Four Days in Boston
 

We will be in Boston for four days in June. Staying at the Hilton Back Bay. First trip to Boston. Will do the Duck Tours..any other suggestions re sightseeing/ Also restaurants....would like one night at a romantic dinner, a place for Sunday Champagne brunch, a place for good seafood( lobster), and somewhere to go to have a drink and listen to music.....
Thanks...Jessie

The Four Seasons has a champagne brunch that I hear is very good - haven't been yet.

For sightseeing/attractions - The Museum of fine Arts, the Freedom Trail, Fenway Park (tour or ballgame), Harvard Sq., Kennedy Library, New England Aquarium, Science Museum, outdoor concerts on the Esplanade, Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum,

Romantic dinner - L'Esplier (sp),

Seafood - Legal Seafood, Turner Fisheries, Summer Shack, Barking Crab, Durgin Park, Union Oyster House,

Music and a drink - Top of the Hub

other posters will add more I'm sure.

Love Boston. Been there 3 times. Wife loved Lobster at Skipjack's - walked around Newbury St. Great Italian food on the North end. You'll pass through that area when visiting Paul Revere's house and passing his statue.
Ducks were great. We also took the guided tour down the Freedom Trail - you get more out of it than just walking on your own. Also used the trolley for hop on and off privileges - sometimes just as easy to walk. T from hotel was easy to use. We only had a few hours for the Kennedy Library/Museum. Really need all day. Enjoy!

Read mixed reviews on Legal Seafood. Some preferred one location over others. Didn't eat there. Durgin Park was great 35 years ago. We were highly disappointed last year. Maybe expectations were too high...

Great time of year to visit. If you make it to Harvard Square I am craving Mr&MrsBartley's Burgers with onolicious onion rings and fabulous lime rickeys.

Walk the Charles on one side, cross a bridge and walk the cambridge side and walk a bridge back. I like Mass Ave and Salt and Pepper Bridge (KendalSquare to Charles St)

Consider taking a boat ride to the inner islands of boston harbour or better yet, take a day trip to Provincetown via boat. It's a great day on the water and you get a few hours to explore/shop/dine in a very interesting, fun seaside town known for its artists, authors, playwrites and eclectic lifestyles. Could be a great day in the midst of city exploring.

Explore the Northend and Southend for great boston neighborhood dining.

seafood - we love Jasper White's Summer shack - the Cambridge location,not the Boston one. Take MBTA Red Line north to last stop - Alewife - and it is right there.

Author: adnil1962
Date: 05/22/2007, 09:55 am
Take a stroll along the Charles River (great views, people watching and sailboats). In May you'll start to see ducklings if you get over there early enough.

- Walk down Charles Street (quaint shops) and Newbury Street (pricey shops)

- Walk through the Boston common (see the frog pond - http://www.bostoncommonfrogpond.org/) and public garden and take a ride on the Swan Boats (get there early in the morning so you don't have to wait in line) http://www.swanboats.com/new/welcome.shtml

During your walk through the public gardens (Charles Street entrance), don’t forget to stop by the duckling monument put up to honor the classic story of a family of Mallard ducks in downtown Boston from the book -Make Way for Ducklings- by Robert McCloskey, Viking, 1941, A Caldecott Medal winner - if you are there on mother's day there's a kids parade through the park.

A copy of the book makes a great gift for kids. It can be found at most Boston gift shops. I give it to all new mothers as part of the shower or christening gift.

- Spend an afternoon in Harvard Square (lots of shops, really great people watching and lots of history)

- Take a Duck Boat Tour. This is the best way to ride by all the sights. It is a land and water tour which you can catch at the Prudential or Science Museum (reserve ahead). Not only do you get to see the harbor but you get to ride in it (all kids on board get a chance to drive the boat for a minute or two). The guys who ride are really animated, in costumes and tell little known historical stories (like the great Boston molasses flood). http://www.bostonducktours.com/

- Eat dinner in the North End (Italian section) and then have desserts at Mike's Pastry (or look for a quaint coffee shop). Over by the water there is usually a group of older Italian men playing outdoor bocce ball - it's great to watch – on a hot summer night I have watched them for hours. They don’t seem to mind being photographed.

- Depending on what you like, stop by Charleston to see the Constitution, Bunker Hill Monument and then stop by the Warren Tavern for lunch or dinner (small, quaint and great food - gets a little too crowded for me on Wednesday nights) – Tavern on the water (same owners) in the Charlestown Navy Yard is also fun.

- See a Red Sox Game and get a tour of Fenway Park (sometimes you can get tickets using the Craig site website – kind of like EBay but free and organized by location - http://boston.craigslist.org/)
tickets: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/ticketi...x.jsp?c_id=bos
tour: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/tour.jsp


- Head up to Gloucester (whale watches), Newburyport (shops/food), Portsmouth NH (shops/food), Salem MA (check out some of the witch museums), Rockport (quaint shopping and picture taking ) or down to Cape Cod or Newport RI – there is a ferry service found in between the aquarium and the Marriot Longwarf you can go out to the harbor islands and hike (mostly flat) or take a fast ferry to Provincetown.

