US history sites- D.C.-NYC-Boston-Philly
 

Taking our three children ages 18, 16 and 11, next May and we only have two weeks. What would be the best route (we would also like to hit Niagara Falls). Older two have been to NYC and my husband and I have been many times so we probably won't spend too much time there. I was planning on public transit for DC and NYC and then maybe a train to Boston then rent a car there?

You can take the ferry to Salem for the day. Very interesting. I loved Concord as a kid. We did the freedom trail. Red sox tickets, check out your dates for a game. Don't get the car till after Boston. Hotels are very expensive there. Check out airbnb for a couple of nights. Charlestown is really nice with Bunker hill and might be a bit cheaper.

Where are you flying in and out of? I love amtrak for D.C. to Boston. DC has so much that is free so really take advantage of that.

Niagara Falls is worth 1/2 day but you will lose at least full day getting back and forth from any other city.

It's a tough choice. Do any of you have specific interests? DC can take as long or as little as you like.

Random notes-

Baltimore: if you have animal fanatics, the aquarium is amazing. There's also a 9/11 memorial that I found really moving.

Alexandria: has an old apothecary that was kept completely intact. It's unique and a really good "window" into history.

DC...is DC. My favorite museums are air and space and Holocaust. The latter is a must see for kids, I feel. One of my newer discoveries is the Postal museum- it's got stuff for all ages and the exhibits do a good job of tying on past and present. Absolutely go to Arlington, and dedicate a good chunk of time to touring the memorials during the day AND at night. Mt Vernon is a must see for me too. So is library of congress.

Williamsburg- I don't know if your kids will get into it. I wasn't that impressed as a teen, but there's a lot to see. And there's Busch gardens, of course, and that might be a good break for your teens.

Philadelphia: favorite thing there is reading terminal market. History wise- religious freedom, Ben Franklin. There's an amazing old style ice cream parlor. Philadelphia reminded me of Boston- it's compact but there's an intense amount of stuff to do. So don't under estimate how much stuff there is to see. I really only went for the liberty bell- well, I didn't see it, but I did see a lot of other stuff!

Boston: my favorite city. Boston MFA is amazing and I've been to A LOT of art museums. Freedom trail is great. Isabella Stewart Gardner is unique and I think it would intrigue teens. I really enjoyed the history of the place in general. Priotritize what you want to see the most- it's easy to get distracted. I spent 5-6 days last time. But I don't think a month would be enough! I might be weird but one of my highlights was going for dinner at the hotel that used to be a prison.

Salem: yes, it is corny. It brings out the weirdos to some extent. And it's a bit over the top. But Salem witch trials are something kids tend to know about and the town is a lot of fun. If you have geeks (or you are a geek) when I was there, the shops carried a lot of Harry Potter stuff. Most importantly, it's home to the Peabody Essex. It has a fully intact Chinese house (I think something like 10 generations lived there) INSIDE the museum, and the museum also has a lot of early American decorative arts or seaport stuff that I haven't seen elsewhere in the US. Two things I remember- toys and ship figureheads.

Also in Philly: the Mutter museum- medical museum with physical abnormalities, historic medical tools, really good exhibits on battlefield hygiene and surgery. I think a lot of kids really don't grasp what medicine was like- what life expectancy was, how serious some conditions were. I will say that there are a few "ew" displays, and it may depend on the maturity of your 11 year old. Some parts are rather "ripley's believe it or not"-esque but it is a serious medical museum. Fascinating place.

Your train plan is fine. It might be more convenient to rent a car, but I wouldn't want one at all in DC or Boston.

Also forgot to mention- be sure to research on when to buy tickets, how early you should show up for stand by. I got in line insanely early for Washington monument, but if I had been another 20 people back, I would have missed out (and there were easily more than 100 people behind me). I didn't get to see much of the Liberty Bell center because after DC, I was wiped out and wasn't up for waiting in line in Philly.

You need to do your planning early since for many things advance tickets are either absolutely necessary, avoid very long lines, or get you a major discount (Amtrak tickets at least several weeks in advance).

Also note that May is VERY expensive for hotels since all the colleges are holding graduations (esp bad in Boston, but also tens of thousands of kids in NYC meaning that many hotel rooms out of circulation). Remember that renting apts short-term is illegal in NYC - and often a scam - so don;t even consider it.

For Niagara Falls you need to allow 3 days unless you will fly in and out (one long day drive to get there, one day to see things and then one long day drive to the next city).

If interested in U.S. history, note that Philadelphia has Independence Hall -- BY FAR the most important site, historically, in the U.S. From within its walls came the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and an event on 1797 March 4th that amazed European diplomats (can you figure out what happened?)

