<p>My daughter and her friend are going to be in Boston next weekend and I want to get them a guidebook to the city. They will both be attending Boston University in the fall, so this will be their first opportunity to explore the city. Any suggestions? Also, what do you think about an ebook? Or should I stick with a paperback? Thanks!</p>
<p>A paperback is easier to carry around with them. Don’t have any suggestions, but there have been multiple threads from people with short visits to Boston asking what to see. Try doing a search.</p>
<p>Don’t know where you live, fishymom, but Boston is buried in snow right now. Even if we don’t get any more there will probably be large piles of snow and slush (hopefully not ice) all over the place. Tell them to wear waterproof boots with good tread if they plan to walk around - and they should, because Boston is definitely a walking city.</p>
<p>I’m really cheap - for US cities I go with the free guidebooks from AAA.</p>
<p>Make sure those waterproof boots with good tread are also lined and warm, or at least worn with super-thick socks. Typical waterproof rubber boots will conduct the cold right to the skin the second the foot hits a slush-filled puddle (there needs to be name for those–sluddles?) And no, they won’t be small enough to jump over!</p>
<p>Fodor’s online travel guide is a good place to start for the basic tourist spots. I believe the Let’s Go travel guides are oriented towards the young–they have a basic online presence, but their books are more detailed (there’s one for Boston). </p>
<p>I recommend that the girls familiarize themselves with the “T” (the various lines and how the system operates) before they go–they’ll be using it a lot, especially if it’s too cold for long walks.</p>
<p>It would be good to have a book with a map of the T routes. Or a printout of this map
[MBTA</a> Subway 'The ‘T’ > Maps, Schedules, and Fare Information for the Boston Area Subway System](<a href=“Subway | Schedules & Maps | MBTA”>Subway | Schedules & Maps | MBTA)</p>
<p>The T is really easy to use. It looks like BU is on the Green line. The Green line has several different legs, so you just need to watch for the right one (it looks like Boston College leg… locals can correct me).</p>
<p>Re: the boots - don’t let the girls moan about being fashionable. Bostonians are way beyond caring about fashionable footwear these days!</p>
<p>edit - by “these days” I mean since we got 65 inches of snow in the last 6 weeks!</p>
<p>echoing the suggestion of a T map. <a href=“http://www.mbta.com%5B/url%5D”>www.mbta.com</a></p>
<p>"Bostonians are way beyond caring about fashionable footwear these days! " - That’s a good thing. </p>
<p>It must have been summer tourisst I saw tripping in spike heels on the cobblestone at Faniuel Hall and on the wharfs.</p>
<p>Best “guidebook” is a local student. 
I second getting a free book from AAA if you are a member, or for $10-15 you can get Fodor’s Guide to Boston. I used these compact guidebooks for Berlin and Saint Petersburg, and they were spot on in their advice on what one can reasonably see in X number of days (X=1,2,3 and so on). A paperback would not be a huge loss if it acidentally gets dropped into a puddle.</p>
<p>colorado_mom, that must have been a tourist, I agree - the locals (or local-wannabes) navigate those cobblestones gracefully. :)</p>
<p>Second all the recommendations for winter boots. Hope your daughter won’t be turned off by the inclement weather of the week----Boston is actually very pleasant most of the times :)!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions and advice, really appreciate it! Both girls are from Florida, we in South Florida and her grind is from the Tampa Bay area. They are so excited to see the snow! I am a little worried about them getting stuck there, but what can you do. My daughter has rubber boots with fleece liners, will that be warm enough? I doubt either of them will be worried about being fashionable, they will definitely be more worried about being warm. My daughter has a map to the T on her phone, so no worries there. And they will be using the T a lot!</p>
<p>I doubt the snow and cold will turn them off, they are both so excited to be heading to Boston! I get daily updates about the weather, school closings and expected snowfall from my daughter and she cannot wait to get up there. When we visited Boston last spring, it was so windy, cold and rainy, my daughter had tears in her eyes as we walked across the bridge to the boathouse. I figured that was it for all the Boston schools, but she really loved Boston, despite the weather. She visited again in November and that trip sealed the
deal for her!</p>
<p>Thanks again for all the help!</p>
<p>I’d suggest getting them some Chili’s or other long underwear. My Southern boy is loving Boston, but says it takes longer to get dressed.</p>