My question is complicated because we have so little time! We will arv in Bos at noon next Friday by car from Cape Cod on our way to Woodstock, VT, on Saturday on Hwy 2 on other side of Bos. We want to walk some of the Freedom Trail and spend the night in Bos. We don't have a minute to waste on Friday but have heard about driving in Bos! Should we stay on the South side, downtown, or Cambridge? Thanks for your help.

Driving into Boston isn't all that awful if you have good directions and study them in advance. Usually the best place to get good directions is from the hotel's website (but NOT if you are directed to Mapquest, etc.). Unless there's some huge event going on this weekend, driving into Boston Friday afternoon shouldn't be too difficult. And, finding your way to Route 2 (although the Mass Pike would be preferable) won't be that bad either.

You'd best book overnight accomodations forthwith, however. Note that hotel parking is around $40/night. In the Financial District, there are nearby garages for considerably less. The Midtown (a nice enough, well located, place to stay) offers free parking (the only hotel in Boston with free parking, I think).

There's a new Marriott in Quincy, which is just southeast of Boston, just off 3/93, with free parking and a subway stop within an easy walk.

djk's plan makes sense -- stay at a hotel in Braintree or Quincy that offers a shuttle to the T, take the subway into Boston (they're on the Red Line of the subway, take it to Park Street and you're at the beginning of the Freedom Trail). Then you'll be handy to the highway for the next day's trip.

I must disagree with the Braintree/Quincy suggestion. When time is of the essence, I say hit your destination and make each moment count. You will only be wasting time staying outside of the city, time you seem not to afford. Noontime and early afternoon should be ok traffic wise, however, later in the day on Fridays,anything can happen. I would consider hotels in the theatre district or back bay, which are easier to reach, and easier to access Rt2. If you're going to hit Boston, you should at least spend the afternoon, night and morning on your adventure. Hit quickbook, get the best rate, and repost, if I'm around I'll try to steer you car in the right direction. Best of luck/.

gyppie, I agree it's a close call, and in many circumstances I'd recommend just what you said. BUT in this case, they'll be driving thru Braintree and Quincy on their way to Boston anyway, and the T will get them from that point to the Freedom Trail in about the same time as driving into the city, parking, etc. They're apparently arriving on the Friday of the holiday weekend, so there's a risk that rush hour will start early, my decision to recommend not driving into the city was based on the risk of getting lost or stuck in traffic and not only wasting precious minutes but also the frustration.

Mema, if you do stay in the city, be sure to get good, detailed, CURRENT directions from a real person, not an internet map, becuase the traffic pattern in downtown Boston changes every couple of weeks as the Big Dig winds down.

Stay in a hotel in the Financial District. They are the closest to most of the Freedom Trail and the North End. Usually reasonably priced on weekends.

If you're heading from Boston to Woodstock VT on a Saturday, then Boston traffic will not be an issue. However, because this will be a prime leaf-viewing weekend, you might well be prepared for plenty of traffic as you approach and get in to NH and VT.

Also, maybe you've got an intermediate stop or two, but getting from Boston to Woodstock VT would not normally involve Rt 2: you'd head north on 93 to 89, then 89 to VT.

However, if you do need to get from downtown Boston to Rt 2, the fastest way for most people (and especially those unfamiliar with Boston and Cambridge roads) would be to take the Mass Pike (Rt 90) to Route 128/95, then 128/95 north to Rt 2.

mema may be taking Route 2 because it is listed as "scenic" in many resources.

One of my most breathtaking moments was driving on Route 2 toward Boston from Lexington. The foliage was glorious on that sunny day, and when the skyline of Boston appeared...WOW!

I was just in Boston and I dis just what you are planning. We spent our entire Friday doing and going where tourists do. My mistake was not staying in or arounf the downtown area when I arrived Thursday night at 11:00 p.m. We drove to Concord Thursday night (where our family function was taking place) and drove Friday morning back to Bost on Route 2. Route two is o.k. but it is not exactly all that great. I wasted too much time driving. Spend the extra 30-40 dollars in Boston and save your valuable time for sightseeing. Also, Boston has terrible construction and the streets are not that well laid out (such as like the grids pattern in Chicago). Cambridge is a good walk from the sights of Boston. We drove through it instead of walking around. Watch for the red line marking the Freedom Trail. Where there is construction the line disappears (EXP. it leads into an intersection but does not reappear on the other side of the street). The cops were helpful.

I agree staying in Boston is your best bet if you have no time to spare. You do not want to have to deal with our T system. (When it works it works and when it doesn't you can be stuck for awhile ie. this train will be coming out of service in Quincy....)

Also if you are taking Route 2 for foliage you might want to ask peole out there what the status of the trees are. I live north of the city and my trees are not turning....

Thanks to all of you for your great advice. Some "circumstances" led us to do this: Arv in Bos at noon, get car, drive to Plimouth Plantation, then drive to Cape Cod, spending the night in Chatham. Then mid-morning drive to Marriott Cambridge (Priceline rate)and park the car thus avoiding driving in downtown Bos, take T (station across the street from Marriott) into downtown Bos, spend the night at Mariott Cambridge. Next morning look at Harvard. Then drive to Queeche, VT, to visit all the cousins! Can't thank you enough for steering me (in the car-ha ha) in the right direction.

Your plan sounds basically OK. Just be aware that baseball playoffs are in Boston Sat-Sun-Mon and Saturday's game (Red Sox Yankees) is at 4 PM. (Sun and Monday are evening games). The city will be a little nuts and do not even think of going near Kenmore Square/Fenway Park area. Try to leave Cape Cod as early as possible.

This should not adversely effect any specifics as you have described them - just something to be aware of.