Side trip websites:
Rockport: http://www.rockportusa.com/ (day trip)
Newburyport: http://www.newburyportchamber.org/ (day trip)
Portsmouth: http://www.portsmouthnh.com/(day trip)
Salem: http://www.salemweb.com/(day trip)
Gloucester: http://www.cape-ann.com/gloucester.html(day trip)
Newport: http://www.gonewport.com/ (stay overnight)
Cape Cod: http://www.capecodchamber.org/ (stay overnight)
Nantucket: http://www.nantucket.net/ (stay overnight)
Martha’s Vineyard: http://www.mvy.com/ (stay overnight)
White Mountains, NH (need at least 3 days): http://www.visitwhitemountains.com/


- If you do a day trip to Salem to visit the witch museums (take a train/blue line – the traffic is crazy all summer) visit the Rockmore Floating Restaurant. You catch a small boat out to it from Pickering Wharf – they have burgers, salads, etc. The best is throwing your French fries to the fish swarming the area (because they know about the French fries) – also great views back to Salem.

- Boston has a lot of great parks. My favorite is the Back Bay Fens. Local residents who don't have a yard take a spot and turn it into their own garden. There are literally hundreds of these, all beautiful (near Kenmore Square).

This site lists many of the parks:
http://www.emeraldnecklace.org/tourtheparks.htm
Another favorite: The Arnold Arboretum is a 265-acre botanical garden and educational research facility run by Harvard University. Over 5000 kinds of trees, most originating from northern temperate forests, are featured. Two of the arboretum's highlights include the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection and the Lilac Collection. In 1872, the Arboretum's first director, Charles Sprague Sargent, designed the grounds in collaboration with the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted as part of Boston's Emerald Necklace park system http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/

- You may also want to consider a day at the Science Museum. If you don't want to take the entire day you can get tickets to their Omni theater which is quite good (a few hours for a show).

- The JFK library is also great. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Librar...essibility.htm

- Then there's the aquarium & IMAX theater (although I have been to much better aquariums in other cities - the best in Valencia, Spain)

- The Museum of Fine Art http://www.mfa.org/ and the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum http://www.gardnermuseum.org/ are also nice.

- I'd skip Fanuel Hall and the Cheers Bar and stay away from all the dives on Route 1 and Revere Beach.

One other thing, check out:

Formaggio Kitchen
244 Huron Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
tel: (617) 354-4750
toll-free: (888)-212-3224

www.formaggiokitchen.com

It's just outside of Harvard Square (maybe a mile? - you can walk, drive or take a bus) and has amazing stuff!!! Granted none of it seems to be native to Boston but they have tons of stuff from Europe (mach of which is exclusively distributed to them) - cheeses (that you can taste), wines, olive oil, pasta, bread, pastry....

Great sandwichs too - good little shop to stop at for picnic food and sample some cheeses....

They also have other locations in South Boston & NY, although I have never been to them.

Thank you all so much...I am so looking forward to my trip to Boston...

For Romantic night time outdoor dining try the South End, about a 5 minute walk south from your Hotel is Columbus Ave.
On Columbus between Massachuetts Ave. and Dartmouth Street there are multiple restaurants to choose from, Petit Robert Bistro is very good, there are a few other cafes nearby. More of a slow placed charming area, less tourist filled. But if you do go, make a reservation. Jae's,a pan-asian place also had outdoor dining in that area.

For great Italian food try La Famiglia Giorgio's on Newbury street.Paul

Hi..go to quincy market and get a lobster roll at the walrus and carpenter.... go see the USS Constitution... Love the North End for dinner.. romantic place for cappucino and cannoli mike pastry's on Hanover... go to Fenway Park, see a game.. great venue... Ciao Bella on Newbury street... art museum is great...whale watch from the aquarium... walk along newbury street and the public garden. Go see the Boston Pops.

Everyone has been so great with suggestions...one night we want to go to L'Espalier...for a special birthday dinner...has anyone been? Would you recommend it? Are there any that are similar? Thanks...

L'Espalier is excellent, one of the best resturants in Boston. It has a very cozy, romantic atmosphere, it's in a brownstone. I think it's a good choice for fine dining.

You have lots of good suggestions. I don't think anyone else has mentioned walking around Beacon Hill, but I would recommend that in addition to the Freedom Trail. there is now a Black Heritage Trail there.
Chinatown is also interesting tho much smaller than NYC or SF

Must respectfully disagree with two of the previous suggestions.

Mike's Pastry in the North End is the tourist trap pastry shop. It's the biggest, you'll see more people holding bags from it, but it is nowhere near the best. Across Hanover street and down the block is Modern Pastry--much higher quality there (ask a NATIVE north ender, I bet they agree)

La Famiglia Giorgio is (IMO) one of those high-quantity, low quality places. Luckily there are dozens upon dozens of alternatives in the North End. They all post their menus, so stroll around and pick one that sounds good to you, and you can almost not go wrong.

We have had several wonderful experiences over the years having brunch at the Hampshire House, across from the Public Garden on Beacon Street.
http://www.hampshirehouse.com/jazz-brunch.htm

Great city. In my opinion the Sunda
Brunch at The Ritz can't be beat.
Have a great trip!!!

As a local, I say skip Legal and head to Skipjacks. If you can't get to Essex, Rockport or Gloucester for "real" seafood, this is the next best thing and it is quite good. Legal is too chainy for me.

I second Modern Pastry over Mike's. I ordered birthday cakes and pastries from Mike's for an office party and they were frozen inside. Switched to Modern and everything is perfectly fresh. But my friends who live in the North End will only go to Maria's!

I prefer Antico Forno on Salem Street in the North End, and they are more reasonably priced than some of the bigger places.

Amyb. Maria's is another great pastry place! I agree with your friends! They're only around the corner from Modern's (I often go to both)

If you really appreciate Italian food having visited Italy many times and you want lovely food prepared without a lot of show and served by the chef's family La Famiglia Giorgio's is the place to be.Greetings from Belgium.Paul