We are going to Boston next week to attend the wedding of my D’s best friend from growing up. We are staying in Cambridge and do not have a car. We have about 3 1/2 days outside of the wedding things we are doing. Both of our adult D’s will be with us although D1 and her bf are staying with friends somewhere else. We have never really done sightseeing in Boston so I’m hoping those near there will have some suggestions for us. We all love history, museums, good food and alcohol and don’t mind a lot of walking when we visit cities. What things should we definitely try to do and what things are ok to miss? Both D’s were in Boston for their middle school east coast trips so they have done a few of the historical sights. We were thinking of taking the train to Salem for part of a day. We were also wondering if we could do a day at Martha’s Vineyard or if that is too much. All suggestions are welcome.
Harvard Museum of Natural History! If you go, say hi to the glass flowers for me: https://hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers
“history, museums, good food and alcohol and don’t mind a lot of walking”
This is a pretty good summary of Boston!
I agree with the Harvard Museum of Natural History and the glass flowers. While you are in the area spend some time looking around Harvard Square. The MIT museum is also pretty good, and is something worth seeing that a lot of people don’t think of. The Museum of Science is another good option, as is the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
We walked the freedom trail recently with some out of town visitors and it was worth seeing. The USS Constitution is also worth seeing, as is Faneuil Hall. You can pick up a lunch one day at Faneuil Hall.
Take a duck boat tour. Fun way to see lots of sights and hear that wicked pissah accent! You can pick them up all over the city. Scalp some tix for a Sox game. North End dinner (and cannoli) is a must. Actually very good local theater if that’s your thing. There’s always the Freedom Trail (we used to stop at the Salty Dog (Quincy Market) for drinks and raw oysters which seemed to be just about right. Harvard Square is a great idea. Lots always going on there.
I think Martha’s Vineyard is too far and time-consuming for that short of a trip. If you want to be on the water, maybe you can go on a boat in Boston Harbor.
http://www.bostonharborislands.org/
Or go to someplace on the North Shore when you go to Salem.
In Boston, the Institute of Contemporary Art is also interesting and then you can walk along the waterfront in that area.
Thank you everyone for the suggestions so far. I will start looking at all of them this weekend so we can put a list together. We were interested in Martha’s Vineyard as we have never been. We live in coastal SoCal so we don’t have to go to a place on the water while visiting Boston.
Another vote for the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Just beware the heat next week.
Lots of great places to eat New England seafood and chowder near the ICA.
I’d go up the John Hancock tower. Unless you pay for viewing, I think they’ll shuffle you back into the elevator. But in that moment, you still get great views. Or you can have a drink at the bar and wander to the windows. And the shopping area downstairs is interesting.
My daughter has lived in Boston for the past 7 years, so I have visited often and have been to almost all the sights. The museums in Boston are world class - my favs are the MFA, the Isabella Stewart, and the science museum. Rather than see a Red Sox game, do the tour of the stadium, you get to walk on the field and touch the Green Monster wall. I have done Salem, but with limited time I wouldn’t waste a day there. If you do go to Salem, the PEM museum is great. I have done the ICA, the MIT museums, and the Harvard museums - all are fine but the three I mentioned are much better. You should definitely walk some of the green spaces (“Emerald Necklace”). The paths along the Charles (on both the Boston and Cambridge sides) are lovely as is the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The fens is fine (the easiest way to get from the MFA to the Steward museums) but are not safe after dark. Walk through both the Boston garden and the Boston common and I recommend the swan boat ride in the garden (very inexpensive and fun). If you like Aquariums, the one is Boston is top rate - don’t miss it. I enjoyed the top of the Prudential Center - it offers a nice view. Walk the freedom trail (as far as the USS constitution - I have to admit I have never made it all the way to the Bunker Hill Monument.) Definitely hit the north end (there will be a feast there if it is a weekend - a sight to behold if you have never seen it - think the feast scene in Godfather II) You must get a cannoli from Mikes, while you are there. (They have a second place near Harvard Square if you are staying near there in Cambridge). Use the T when you can’t walk - but much of everything is walkable. They sell T passes for tourists - check them out. You need to walk along Newbury St and Copley square also - lots of bars and restaurants in that neighborhood.
I’d skip Martha’s Vineyard. There are plenty of things to do IN Boston. Agree with the suggestions given upstream…Freedom Trail, Boston Public Garden (where there is a nice boat ride, and the public garden itself). Plenty of great food. Agree with the Italian and seafood suggestions. Faneuil Hall is fun.
If there is a home Red Sox game, see if you can get bleacher seats…if you like baseball.
Walking the Esplanade is nice too. Make sure you see the Zakim Bridge…it’s amazing.
No shortage of museums but my favorite is the natural history museum (I think that’s its name) off Storrow Drive or near.
Check to see if there are outdoor concerts anywhere…maybe in Cambridge.
If you go to Salem, you might want to also go to Newburyport which is very pretty and not all that far away.
I just remembered there is some kind of admission deal with the MFA and the Isabella stewart museum - where you get a discount when you buy tickets to both.
Gloucester / Rockport are really cool sea towns. Marblehead is on the way. As much as I like the cape and the islands, I would avoid for such a short trip. Traffic on the cape is pretty tough.
The tour at Fenway is AWESOME. DId that on a Father’s day a few yrs back. Saw a game later that day so it was pretty cool.
If you are going to do the Swan Boat ride in the Boston Public Garden (recommended on a nice day), also check out, if you have an interest in children’s literature, the bronze “Make Way for Ducklings” statues based on the book by Robert McCloskey.
There is a stop for the Duck Boat right at the Boston Museum of Science, so you can do one right after the other. Get schedule and (nonrefundable) tix in advance.
Agree with those who say running to Martha’s Vineyard is for another trip. Focus on Boston for this one.
My favorite fish restaurant is Atlantic Fish on Boylston St. in Back Bay – not casual, but excellent IMO and convenient to a lot else in Back Bay.
If you like libraries, the Central Boston Public Library on Boylston St. is architecturally interesting and offers a good free one-hour “Art and Architecture” tour. Check for schedule. The library is convenient to several other attractions.
I love Boston – my D has lived there, very near the Public Garden, for almost a decade, was married and is rasing her family there, so we visit several times a year.
Enjoy!
When in Boston, my all-time favorite thing to do is to walk around Beacon Hill. Inevitably I feel like I’m in 18th century Europe.
D recently moved to Boston and a harbor tour and the Boston Tea Party Museum are now her standard places to take visitors.
Apparently, an artist has recently put the Make Way for Ducklings statues in cages to protest immigration policy.
You can take a ferry out to Provincetown from the harbor.
Walk the public garden and common. I like to walk the river park around Back Bay, cross over to Cambridge, make a loop. You can rent Mass bikes to do that too.
Re post #15 and the duckling statues, the cages have apparently been removed by park staffers. The concept was effective while there, IMO.
See https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bostons-duckling-statues-put-in-cages-to-protest-migrant-detention-centers/
for a the story and a photo.
29 y.o. DS1 went out to Salem with a few people last week or two and described it as “really fun! It has a very nice, walkable downtown with a lot of stuff going on.”
For the evening check whether there is a concert at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade. It’s easily accessible by T or walking, and there’s plenty of room to relax as long as it’s not July 4th.