I'm surprising my husband for his 40th b-day and taking him to Boston. Neither of us has ever been there and want to make the most of our short visit! We arrive on Friday afternoon and will be there until midday on Sunday. Only plans we have so far is the Red Sox/Yankees game on Saturday. (Yes, we'll be there the weekend of the Boston Marathon!)

I'd appreciate any and all suggestions on what we are the definite "must sees"! Also looking for ideas where to eat (definitely want Italian one night but which restaurant?. Legal Seafood has come highly recommended--they say the clam chowder is the best--true?

Thanks for any advice!

I just got back from Boston last week and I was only there for the day, so I had to see everything that I could. There is Faneuil Hall Marketplace if you like food and shopping, and I love President Kennedy things, so I had to go to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. There is the USS Constitution and the Freedom Trail. I know it sounds like a lot, but just walking around downtown Boston is a great treat!

Recently hosted 2 Southerns in Boston and got to see my city through the eyes of a tourist. They loved the Boston Public Library, the Freedom Trail, Newbury Street, walking along the harbor. Quincy Market was okay but its gotten kind of passe. They loved the Public Garden even though the pond was drained and there were no flowers (go figure).

Enjoy the Red Sox game. There is nothing in the US like the rivalry between the Sox and the Yankees. Make sure you enjoy a sausage from a vendor on Yawkey Way before the game and a beer from the Cask and Flagon too. That's part of the true Fenway experience. Fenway is an awesome park to experience a game in - hopefully you have decent seats (some can be awful). There will be a huge number of Yankee fans at the game and the fans of each time will try to shout the other side down. It gets crazy.

Have a great time.

Will you be driving in or fly/train? Where staying?
There are good restaurant reviews at www.phantomgourmet.com and go to www.thebostonchannel.com, click on Chronicle the Monday Apr1: dishes. they did a show on the "signature" dishes in and around Boston.
I assume you have tickets to the Sox game. Try a sausage sub outside the park. Sample the vendors.
Walk along the Charles river by the Hatch Shell, (This is also convenient to Newberry St and the Prudential area).
Walk around the Fanueil Hall Market area.
Boston is very walkable. Hope the weather is good. It should be chilly.

Hi!

We will be flying in on Friday and we're staying at Le Meridien. Thanks for all the info! Keep it comin'!!

Lisa, if your schedule allows I'd like to suggest the Museum of Fine Arts and/or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, both in the "Fenway" area of the Back Bay not far from Fenway Park. The MFA has many wonderful collections and is particularly well known for its Impressionist paintings and Egyptian antiquities. The Gardner gets just about everyone's vote as Boston's "hidden jewel" - though not so hidden as it once was.

And if you would like a truly elegant meal in beautiful surroundings you need go no further than Julien, the restaurant in the Meridien hotel. It's one of Boston's finest and most romantic French restaurants, a bit on the pricey side but definitely worth it.

Lisa, Legal Seafood is great, though you'll find it debated here endlessly. Some say it's a chain, but it's owned by one family so I hesitate to condem it on that basis. The chowder is terrific, and my favorite dish is one with rice, broccoli, shrimp and cheese. The menu is very inventive, not just fried/broiled/baked fish. Enjoy it.
I can't reccomend an Italian restaurant in the North End, but it's hard to go wrong. But, skip dessert and head to Mike's Pastry on Hanover St. for cannoli and espresso. It's a Boston landmark! Have a wonderful visit.

I spent a long weekend in Boston last year and really fell in love with the city.

I especially enjoyed the Museum of Fine Art or the BAM as it's known, walking around the Freedom trail- especially the North church and Newberry Street. we took the train out to Harvard for an afternoon and also did a bit of shopping at Copely Square (or Plaza?).

We had a fantastic dinner at the Legal Seafoods by the theater district and also LOVED our dinner at Mama Maria's in the northend. The restaurant is kitty corner from Paul Revere's house. Excellent food, service and atmosphere!
We thought Anthony's was way overpriced and the food was mediocre at best.

Had great cocktails at Vox and beers and Irish music at the Black Rose (oldest Irish bar in the states?)

Have a great time!

Just in case anyone tries to follow up on any of Wendy's recommendations, the correct spellings are:

Museum of Fine Arts = MFA
Newbury Street
Copley Square (not the same place as the upscale shopping mall, Copley Plaza)
Legal Sea Foods

But she's completely right about Anthony's Pier 4 having seen better days.

Well, OK, as long as we're getting into it . . .

