We are going to Boston the 3rd weekend in Nov. Can't decide between staying at a hotel downtown or renting a car and staying outside (to save some money). Don't know anything about Boston so any help/info would be great.

Stay in the city and use public transportation: it's easy and cheap.

Ditto on previous response. There is no spot in Boston/Cambridge you can't get to faster, cheaper, and with less hassle in a car than using public transport. Boston is easily one of the the US's worst cities for using a car (which is fine, because it also has some of the country's BEST mass transit).

A good compromise would be to stay at a motel on the outskirts of Boston at which you have easy access to the "T". I have stayed at the Motel Six in Quincy and been completely satisfied; no great luxury, but perfectly adequate for my needs.

The best thing about Boston is that it's a great walking town- the worst thing about it is that it is an awful driving town. Spend the extra money it would cost to rent a car and stay in town. If you can't walk where you want to go public transportation will easily get you there.

As the other posters have noted, public transportation in Boston easily accessible and inexpensive. Even if it weren't, you'd still want to use it because driving in Boston is a nightmare! It's a very old town . . . which means streets aren't laid out in a grid. Finding addresses is difficult; downtown is a maze of one way streets; parking is impossible. Add a bit of snow or rain . . . and it gets, if conceivable, worse!

So, stay in town which is utterly delightful (if you're not driving) and use your legs, cabs and public transportation to get around.

Two of my favorite art museums are in Boston: the superb MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) and the Elizabeth F. Gardiner Museum, a delightfully eclectic and entertaining experience in a unique setting.

Agree with all of the above. Stay in Boston. In November, you may find excellent deals (shop around anyway) at www.180096hotel.com. Renting a car, and parking it in Boston, will surely cancel any savings on the accomodations. There's a fabulous Monet exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts and I also highly recommend the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Angela, do yourself a favor and DO NOT rent a car in Boston if you can avoid it. You might try a compromise and stay in Brookline. It's on the "T" and very convenient, yet you might find slightly cheaper prices (I've never stayed at a Boston or Brookline hotel so I'm guessing here). There is a Holiday Inn at 1200 Beacon Street, and at least three b&b's within a block or two of that hotel in Brookline. There is also a Best Western Terrace Inn (I think) in Brighton which is also an easy "T" ride. If you can afford to stay in town and walk, do it. It's the best walking city I know of.
I had to drive from Boston University to Northeastern University today, and said to my passengers (as I circled the MFA down unexpected one way streets...) that I can't imagine how anyone who visits from out of town can drive in Boston. I've lived here for 30 years and know my way around, but they just shouldn't rent cars to outsiders...it's just the worst city to drive in (about as bad for driving as it is good for walking or using public transportation).
Have a great visit, and leave the driving to us locals.

First of all, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was kind enough to respond, with patience, to every question I had about my recent trip to NY and Boston.

My friend and I rented a car in NY and drove to Boston. We had no problem getting around and finding places, thanks to my good sense of direction.

I DO agree with what everyone says here though, if you can help it..DON'T DRIVE IN BOSTON!! I'm from Miami and am used to traffic and nightmare drivers and it WON'T be a vacation for you if you have to drive. Finding addresses is IMPOSSIBLE, especially with the "BIG DIG" going on. The WHOLE city is literally torn up and you think you are heading east when you are heading south and you just get all disoriented. I can see where this would happen to others. My friend NEVER knew where she was. It was very smooth for me in terms of addresses and getting around, but I agree that it can be frustrating and a regretful experience to not try public transportation (which I never did do, btw.) I stayed in Braintree and drove to the city and to the Cape (which I ADORED). Good luck!

Ditto to everyone else's comments re driving/Boston. Our arrival, by car, in that terrific city was memorable. We could SEE our hotel....but because of the streets/construction/etc....could NOT get to it no matter how we tried, it seemed. I think it was a good quarter hour or more, of increasing frustration before somehow we managed to drive up to our hotel (and this was a major downtown one). Leave the driving to someone else so you can enjoy that delightful town.

I've actually heard stories of truck drivers who get as far as Route 128 (the highway which circles Boston at about 10 miles out) and hire taxi cabs to LEAD them, in their trucks, into their desired destination in Boston. Leave the car in the 'burbs and enjoy Boston without it.

Oh it's not that bad!!!! Just remember Boston streets are really old cow paths..that lead to the Boston Common.... Welcome to Boston and enjoy the Museums, Shopping, Theatre and a great eating town--Take a Trolley Tour--The holiday season will just be beginning. The only problem will be everybody will bein Boston that weekend Xmas shopping--so take the"T" or find a local B&B in the South End or Newbury Street, which is our Rodeo Drive---

Now that you've heard nine views that you shouldn't have a car in Boston, here's a dissenting voice, sort of.

There are a number of things to do in the Boston area that aren't accessible by public transit. First and foremost is the Lexington and Concord battlefield park. When you think of "hallowed ground," think of this site of the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War. Lovingly cared for and easy to visualize, it is well worth a special trip. The Adams Homestead (John, Abigail, and John Quincy) in Quincy is sufficiently remote from the "T" to be inaccessible except for those with an auto, and is also a great place to visit. Then, there's Cape Ann (Gloucester and Rockport) and Cape Cod, both very scenic and distinctly New England. Plymouth Rock is on the way to Cape Cod... it is an acquired taste.

You can see those locales as one or more day trips. The big four auto rental agencies have offices in Park Square, just southwest of the Public Garden. From Park Square, you're just a block from an entrance ramp onto the Mass. Pike (Copley), which will point you in the general direction of Lexington and Concord. I don't know how much you can see or would want to see in a day, but that's a suggestion, anyway.

Apart from such a trip, I agree you don't want a rental car in Boston. Keeping it in your hotel's garage at night will cost you an arm and a leg; parking it at the places you'll visit will cost you the other arm and leg.