are buried; it's just really cool to see all the places you read about in your history book. They even have guided tours where the guides dress in period costume. We took in a Red Sox game too - really fun if your grandson loves baseball, and they are the World Series champs this year. A Duck Tour is pretty fun too - a great way to see the highlights of the city. You can take him to the North End for Italian food or Regina's Pizza - it's been there for 80 years. We found it really easy to get around on the T, and the people were really friendly and helpful. Be sure to get a good cannoli and some gelato too.
Nov 7th, 2007, 02:46 PM
#3
I also think Boston is a better choice. The Freedom trail makes it easy to hit a lot of famous historical sites, and the Red Sox are there! Other spots like Harvard, MIT, will be familiar names as well as full of cool college types (even in summer).
From an almost-teen's point of view, Phl has the liberty bell and Independence hall. Nice to see if you do have time, (and I really like Philadelphia) but I think Boston will be more interesting.
From an almost-teen's point of view, Phl has the liberty bell and Independence hall. Nice to see if you do have time, (and I really like Philadelphia) but I think Boston will be more interesting.
Nov 7th, 2007, 02:50 PM
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Volcanogirl, you are so sweet and enthusiastic in all of your Boston posts!! The tourism board owes you a debt of gratitude! I feel so good about my adopted home everytime I read your comments. Did you get a kick out of the playoffs and the World Series? 
Nov 7th, 2007, 03:02 PM
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I went to Philly for the first time this past summer and really enjoyed it but as a history buff came away slightly disappointed. Independence Hall was a letdown of sorts. Our tour guide was incredibly boring and I thought it was just us until we talked to some other people who had a different guide that also wasn't very good.
The carriage ride we took was very good and the driver was far more outgoing and knowledgeable than the official guides at either Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell. (Though the exhibits at the Liberty Bell are good, as is the Visitor's Center down the street.)
If you would go to the Philly area, don't miss Valley Forge. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. Brandywine was also a pleasant little surprise.
The carriage ride we took was very good and the driver was far more outgoing and knowledgeable than the official guides at either Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell. (Though the exhibits at the Liberty Bell are good, as is the Visitor's Center down the street.)
If you would go to the Philly area, don't miss Valley Forge. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. Brandywine was also a pleasant little surprise.
Nov 7th, 2007, 03:06 PM
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Red Sox tickets are almost impossible to get at face value. I try every year to buy on-line the day they go on sale, with success only about half the time. They are available from ticket brokers at about twice face value unless it is a prime opponent (like Yankees) and then they are even more than that. Do not know about Philadelphia tickets.
However, I would pick Boston for everything else.
However, I would pick Boston for everything else.
Nov 7th, 2007, 03:29 PM
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I have lived in both and though I like both cities, I would pick Boston. Boston is by far much nicer than Philly and also richer in history. Also, Philly can be quite brutal in the summer time (think 90s with 90% humidity).
Nov 7th, 2007, 06:14 PM
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socialworker, I know - my husband teases me that I should work for your tourism board! I got such a kick out of the playoffs and the World Series. I was rooting for you guys all the way. Truly, truly a great city that you guys should be so proud of. To be fair, I have not been to Philadelphia, but Boston would be hard to top.
Nov 7th, 2007, 06:28 PM
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Just to show a bit of the other side, you can easily spend four exciting days in Philadelphia and the surrounding area with a history buff. There's so much more than the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall: here's one link to get you started, the Franklin Walk: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34808371
Other favorite parts for adolescents include the University of PA Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Franklin Institute (and the rest of the Parkway, plus the Waterworks and Kelly Drive), the relatively new Constitution Center, neighborhood walks (see www.gophila.com) and some really tremendous street food! Plus, of course, Valley Forge is quite nearby and there are battle sites within the city itself to be visited. (There's a reeanactment at Cliveden in Germantown, for instance.) The churches and meeting houses are another fascinating glimpse of history.
Philadelphia is an extremely walkable city and it's easy to get around using public transportation. I believe (I know this has been the case in the past, at least) that it's also much more economical than Boston, not that that's necessarily a factor.
And hey, whilst the Phillies aren't always, um, doing terrifically well, there's still a lot of sports enthusiam here.
Other favorite parts for adolescents include the University of PA Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Franklin Institute (and the rest of the Parkway, plus the Waterworks and Kelly Drive), the relatively new Constitution Center, neighborhood walks (see www.gophila.com) and some really tremendous street food! Plus, of course, Valley Forge is quite nearby and there are battle sites within the city itself to be visited. (There's a reeanactment at Cliveden in Germantown, for instance.) The churches and meeting houses are another fascinating glimpse of history.
