Boston with older teens-what to do?
 

My family of 4 will be going to Boston for the first time in early August. I'm a 19 year old guy and my sister is 16. What is there for us to do that people our age would find entertaining? I'm into history/culture but my sister is more of a hardcore shopper. I like shopping as well but she's pretty obsesed. Any way to find balance? What would you recommend doing? The parents are in their 50's and are pretty easygoing. We're a family that likes to fit as much in as we can, though. Thanks!

Have you looked at any guidebooks to get ideas? How about the Freedom Trail?

Newbury Street for shopping. Quincy Market for shopping and just to people watch. King's for bowling, eating, and music (not sure if you can get in when they have music). Whale watch would be good. Maybe take the ferry to Provincetown. The tour of Fenway is fun.

Have a great trip!

Well, considering that Boston is one of the great student towns in the world, you will have a wide choice both of the standard stuff any educated person would want to see (Museum of Fine Arts and Freedom Trail to the historic sites, for example) and all the shopping your sister could ever do
AND a million things for young people.

Check out the Boston Phoenix website and pick up copies of their free paper as soon as you hit the street, also Stuff@Night and Improper Bostonian.

Concerts, clubs, hangouts, scenes, and on and on. Some people come for four years of college and never leave because you never run out of stuff to do. Plenty of places have under 21 nights.

Areas for young people: Harvard Square and Davis Square (both on the Red Line) have plenty for you and for your parents too. Allston-Brighton (Green Line B train out Commonwealth Ave to Harvard Street) and Kenmore Square (any Green Line train) are safe scenes, and your parents really don't have to worry about you riding the T Red or Green Lines at night. It is full of young people.

Take a cruise on the harbor if it is hot. Sleep all day and play until 1 AM!

We'll definitely do the Freedom Trail - my mom has been on it before and said you have to do it if you're in Boston. I think we'll all enjoy that.

I'm sure we'll also go to Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, and Boston Common-are those fun?

Are there any historical monuments/museums/buildings etc that have shopping close by? Also, would a teenager enjoy any of the museums? How are the art museums compared to Chicago's Art Institute and NY's Met? Thanks again guys.

Wow these are all great suggestions! Keep them coming! Thank you!

Quincy Market and Fanueil Hall are next to each other and across the street begins the Italian North End. So your sister could shop Quincy Market while you take a slight detour. The North End has such an Old World feel that she should go with you and find a good spot for lunch. Newbury Street is more upscale but that's a part of town you both will want to see. There's a mall a Copley Plaza. Boston has neighborhoods and areas some of which are intermixed. It's not like some cities where the the historic area and office buildings are in two separate parts of the city. It's easy to get around on the subway. Visit Harvard Square across the river. More shopping and more history.

There's a lot to see and do, especially if you are into history. Check out these websites, I think you'll find them very useful: lots of helpful tips about the city here: http://abostonvignette.blogspot.com/ and this one is about all the Boston neighborhoods: http://bostonneighborhoods.blogspot.com/

(If your sister is into hardcore shopping, be sure to spend a few hours in and around the Fanueil Hall Marketplace).

Have fun!!!! :)

Tell your sister that along the Freedom Trail there are several places to stop of ice cream or coffee. Towards the end is Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market where there is enough food and shopping to satisfy any teenage girl (I am the parent of a teenage girl). The end of the Freedom Trail is somewhat farther - at USS Constitution; the Quincy Market area is safe enough to leave your sister to shop and return to get her in an hour or so.

Many people like to take the MBTA red line to JFK library and museum. For some reason both of my near-adult kids say that is the worst Boston history place they have ever been - so if someone suggests it, try to talk your parents out of it.

If you are in Faneuil Hall/Haymarket area on a Friday or Saturday there are open air vendors selling produce and meat/fish. While I do not expect this is the kind of shopping your sister likes, it is rather interesting to see piles of fresh fish, etc on old pushcarts sold in an authentic way. Then it is a short stroll to the North End for lunch/dinner.

Take a Boston Harbor cruise - some are as short as an hour or so. Duck Tours are also fun but more expensive.

If you get bad weather and anyone likes museums, for art - Isabella Stewart Gardner; fish - Aquarium. They both have nice gift shops if your sister gets bored.

Take a tour of Fenway Park if you are into baseball - it is unlikely you will be able to get tickets for a game that do not cost a small fortune.

For you: history and culture is everywhere in the old archetecture in Boston and across the Charles River in Cambridge where Harvard and MIT are.

