First time in Boston, please help!
 

Hi
My friends and I ( we are two young couples) are heading to Boston arriving early afternoon fri 19th Sept and leaving late sunday 21st Sept.

We are driving from New York (via Rhode Island where we are staying on Thursday night).

It is our first trip and we would really appreciate ideas on what we could realistically fit into the time we have. To give you an idea of what we are interested in.. our ideas so far have been the freedom trail, seeing the autumn leaves, wandering around some pretty areas of town, .... we like history and nature with a little time at nice cafes on pretty streets. None of us are particularly into sport.

Thank you for any suggested itineraries or must do's. Any unusual tips on accommodation would be great too.. I have been reading previous threads and have called all the usual suspects without success. We would be happy to stay in a one bed apartment with a fold out if available.

Restaurant options for dinner and brunch would also be much appreciated. We are looking for a casual place on Friday night near the water somewhere or in Cambridge and a brunch place for a weekend morning. We have booked TM food and Radius as options for the Saturday.

Many thanks for any ideas!

FIRST of all, you'll have a hard time finding affordable lodgings in town that weekend. (There has been a few threads recently by a poster who is looking for Boston hotels 9/20-23 and all of us searched for her and couldn't find anything less than $300-400, with the exceptions of La Quinta and Days Inn in suboptimal locations.)

Since you will be driving into the city, my suggestion would be to look into either:
Sheraton in Newton
or
Hotel Indigo in Newton

Both are just off MassPike, so you can just drive into the city and pay for parking (which isn't bad on weekends) where you can either park at Post Office Sq garage or the Boston Common Garage.

Not sure what your budget is for meals, but Henrietta's Table has a $28 3-course brunch on Saturdays (more expensive, AYCE brunch on Sundays).
http://www.henriettastable.com/menus/brunch.php

Your time frame is a bit early for fall foliage. There will be a few trees that have turned color (I can see 1 or 2 from my house), but the majority will still be greenish. Just to give you heads up so you won't be disappointed.

thanks... this may be a stupid question, but are there particular places to go to look at the fall foliage or perhaps a pretty way to drive from rhode island to boston?

any suggestions on what to do while there?

many thanks

So you really have only 2 days +/- an extra half day here.

Here's one suggestion

Friday afternoon - check in at your hotel. Assuming it's outside of the city, then drive into Back Bay and park at the Prudential Center ($12 if you enter after 5pm w/validation)
http://www.prudentialcenter.com/parking/rates.php

You can wander around Copley Sq, Public Library, check out Newbury Street

Saturday - you can easily spend all day on the Freedom Trail, if you have the stamina to walk the whole thing. Also visit the Public gardens and Beacon Hill.

Sunday - Cambridge, Harvard Sq. If the weather is still nice, you can take a walk along the Esplanade along the Charles.

NOt sure if you can catch any *more* foliage between Boston and RI. I'd imagine you need to drive north if the color hasn't changed yet. There are a number of websites that update the foliage color, so you can check them out as your trip gets closer.

Here's a link to a new hotel that just opened in Lexington that is getting good reviews http://specialoffers.starwoodhotels...._032408_NAD_FM. I checked your dates and they have availability. It's very convenient to 128/95 that will connect with the MA Pike to take you into Boston. As others have pointed out, you are very early for any foliage here or in RI, but your dates are still a nice time to visit. Also, Radius is quite good (I work nearby and eat there for lunch frequently) but pricey. I believe that they have valet parking at night and their location is convenient to the MA Pike as well. If you want something more casual for Friday night, I would recommend that you check out some of the North Ends restaurants (lots of information here about them if you do a search). Daily Catch and Giacomo's on Hanover Street come to mind, but there are many others.

thank you very much! that sounds pretty much perfect for our group.

you are right about accomm- impossible that weekend, i have been looking for days with no luck. i just found an apartment in cambridge for $470 for 2 nights for all of us (pretty basic one bed with fold out sofa but close to transport links) so am snapping it up! here is the website incase anyone else needs future accomm. unfort i think it is now all booked up for the weekend we are going...

http://bnbboston.com

2 more questions if you don't mind...

firstly, with the itinerary you suggested, where would be a good place to have dinner on friday night (casual, mid range prices).

secondly, i am thinking brunch at henrietta's would fit perfectly with sunday's suggestions... is that right?

thanks again.

on second thought henrietta's could be a little wasted on us given we are having a nice meal out on saturday... so any other suggestions for a casual but delicious brunch spot around cambridge for sunday?

