genoajim

My wife and I will be visiting downtown Boston on a weekday and are considering taking a train in from somewhere further out. The most convenient for us would be to come in from the North - probably the Lowell line. If so we would probably spend the night before in the Woburn area and catch the train at the Anderson/Woburn station as there appears to be plenty of parking available there. I know every city has areas that are safer than others. In your opinion would this be a safe place for lodging and a safe train into the city? Or, if you have a recommendation for a better line and station (with parking likely to be available), we would happily drive further in order to have a safe and pleasant train ride.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience on this site. Jim

cw

Woburn is perfectly safe, so I wouldn't worry about that. I've seen the Hyatt in Medford recommended as a decent place to stay outside and north of Boston. Then you make the short drive to Wellington Station and take the Orange Line into downtown. Taking the train/subway instead of the commuter rail gives you more flexibility timing-wise.

Equestrian

The commuter line trains (purple lines) are for......commuters, and so run much less frequently during non-rush hours. Better to rely on the T. Park at Alewife or Wellington.

Hotels in outlying towns are geared toward business travellers (to companies nearby) and are not the most convenient way to visit the city. However, for one day....

The Hyatt in Medford, and the Tria at Alewife in Cambridge are closer options, with cheaper rates than downtown, than Lowell.
If you choose Lowell, be sure to explore the urban National Park there. Lots of interesting history about the industrial revolution.

genoajim

CW and Equestrian, thank you very much for your assistance. I had not thought of driving in close enough to catch the subway rather than using the commuter train from a place like Woburn. That seems to make a lot of sense if I can park at one of the subway stations. To either of you know what the parking would be like at Wellington or Alewife? It sounds like the drive from Medford would be fairly easy. I guess I need to figure out where Alewife is and then determine if the Orange or Red line works best to get to the State House (Park Street station). Thanks again, Jim

MaggieOB

I saw your other post about visiting all the State Houses---what a great idea! I live in the area and think the parking at Alewife and Wellington may get pretty full with commuters but hopefully others who have direct knowledge may comment. if you stay in Medford another option would be to drive to Sullivan Square on the Orange line. The official parking lot will be full but there is one across the street which should have openings. The drive from the Hyatt to Sullivan is about 3 miles---very easy. It is also very easy to drive into Boston from Medford on I-93 and park in the Common Garage as you had mentioned in your other post. I'm sure the people at the Hyatt could help with directions. You have lots of options!! Have fun!

cw

According to http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/parking/ both Alewife and Wellington have 10% daytime availability. I think sometimes Alewife fills but I don't take that line. Alewife is on the Red Line and Wellington (about 10 minutes from the Hyatt) is on the Orange Line.

The Red Line goes to Park St., and the Orange Line to Downtown Crossing, where you could jump on the Red Line one stop--or even easier, just walk up to Tremont St. It's probably faster, and only one block.

If you're coming from the North, Wellington will be more convenient. For Alewife and the Tria Hotel you would take Rt. 2 from 95. (There are shorter ways to get there but I don't know how familiar you are with the area, and I'm not sure they'd be faster.)

genoajim

MaggieOB and cw, thanks for this additional input. You are giving me confidence - this is the most nervous part of our trip for us (getting into Boston). I now know I have plenty of options. I still prefer taking the subway in, but if there is not parking at Wellington or Alewife I now feel we could drive in and park at Boston Commons. Thanks, Jim

gail

My husband drive 3-5 times/week from north of Boston down Rte 93 - generally parking at Sullivan Square. Poster above is correct - the MBTA lot fills, but private lot almost never does.

Wellington fills early and often - and there is no private lot nearby that I know of. Alewife fills as well - but by noon there are often spaces that open up.

From your post it sounds like this is a 1-day thing. If you are fairly certain of your arrival and departure times, I would not discard idea of commuter rail - certainly runs much less often, but lot at Anderson never fills and then you would not have to deal with traffic or directional trauma.

So you do have several options.

djkbooks

If you want to economize, you may want to consider a hotel just over the border in New Hampshire, such as in Nashua and drive to the Lowell station (where I've never had a problem parking mid-day weekdays).

But, you might also want to consider one of the chain hotels in Somerville.

genoajim

Thanks gail and djkbooks. Yes, I think we can plan our times fairly well and therefore will take another look at the commuter rail from the north. And, I will look at hotels in New Hampshire. I have a friend who used to live in the Gardner area and he suggested that the Lowell area might not be the safest for catching a train, but no one on this diaglog has mentioned that so I think I can discard his comments. Thanks again, Jim

peggybauer

The train runs at least hourly. If you do decide to take the Lowell commuter rail, I would suggest parking at the Anderson Station in Woburn. It is the largest lot and they never run out of spaces. There are many hotels within 5 - 10 miles, just do a google search, make sure the parking is free or reasonable. Parking at the commuter rail is probably $3. I think it is more money on the red line and they sometimes fill up.

genoajim

Thank you peggybauer, djkbooks, cw and all of you, this help has been tremendous. I have narrowed it down to these two alternatives: 1. Park at the Anderson Station which WILL HAVE parking available and probably stay at one of the hotels in Woburn, or could stay further out. I would consider staying further north and catching the train at Lowell, but I think parking will fill up at Lowell(does anyone know about that?). OR 2: Stay at the Tria in Alewive and use the Red Line. The Tria site says the walk time to Alewive Station is 10 minutes and they also have a shuttle to/from. Staying in Cambridge would likely be plesant, hotel price is likely quite high (have not talked with them yet, but web prices are pretty steep).
Thank you so much, Jim