Boston must sees

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by Ridersmom

Boston's Duck Tour is the original.

I don't know what your interests are so it's hard to recommend what to do. The Museum of Fine Arts is worth a visit as is the Museum of Science. If you like sports, I have heard good things about Fenway.

My kids always insisted on some time at Quincy Market and loved to get a bite to eat and watch the street performers (weather and season dependant, of course) If you like bookstores, the Harvard Coop is worth a look.

I think the freedom trail is a nice walk (again weather dependent).

Do not REnt a car! Driving in Boston is a challenge and Boston drivers are not nice. Boston is not well laid out and it is easy to find yourself lost, on a dead end, or in a "can't get there from here" situation. The T is a good way to travel. And parking can not only be hard to find by very costly.

Not sure of your group composition but if you have young children, stopping by the Make Way for Ducklings statues is a must (as is reading the book).

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Thank you
Children are 14 and 7 so the Duckling statue we will go to
Definitely not driving!

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by dreamadream

Harvard was the highlight of our trip, such an interesting tour by students, you will like it if you are into Harry Potter too
Fenway was very good even to me a sports hater, hubby was in his element.
We really enjoyed a trip to Salem, very beautiful New England town, I had wanted to go since watching hocus locus as a kid!

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Did the Harvard tour take long as would like to go.
Ha ha my DD said the same thing about Hocus Pocus. Is Salem an all day trip or could I get stuff done in an afternoon?
TIA

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by mick

Whenever we visit a new city whether it's Lisbon and Barcelona in Europe or NYC and San Fran in the States we always start with some sort of Hoho tour. We then decide which bits that we've seen are worth returning to later in the holiday.

We did both the trolley and duck tour in Boston. May seem a strange choice but we got off the trolley and caught the subway over to Cambridge and visited the Harvard campus via the MIT. Two of America's most highly regarded educational establishments in one day.

Just the same as American tourists visiting Oxford and our Cambridge I guess.

Mick

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Def want to visit Harvard

[Ridersmom]

I don't view Salem as a must see in the Boston area, but I think it can easily be done in a half day. I would also use public transportation as the roads to and from Salem can be very slow and very busy.

[dreamadream]

Originally Posted by Tweety1

Did the Harvard tour take long as would like to go.
Ha ha my DD said the same thing about Hocus Pocus. Is Salem an all day trip or could I get stuff done in an afternoon?
TIA

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The tour was a few hours
Salem is so easy to get to from Boston on the train, about 30mins if I remember rightly. It was a half day thing, we went to the house of 7 gabels house which was in a beautiful area

[2point]

A few nice ideas in here, Boston is on the itinerary for us on the Magic in October.

Thanks

[bluedave]

Fire + ice restaurant is worth a visit.

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by bluedave

Fire + ice restaurant is worth a visit.

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This looks great thank you - it’s on the list

[cornishfrogboy]

We arrive late on 18 July and then have 3 nights before leaving by AMTRAC at lunchtime, so 2 and a bit days. Our itinary for this phase of a larger vacation is as follows:

We arrive, get a taxi or Uber to our houseboat close to the Paul Reveire house and after finding some food, settle in for the night.

Day 1.
Next morning, it is out and then a move to the start of the Freedom trail. We will follow this to the letter and take most of the day if necessary. We will be eating in the Quincy market and using a guide to the freedom trail that is around the size of a Ladybird book (if you are old enough) with an A4 sized fold out of Old Boston in the front and New Boston at the back, which I have annotated with additional points to see etc. As we approach each of the 18 or so sites, we will read, discuss and decide whether to investigate further. The trail ends at USS Constitution and we will most certainly investigate that thoroughly, along with (if we have time), the Naval museum.

It is then back to the Houseboat before an evening out on the water with a sunset cruise. Dinner may be on the boat, but may be at TGI's.

Day 2.
In the morning it is a Whale watch cruise.

Lunch will be at Quincy market as we make our way to the Swan Pedalos on boston common.

The late afternoon and evening will be spent visiting anything on the Freedom trail that we feel we have missed.

Dinner is as yet undecided.

Morning 3.
A stroll round old Boston and breakfast before a further stroll to Boston South Railway Station and taking our AMTRAC to NY Penn where further delights await!

We have deliberately kept it light and loose. Whilst mindful of the advice and recommends of friends and DIBBERS, We are using the Freedom trail as the basis of our plan, treating it as a 'Recce'.

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

We arrive late on 18 July and then have 3 nights before leaving by AMTRAC at lunchtime, so 2 and a bit days. Our itinary for this phase of a larger vacation is as follows:

We arrive, get a taxi or Uber to our houseboat close to the Paul Reveire house and after finding some food, settle in for the night.

Day 1.
Next morning, it is out and then a move to the start of the Freedom trail. We will follow this to the letter and take most of the day if necessary. We will be eating in the Quincy market and using a guide to the freedom trail that is around the size of a Ladybird book (if you are old enough) with an A4 sized fold out of Old Boston in the front and New Boston at the back, which I have annotated with additional points to see etc. As we approach each of the 18 or so sites, we will read, discuss and decide whether to investigate further. The trail ends at USS Constitution and we will most certainly investigate that thoroughly, along with (if we have time), the Naval museum.

It is then back to the Houseboat before an evening out on the water with a sunset cruise. Dinner may be on the boat, but may be at TGI's.

Day 2.
In the morning it is a Whale watch cruise.

Lunch will be at Quincy market as we make our way to the Swan Pedalos on boston common.

The late afternoon and evening will be spent visiting anything on the Freedom trail that we feel we have missed.

Dinner is as yet undecided.

Morning 3.
A stroll round old Boston and breakfast before a further stroll to Boston South Railway Station and taking our AMTRAC to NY Penn where further delights await!

We have deliberately kept it light and loose. Whilst mindful of the advice and recommends of friends and DIBBERS, We are using the Freedom trail as the basis of our plan, treating it as a 'Recce'.

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Sounds great...yes I am old enough to remember ladybird books . Did you buy that here? I’m so unsure about whale watching whilst I would love to do it I have read lots of people get sea sick! However not looked into this thoroughly. Have you ever done it before?
Your trip is a bit like mine as we are going to NY then Florida... can’t wait
I need to pin the itinerary down as like I say we were going to Cape cod so not looked too much at Boston. Just read another of your posts advising on Orlando without Disney. We too have just done this and had a great time. I will be looking up your suggestions for other places to go. Lots of ppl talk about the ‘panhandle’ so will look there too