I scoured the forums for ideas of where to take my parents for their visit to Boston so I wanted to report back. I have lived here for 5 years and until now, had yet to do any of the tourist things

Where we ate:

Farragut House - in South Boston. I live by here, so it was convenient on their first nite as they were passing through on their way to Boothbay Harbor and Portland. Local Irish Pub - good food and reasonable.

Abe & Louies - Back Bay. This is my number one favorite restaurant in Boston. Lunch for 3 was $134 before tip ( bottle wine, 2 apps, 3 entrees). Excellent service and the food is consistently good. You can't go wrong here - my parents thouroughy enjoyed.

Jacob Wirth - Stuart Street, near Chinatown. We ended up here as Cafe Polonia was closed for a private party. Great food, very reasonable prices. 4 beers, starter, 1 cocktail, and 3 entrees ( sandwiches and small plate) was around $70 before tip.

La Summa Cantina - North End, Fleet Street. I took my dad here 4 years ago, so this was his request. Excellent food, huge portions. I am still eating leftovers!!. All 3 of us had veal, which at $19.95 was the most expensive meal on the menu. I think the bill was $155 - 2 bottles of wine, 2 apps and 3 entrees. Reservations were needed on a Saturday,otherwise it was a 35-45 minute wait.

Mike's Pastry - I think they have great cookies. I personally think Modern has better pastries. The line was insane, but it moved quickly. And thanks to some other regulars on here, I had my first chocolate covered biscotti from Maria's on Cross St. Now I know why people mail order them. So lucky I live here

What we saw:

Sam Adams Brewery - highly recommended. They ask for $2 donaition. I had read Friday and Saturdays are the busiest so we timed to make the second tour on a Friday. It appeared to be filling up as we left. About a 60 minute tour - cute souvenier glass, and 3 tastings. I thought my parents would yell at me for taking them to a brewery at 10:30 in the morning, but they enjoyed themselves, so I think they forgot.

Charlestown Navy Yard - this takes time to see. I thought it would be too much to see along with the Freedom Trail, and it is. It takes time to see this area - we were here for 3 hours and didn't see everything. We saw parts of the museum, and then the USS Constitution. This was really interesting, but the line is SLOW!!! 25 people, every 20 minutes, you do the math. I can't imagine what the line is like on a busy day - it had been raining, so we waited about 1:15/1:30.

Trinity Church - beautiful church. $6 a person, $4 for seniors. There are guided tours, though we just walked around on our own.

Freedom Trail - we did on our own. I had printed out the info on the sites, so we did not stop by the information booth. We also opted to not go into the buildings that charged. On a Saturday, it was crowded ( this was also a rare nice, no rain, summer day).

Liberty Schooner - Sunset sail - I was planning on the Boston Harbor Cruise until I saw someone on Fodors mention Liberty. 6pm- 8pm sail, $30 pp. Beautiful night. Capacity is 130 people but there were only about 30 ppl. I'm glad we made this choice - the Harbor cruises had people standing shoulder to shoulder.


I only had 2 full days - while we saw alot, we also missed alot. We were out by 9:30/10am and not getting back till 10 or 11pm.

Forgot one, Pizzeria Regina - Thacher St, North end. I only like the original location, and it's better eating in than take out. Line wasn't too bad - Friday night, 7:30ish, only had to wait 20/25 minutes. Well worth the wait. 2small pizzas, pitcher of beer, and 3 wines/beer, bill was around $45.

absolutkz,

Thanks for the great ideas. I'm from Boston originally, but always appreciate hearing about some of the restaurants I've missed. By the way, I totally agree with you about Abe and Louie's. The food is very pricey, but actually worth the money. Don't get me started on their amazing steaks or blueberry pie...!!!

absolutkz, thanks for the report! You did a lot with your parents.

I should go check out the Sam Adams Brewery some time. But I think we can wait until the Fall when the crowds die down.

I was at Charlestown Navy Yard recently, and you're right, the lines are insane. Since USS Constitution is under another (!) renovation/restoration and all covered up, I've decided I'll wait until it's fully restored before visiting.

Great info. Thanks. I got some ideas from you for my own parent's visit.

mmyk72 -

I wanted to do the Fenway Park tour, but I couldn't get them excited about it. Lack of sports interest, plus 9am tickets and rain didn't help.

I found out too late, there is a free 45 min tour at the State House that sounds interesting, weekdays only.

I also just saw someone mention that the tour at Boston Public library is good too.

I would also be interested in the unofficial Harvard tour.