If you know the exact hour you wish to tour this place, you can get tickets in advance (there is a fee for advance tix). Or you can hope to get tickets on the day you're there. If you arrive early you most likely get SOME time that day, but I can't guarantee that.

The Liberty Bell can be viewed 24 hours of day, but it pales in comparison to the hall next to it.

You will not need an auto to see the sites in Philly; indeed, I would say an auto would be a liability if you are hoping to see historic sites.

Permit me to join with others in recommending you skip Niagara Falls on a trip to cities on the Atlantic Shore. Not that the falls aren't great -- I've enjoyed all five of my visits there -- it's just that they should be seen when you go to visit the area as a whole: Toronto, Buffalo, etc.

The National Park Service has an app for Boston and it's Freedom Trail which explains the sites and maps them.

Where'd the Williamsburg notion come from - the op is talking about DC to Boston. Williamsburg is B O R I N G for teens and not useful if OP wants to use public transit.

Niagara Falls is a waste of time considering the remainder of your itinerary and the amount of days you have.

Boston has a surfeit of universities for a small city (and Boston is physically very small, its population is also smaller than you think). What NYtrav said above is completely true - May is a madhouse due to graduations (Tufts, Brandeis, MIT, Northeastern, BC, BU, Harvard, more). Book early.

Honestly, if the trip focus is US history, you can minimize time in NYC. Philly and Boston are far more important in Revolutionary War history, DC's monuments and museums trace the last two centuries.

A lot of really great info here! Thanks ! I would have never thought about the college grad issues. If we went at the very end of may into the beginning of June would we steer clear of that? nytraveler ?

Niagara is not a must, me, my husband, and my oldest have been but the younger two have not. I guess we will see how the itinerary shakes out. I am sure I will have many more questions.

We also love art museums, so if there are any must see's there please let me know!

I will be researching and looking at guide books, however I find the best advice usually comes from my fellow Fodorites :)

I'm headed up to NYC this weekend and am planning to see the USS Intrepid. My great uncle served on it in WWII- from the website it seems really interesting so that might be something to do.

As far as art museums, the Phillips Collection in DC is my favorite and an easy metro ride to my second favorite, the National Gallery of Art.

No car needed in Boston. Excellent public transportation on the T (buses, subways, ferries).

Art Museums of Note ..here is a list off the top of my head:

Boston : Museum of Fine Arts, the Gardner Collection

NYC : Metropolitan Museum of Art. Museum of Modern Art, Frick Collection, Guggenheim, Whitney, and many more

Philadelphia: Barnes Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin Museum

DC: National Gallery, Phillips Collection, and many more

> We also love art museums

Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Philadelphia Art Museum
National Gallery in DC

All are definitely among the top ten art museums in the U.S.; perhaps all are even in the top five!

nytraveler raises a good point about Boston and scarcity (and expense) of hotels rooms in May. Not sure of your dates, but it's best to work around the big graduation dates. There are gaps in the calendar. A local blog, www.bostonzest.com, publishes graduation dates every year in the Fall. You can use it as a guide. (I have no connection to this biog.)

In Boston, you have the Freedom Trail, day trips to Salem, and to the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy. You can also easily visit the Kennedy Library. For history, Lexington and Concord are important and also Plymouth and Plimouth Plantation. Plymouth and Concord are better visited with a car.

Should be a great trip!

There are WAY too many art museums in these cities to comment without further info. When you've done your research, come back with more questions -- I'm sure some of us can help you narrow down your choices.

In Boston, I really enjoyed walking through the Mapparium (3-story tall stained-glass globe) at the Mary Baker Eddy Library. You can see how the world has changed since 1935.

No car needed in Boston. Graduations in Boston fill hotels and drive up prices. The busiest graduation time is usually the weekend BEFORE Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day weekend means very busy times on Cape Cod, AmAnd the mountains of northern NE; with locals taking advantage of the long weekend.

Believe it or not, the beginning of July (including Independence Day) finds reasonable hotel prices in Boston and NYC because business travel is way down at that time.

Lowell Mills is a national park and close to Boston. The industrial revolution is another part of history that is fascinating. You will need at least a half day.

How is the beginning of June for crowds? Hoping to avoid too much summer heat. I'm thinking June should be ok.

As far as the museums go, we will see what we can of the Natural History Museums in DC, and will also try and hit some of the suggested ones in other cities. I have been to the New York museums, except the Guggenheim, so may try and hit that one. National Gallery in DC looks great!

Is one to two days in Boston enough? Also, would we need a car if we want to visit Gettysburg?