Philadelphia is an extremely walkable city and it's easy to get around using public transportation. I believe (I know this has been the case in the past, at least) that it's also much more economical than Boston, not that that's necessarily a factor.
And hey, whilst the Phillies aren't always, um, doing terrifically well, there's still a lot of sports enthusiam here.
Nov 8th, 2007, 02:04 AM
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Re Red Sox tickets. Go to Red Sox website and register to receive on-line junk mail. Then you will get an email when tickets go on sale - past few years they have been selling a April/May games prior to Christmas and then the rest go on sale in January. Every year they try to improve the ticket-buying process, but it is frustrating. On sale day you log on - they have it so you can open only 2 windows - and go into something called a "virtual waiting room" - in theory people are taken from this waiting room in a random order. When my daughter was younger I would pay her to sit in front of the computer and wait, since she is a Red Sox fan. Might be a good project for the lucky grandson. An article in recent Boston Globe descrbed some high-tech gadget that professional re-sellers use to crack into system and shut out regular people.
Schedule should be out soon, since they do this pre-sale in December. My guess is that they also email you notification of when that is out.
If this fails, we have bought tickets from Ace Tickets (website by same name). If you pick a less desirable opponent (like Tampa) you have a better choice. They are local (to Boston) and we have found them reliable and safe.
Do not sit in Grandstand sections 3,4,5. These seats are torture. Unless one wrenches neck into a miserable angle, you are facing only right field. Seats are so tight that turning ones body is not an option. Bleacher seats are actually much better - and since Fenway is so small, view is fine.
Schedule should be out soon, since they do this pre-sale in December. My guess is that they also email you notification of when that is out.
If this fails, we have bought tickets from Ace Tickets (website by same name). If you pick a less desirable opponent (like Tampa) you have a better choice. They are local (to Boston) and we have found them reliable and safe.
Do not sit in Grandstand sections 3,4,5. These seats are torture. Unless one wrenches neck into a miserable angle, you are facing only right field. Seats are so tight that turning ones body is not an option. Bleacher seats are actually much better - and since Fenway is so small, view is fine.
Nov 8th, 2007, 04:48 AM
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So right, gail!! My husband, a diehard fan, would probably forego even free seats in those sections!! On eBay where playoff and World Series seats were going for multi-hundreds of dollars, we would just scratch our heads when we saw seats in those sections being bid up.
Nov 8th, 2007, 12:17 PM
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Re Red Sox online. If you do get out of the online waiting room after waiting 7 hours, you can only pick tickets from what remains, which may or may not fit your travel plans -- many dates sell out in the first few hours.
It might be easier to just contact a company like RoadTrips (a travel agent company that specializes in sports travel). They could find you tickets and a hotel for a specific date, and you could just tell them you want to stay a few extra days. Tickets cost more, but not outrageously so.
It might be easier to just contact a company like RoadTrips (a travel agent company that specializes in sports travel). They could find you tickets and a hotel for a specific date, and you could just tell them you want to stay a few extra days. Tickets cost more, but not outrageously so.
Nov 8th, 2007, 12:53 PM
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the Sox schedule would be out by now, but they are still fussing over opening the season in Japan. The players don't want to go! It will be up any day now.
Depending on your plans, you should definitely look at a package for hotel and tickets. The Marriot-Copley place does have a package deal with 2 nights lodging, with tickets to a Sox game. Its not cheap, but its not bad compared to getting the tix from a broker.
The on-line purchase in 2005 after our last World Series was completely impossible. It wasn't as bad last year. This year it will probably be impossible.
Depending on your plans, you should definitely look at a package for hotel and tickets. The Marriot-Copley place does have a package deal with 2 nights lodging, with tickets to a Sox game. Its not cheap, but its not bad compared to getting the tix from a broker.
The on-line purchase in 2005 after our last World Series was completely impossible. It wasn't as bad last year. This year it will probably be impossible.
Nov 8th, 2007, 01:17 PM
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We went to Boston this past summer also. Our 15 yr old son was with us. He really enjoyed the history of Boston & the Duck tour as much as we did. I especially enjoyed the tour of the USS Constitution. My son & I also walked up the almost 300 steps of the Bunker Hill Memorial because he wanted to see the view. (I won't be doing that again, you really have to be in shape for that & I wasn't. Plus it was 95 degrees in the shade the day we did that.) & If you want abit more history, just a short ways south of Boston is Quincy were Adams National Park is. We all really enjoyed the tour of the Adams' houses.