For sister: shopping on Newbury Street and Copely/Prudential. There's a lot more shopping depending on how much time you have.

Even you'll like Newbury Street because the stores are in old buildings many still with original archetectual details both inside and outside.

Faneuil Hall is worth a stop - mostly shops and eating places. The Duck boat tours are fun/informative, a little pricey but hey you're on vacation. Get tickets and board at the Prudential Center. Sit back and take a guided tour of Boston without having to worry about getting lost. P.S. the boats don't look like ducks. They are land/water boats from WWII. Super popular here.

Since Boston is a huge college town, you can probably find out the most when you're here by just asking people!

If time permits and you have a full day, consider taking the fast ferry to Provincetown for a day. There's lot to see and do. Your sister can shop to her hearts content. There is a great Dune tour (Art's) and you can climb the monument for fabulous views. Provincetown once one of the nations principle whaling communities, is now known more for its diversity and arts community. It was also the first landing place of the Pilgrims. After a couple of months they decided they could not live there long term and the went to Plymouth.

Provincetown is a great idea. MFA is good, and Isabella Stuart musuem is pretty unique. We have young kids so on vacations, we almost always go on a cruise of some kind. If buying a freedom trail tour ticket, buy a combo that includes a harbor cruise. Lastly, part of fun for us is eating good food in unique locales. Consider reading this for additional ideas http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35013851.

The Faneuil Hall area is great because it offers so much for both of you. There is plenty of shopping these in Quincy Market, and not quite as overpriced as Newbury Street. There are also plenty of great places to eat. Across the street you have the New England Aquarium... and old Aquarium but still one of the best in terms of variety of species and research. It remains as one of my favortie places in town. Faneuil Hall is also right by Downtown Crossing... more department store shopping there and it has been on a downward slide these past ten years, but tucked right inside it is the Granary Burial Grounds. A small cemetary but it holds Paul Revere, Sam Adams, Ben Franklin's Parents, the real Mother Goose, and also John Hancock I believe (but not 100% sure on him).

You'll have a great time! Just be flexible, enjoy the visit, and make the best of it. You won't find a better city in the U.S., but of course, I am heavily biased having spent my entire 30 years there. =)

We were just there and really enjoyed the Harvard campus tour. It is free, and runs several times a day. Reservations are not required. The Harvard square area has nice shopping so the sister will be happy and your parents and you will enjoy the tour.

I agree with previous posters:
Freedom Trail
Duck Tour/Trolley Tour
Fenway Park Tour
Visit/Dine in North End - great pastry too!
Museum of Science has a baseball exhibit of 500 artifacts from Cooperstown Hall of Fame - website is www.mos.org
Art museums are good
Have fun!

We're leaving on Wednesday- any last minute advice?

Thunderstorms continue to plague the area all summer and are expected next week too. Be prepared for late afternoon downpours.

There is a free concert Wednesday night at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade by the Landmarks Orchestra - not the Pops or the BSO but an excellent orchestra nonetheless. Nice, lowkey way to have a picnic dinner that your family might enjoy or Gnarls Barkley is playing at the Wilbur.

There's also gonna be a concert at the MFA next wednesday, though you do have to pay. It's set up in the Courtyard
http://www.mfa.org/calendar/event.as...;date=8/6/2008

In terms of the art museums, you can't compare it with the Met in NY. However, Gardner museum is just unique; whereas MFA is strong in the Greek/Roman collection as well as Copley & Sargent paintings.

If you're in Copley Sq, don't forget to head inside the Public Library. Beautiful interiors and Sargent Murals.

I recently took a free guided tour of the MA State House. Fairly interesting.

Lastly, you didn't say how long you'll be in Boston for, but the bi-annual Boston Restaurant Week starts on August 10. 3-course lunch for $22.08 and 3-course dinner for $33.08.
http://www.bostonusa.com/rw08/index.html

free outdoor concerts at the Boston Harbor Hotel Tues-Thur at 6.

Free admission and free outdoor concerts at the Institute of Contemporary Art on Thursday.
Free admission starts at 5, concert at 6.

improv comedy is usually very family friendly
www.improvasylum.com

My daughter, 13, loved the science center, as did my brother, who is 39. The shopping is okay at Quincy Market, people watching is better. We all enjoyed the Skywalk at the Prudential Center~gives a great bird's eye view of Boston with a narrated tour telling you what you're seeing. There are lots of shops there, too, to entertain your sister!