You can always flip the Sat/Sun around, so you can have Sat brunch at Henrietta's table which is cheaper and *only* 3-course.

I believe The Blue Room near Kendall Sq in Cambridge serves a good brunch. I have only had dinner there though my sis-in-law says great things about the brunch. It is only on sunday, $23 and AYCE.
http://theblueroom.net/main.html
However, with it in Kendall Sq it may not be convenient depending on where you want to visit.

Another place comes to mind is the UpStairs on the Square right in Harvard Sq. Its Monday Club Bar serves Sunday Brunch a la carte. I like the atmosphere there and the few times I ate there I enjoyed the food.
http://www.upstairsonthesquare.com/m...l#SundayBrunch

thanks yk

both those places look great - upstairs will work perfectly with our location.

do you know what the drive is like from Boston to NYC and approx how long it takes? we were planning to head to RI Thursday night, Boston midday Friday and back to NYC Sunday evening (unless traffic will be awful in which case we would consider leaving very late...

If you are interested in art, crafts, quality hand made items, jewelry, etc - as well as interesting boutiques and small cafes, good restaurants - you might consider spending some time in the South End on either Saturday or Sunday and walking the area and enjoying the
South End Artists Open Studios , which is on Sept 20 and 21 from 11am - 6pm - maybe do that later on saturday and have dinner down there - fabulous restaurants -

it's always a great take in our neighborhood with lots to see - here's the info with maps, directions, artists present, etc - it's great to visit the open studios and see some amazingly talented people and get to spend some time chatting with them if that interests you too -
www.useaboston.com

the SOWA market is also still open -which is right in the same walking area -

http://www.southendopenmarket.com/

the area (south end) it is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Boston Landmark District North America's largest Victorian/brownstone residential district.

I think it is always nice to spend some time here as well as in the North End - and then some time in the Boston Public Garden/Boston Common/Freedom Trail areas -

You will need reservations at the more well known spots - use opentable.com and put in the area you will be in and that will save you lots of phone calls

Also if you aren't locked in to a place yet, there are some nice B & B's on T lines in the Somerville/Brookline area too -

Where in Cambridge is the apartment?

The drive from RI to Boston on a Friday afternoon shouldn't be too bad - you'll be going the opposite way from traffic. I've done it (Providence to Storrow Drive exit on 93) in 45 min. But you'll probably hit traffic once you get off the highway. There isn't really a scenic way to go, although you could stop at the Blues Hills for a little hike/picnic lunch. Sunday you might hit a little traffic, but I don't think it should be bad enough to try to plan around.

I loved T.W. Food and have heard great things about Radius, so I don't think you'll go wrong with either one.

The Arnold Arboretum is a great place to look at foliage, but as others have said, it will be too early.

I second escargot's recommendations for the South End open market and open studios.

You definitely shouldn't expect to see any foliage at this time of year! Give it a few more weeks, I'd say..

Casual places for dinner - I agree with the North End. They're all great, and I feel like every Boston resident will tell you a different place as their absolute favorite, so I won't try to confuse you there ;)

The South End has so many unbelievable restaurants. If you're interested, I can recommend a few depending on your tastes and price ranges.

As for the drives - coming up from RI on Friday midday shouldn't take you more than 1-2 hours. Of course, it all depends where you're coming from. If you're coming from the beach, count on at least 1.5hrs, but if from Providence it should only take an hour or so. On Sunday, heading back to NYC, depends on which route you're taking. Do you plan on taking 95, or heading down the Pike to 84, etc? I prefer the latter, and it typically takes me 3.5 hours from downtown Boston to a various number of places in Manhattan.