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Things to do in Boston, MA


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I know this has been done before but I tried searching and I coulnd't find the old thread. Just found out I'm gonna be going to Boston next month and I've never been before so just wanted to get some general ideas of bars, restaurants, and tourist attractions I should be making a point to check out.

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Grab some Dim Sum in Chinatown. China Pearl is my fave. Pretty much any place in the Italian North End.

 

See the Constitution tall ship in Charlestown. Stop at the Bunker Hill memorial while there.

 

A game at Fenway Park. Sox suck so tickets will be available outside. Even if you can't go to a game check out the Bleacher Bar built right under the Fenway bleachers.

 

PTR

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Faneuil Hall is pretty neat. The Freedom Trail is a rather touristy thing to do, but if you don't mind being a greenhorn then go for it. Like PTR said, Fenway Park is a great place to digest a ball game. Don't bother with the Cheers bar.

 

My biggest recommendation though is the Isabella Stewart-Gardner museum. If you're into art, it's a fantastic place.

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I went to Boston last month to attend my graduation from BU -- so I have lots of things to suggest! :)

 

Catch a game at Fenway. We had tickets in the outfield behind the bullpen and paid about $27/ticket for them. Great ballpark, and fun to watch the game.

 

Do a tour of Fenway. They run these every hour and costs about $15. They talk about the history of the stadium, take you around the park to the Green Monster, press level, etc, etc. Fun way to spend an hour or so - and some great photo ops.

 

Sunset cruise -- we took a cruise around the harbor and got great views of the city and the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). You also get to see the flag lowering ceremony every night which is pretty cool. http://www.bostonhar...set-cruise.aspx

 

Eat lots of Italian in the north end. Buy a cannoli at Mike's Pastry: http://mikespastry.c..._info_10CT.html

 

Do a Duck Boat tour. Their land/water vehicles that drive around the city, go into into the water, and then drive around the city again. Great to see the city from land and sea. http://www.bostonducktours.com/

 

The Prudential Center observatory was also pretty cool if you like seeing a city from 50+ stories up. There's a discount for buying the Duck Tour and the Observatory ticket together: http://www.prudentia...etail.php?id=64

 

Avoid the Black Rose! It's an Irish pub on State St. and the food was terrible. They've won awards and such, so maybe it was just a bad day - but was by far the worst meal I ate there.

 

We did a walking tour of the city as well which was kind of cool. They walked through the cemetery and talked about interesting stuff. Saw where the Declaration of Independence was first read, and other interesting pieces of history.

 

If you have some extra free time, driving to Plymouth to see Plymouth Plantation, Plymouth Rock, and a replica of the Mayflower are pretty cool. It's a good day trip.

 

Another day trip is a drive to Salem. Lots of witch history, including the fact that the original dungeons were found in the parking lot of what is now Walgreens... And nobody thought to preserve it at the time, go figure. :(

 

You can do tours of the various campuses. One thing that was recommended to us (that we didn't do) was to get a student tour of Harvard. They're free, although tipping $5-$10/person is customary. They walk you around campus and talk about the history and such.

 

Don't be afraid to use the public transportation! You can get a 7 day unlimited subway pass for only $15, VERY economical and it's easy to get around.

 

Oh, the Museum of Fine Art was really cool too - lots of great artwork including originals from Monet, Van Gogh, etc.

 

Hope that helps. :)

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Now, you are not to share this with anyone. Go to Mike and Patty's - 12 Church St - for breakfast / lunch. OUT OF THIS WORLD!!

 

Ditto on the Duck Boat tour, and Fenway Park tour. I'm not sure what day it runs, but Copley Square has a great farmers market.

 

Some great shops / eating establishments on Newbury St. The independance tour is pretty good and if you are really good at blending in you might be able to get in without paying. Wink wink.

 

I went around and checked out old fire stations when wifey was shopping one morning. Met some great folks and got some great pictures of the buildings.

 

DANG almost forgot. Sam Adams and Harpoon breweries have tours and tastings.

Edited by BuffaloBud
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Thanks for the replys guys. We plan on attending a Sox game, but I would also like to do the tour of the stadium however they have games every day we are there and I am under the impression stadiums do not offer tours on gamedays? Can anybody confirm or deny that? Lots of good suggestions so far. Is the Cheers bar not even worth going to for one quick drink and a couple pics to say that we were there?