It's North End, not northend

Mamma Maria's, not Mama Maria's

Copley Place, not Plaza (the Copley Plaza is one of the city's oldest and grandest hotels, which houses The Oak Room, hands-down the best steakhouse in the city).

And what is "BAM"? Boston Art Museum, maybe? I've never heard that term used.

Anthony's has indeed seen better days, but still has the best wine list in the city for lovers of old bottles looking for a "steal".

Good catch (pun intended, kinda) on Legal Sea Foods, by the way, English. I had to look that one up.

It's Old North Church on the Freedom Trail.

Poor Wendy, just trying to be helpful, gets all picked apart.

Re: BAM, maybe she was thinking of the Museum of Bad Art in Dedham.

xxx, you bring up a good point. We're all just (I assume - I know I am) having a bit of good-natured sport picking nits here. Wendy's recommendations were all excellent and that's the important thing. Wendy - I'm sure I couldn't do as well providing recommendations for your hometown.

I hope you already have tickets to the Red Sox - they are playing the Yankees that weekend and tickets have been sold out forever. If not, you will have to rely on a ticket broker and pay a high premium.

As a longtime resident of Boston my first piece of advice is to check a 5 day forecast. the weather here is so up and down this time of year altho you didnt say when you are coming.
Legals is quite good but equally good and a little more intimate is SKipjacks, great chowder,entrees and desserts and service. its right in copley square on clarendon st. and theres a lot of nice areas to walk to from there. My favorite areas to walk are beacon hill, which has one commercial st. called charles st and then you just walk any of the side streets up the hill. there are beautiful brick buildings. its usually a favorite of visitors. Also wonderful to walk and to eat in is the north end, the italian section. if you like to walk its walking distance from downtown. or you can take the subway to
haymarket and its a short walk. there are tons of rsts on the main st and off of it. the main st is called hanover. i
would be hard pressed to recommend a particular one, i like them all. you can wander and look at the menus. also great cafes for after dinner coffee or drinks or desserts.
the library is an incredible building and well worth seeing in copley sq. Also
the art museum, the public gardens and the harbor area plus the aquarium are amazing. quincy mkt is a set of old restored buildigns with shops and rsts. its really mainly for tourists who like to shop. im not a big shopper. if you have other questions feel free to write
directly to my email. hope this helps.

As a lifelong resident of Boston, I would say: Check the 5-day forecast and then ignore it. Those guys can't even get a one-day forecast right half the time, especially at this time of year. Bring layers, including a sweater and something waterproof as well as something for hot days. You never know what you'll get around here.

If the game on Sat is at 1pm, try this:
Take the T to Copley Square in the morning. Walk thru Trinity Church and The Boston Public Library to see the art work. Walk (or take the T) by the Christian Science church up Huntington Ave to the Museum of Fine Arts. Spend the late morning there. You can have lunch in the Museum or try a vendor at Fenway Park (a short walk from MFA).
After the game walk down Newberry St. Depending on time of day you could eat at a restaurant in that area. Plenty of good places on Newberry St. Or go over to the Prudential and eat at Leagal Seafood. You could also try Fire and Ice which is also nearby.
After dinner, hit the bar scene downtown.
Lots of walking but fun. (assuming good weather and the Sox beat the Yankees).

To English, Dick and xxx- I apologize for mis-spelling the names and places in Boston. I was only there for a long weekend and really had no reason to remember the details of the spelling after I returned home. If someone asks about Seattle (my home town) I am prepared with advice and the correct spelling! Hope I didn't offend, thanks for the clarity!

p.s. I called the MFA the BAM because in Seattle and in Portland the musuems are the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and the Portland Art Museum (PAM) I thought Boston might be the Boston Art Musuem (BAM) or perhaps a new segment on Emeril! haha!

I have been to Boston quite a few times visiting my student daughter. I highly recommend going up to the North End for dinner on Friday night. Any of the restaurants are good and they are all authentic Italian. A trip to Mike's Pastry Shop right there for desert is a must. Try to walk up to the North End if possible or take a cab. Legal Seafood is good and there are many locations. make reservations when you get there. Go down to the area of Fanuil Hall and Quincy market for walking and eating as well. Don't forget to go to Dunkin'Donuts for your coffee.All the locals do! Bypass Starbucks.Taking the T is super easy and quite cheap.

Dick,Wendy,XXX
any good restaurant suggestions?
I don't think Skipjacks sounds like my kind of place.I rather try the places that are not part of a chain.

Mary,

The only folks who go to Fanuil Hall,Quincy Market,North End or Legal Seafoods are tourists!