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Thanks for the replys guys. We plan on attending a Sox game, but I would also like to do the tour of the stadium however they have games every day we are there and I am under the impression stadiums do not offer tours on gamedays? Can anybody confirm or deny that? Lots of good suggestions so far. Is the Cheers bar not even worth going to for one quick drink and a couple pics to say that we were there?

 

 

No, it's not. It doesn't look anything like set from the show; it's just a little, dingy bar crowded with tourists that has the entire back half devoted to selling tee shirts and beer mugs. It's right off Boston Commons so take a picture of the sign out front and don't bother going in.

 

You also should go over to Cambridge (just across the river); cool area with MIT, Harvard, etc.

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I know this has been done before but I tried searching and I coulnd't find the old thread. Just found out I'm gonna be going to Boston next month and I've never been before so just wanted to get some general ideas of bars, restaurants, and tourist attractions I should be making a point to check out.

Was there last week but didn't have a whole lot of time. Did a few things on Fez's list like the USS Constitution, site of Boston Massacre, Fenueil Hall etc. If you are into beaches, drive a bit and go to Nantasket beach - water should be warmer by the time you go there.

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Thanks for the replys guys. We plan on attending a Sox game, but I would also like to do the tour of the stadium however they have games every day we are there and I am under the impression stadiums do not offer tours on gamedays? Can anybody confirm or deny that? Lots of good suggestions so far. Is the Cheers bar not even worth going to for one quick drink and a couple pics to say that we were there?

 

They do tours on gamedays -- they stop 3 hours prior to the game though:

http://boston.redsox...llpark/tour.jsp

 

Also, regarding Cheers -- if you do the Duck Tour, they drive by Cheers so you can get a picture of the place without having to stop. :)

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They do tours on gamedays -- they stop 3 hours prior to the game though:

http://boston.redsox...llpark/tour.jsp

 

Also, regarding Cheers -- if you do the Duck Tour, they drive by Cheers so you can get a picture of the place without having to stop. :)

 

Cool. I just looked at the Duck Tours website and that looked really interesting so I think that will be added to the must-see list.

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Cool. I just looked at the Duck Tours website and that looked really interesting so I think that will be added to the must-see list.

 

FYI - we did the one from the Prudential Center and that's where we saw Cheers. Don't think you see that with the Aquarium one.

 

The Prudential Center is also where the observatory I mentioned is located so it's convenient if you like that sort of thing (I loved it, got some great pictures!)

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FYI - we did the one from the Prudential Center and that's where we saw Cheers. Don't think you see that with the Aquarium one.

 

The Prudential Center is also where the observatory I mentioned is located so it's convenient if you like that sort of thing (I loved it, got some great pictures!)

 

That sounds good to me. How was the Fenway tour? I toured the new Yankee Stadium a couple summers back and Jacobs Field awhile back and really enjoyed both tours even though I'm not a very big baseball fan.

 

Are you familiar with the Bleacher Bar at Fenway? I've been told its a Bills Backers bar?

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Fenueil Hall is a very neat location as already suggested, and if I remember correctly they have a cheers bar within the commons there. Obviously not the original and probably not worth checking out.

 

Cambridge is also a neat area to walk around. Recommend the Sam Adams brewery tour as well if you are into that thing. It is a bit out of the city, but you can also stop by an old Irish Pub that was in the move Blown Away (don't remember the name).

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That sounds good to me. How was the Fenway tour? I toured the new Yankee Stadium a couple summers back and Jacobs Field awhile back and really enjoyed both tours even though I'm not a very big baseball fan.

 

Are you familiar with the Bleacher Bar at Fenway? I've been told its a Bills Backers bar?

 

The Fenway tour was pretty awesome. I'm not a baseball fan at all, but it was cool to learn about the history, see the field from all different locations, learn about the "hidden code" on the outfield wall, etc. Definitely worth it.

 

Never heard of the Bleacher Bar.

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Never heard of the Bleacher Bar.

Bleacher Bar.

 

If you have ever seen that garage door in center field on TV, that opens into the Bleacher Bar. Unfortunately they won't open that door during games, but they do leave it open during batting practice. FYI there is a competing Boston Bills Backers group that uses the Bleacher Bar as their base.

 

PTR

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