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Long story short: We (adult couple) have ended up with one day (a Saturday) in Boston this autumn (and that day also happens to be my 40th birthday).
We land (domestic) on a Friday evening at 10:21pm and depart (international) on a Sunday morning at 7:15am so we’re staying at an airport hotel.
We’ve not been to Boston before but have a New England road trip planned for 2023 (car hire prices permitting!) so we will be back.
Any suggestions for must dos on that one day? Our list of likes is lengthy but includes: sport, history, museums, beer (& wine & cocktails) and good food (vegetarian). No real interest in art galleries.
Any suggestions to help us narrow down what seems to be an endless list of possibilities would be very gratefully received!
We had exactly this about 4 years ago (and in fact are going back next week to see more). As our son was 12 at the time we did the Boston Tea Party museum which was fun if a bit expensive. Then we spent the afternoon wandering around the waterfront which had some nice shops and restaurants.
The water taxi from the airport was a very nice way to get across the harbour on a sunny day, you can prebook this online.
*We’ve booked whale watching for the upcoming trip, if it’s something you’d like to do it’s $65 for the half day trip through the New England Aquarium website.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Freedom Trail, Fenway park tour, various harbour cruises, climb the tower at Bunker Hill, Aquarium, Legal Seafood for lunch/dinner, Museum of Fine Art has one of the best egyptian collections in the world.
*We’ve booked whale watching for the upcoming trip, if it’s something you’d like to do it’s $65 for the half day trip through the New England Aquarium website.
That was the worst whale watching trip I ever had. 20ft waves, 2 hours of hell, and all we saw was one bird and possibly the nose of a dolphin. I hope yours goes better 🙂
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is good if you are there for a short time as it’s not too large but has the most extraordinary and eclectic collection.
Museum of Fine Arts
Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum (where they left the empty frames on the wall after a number were stolen)
Are both very close to each other.
And both are more than just painting galleries.
The Massachusetts State House is also interesting.
@davefl – oh no! We’ve been very spoilt in recent months as well, seen whales and dolphins in abundance in Spain and Canaries, including from shore!
Train to Salem, and see the house with the seven gables and take a selfie with the Elizabeth Montgomery statue.
Train to Salem, and see the house with the seven gables and take a selfie with the Elizabeth Montgomery statue.
And visit the Peabody-Essex Museum (but ignore all the witch nonsense)
But they might want to keep that for their road trip. Trains aren’t very frequent to/from Salem at the weekend with huge gaps in the service,
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Have you checked the MLB schedule? You didn’t say which month and there are a couple of Saturdays in September when the Red Sox are at Fenway Park. I’d count that as must-see if you are there then. Even without a game, the tour is worth it.
Otherwise +1 for Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum
Freedom Trail is the obvious thing, even the theatrical bits with people in costumes.
Have you checked the MLB schedule? You didn’t say which month and there are a couple of Saturdays in September when the Red Sox are at Fenway Park. I’d count that as must-see if you are there then. Even without a game, the tour is worth it.
Otherwise +1 for Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum
Freedom Trail is the obvious thing, even the theatrical bits with people in costumes.
Yes – we’re out of luck (maybe next time!). A tour of Fenway Park is definitely on my list though.
We’ll definitely have to look into the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum given all the recommendations and then I guess the Freedom Trail would be a good way to see a fair bit of the city too.
Thanks all!
*We’ve booked whale watching for the upcoming trip, if it’s something you’d like to do it’s $65 for the half day trip through the New England Aquarium website.
That was the worst whale watching trip I ever had. 20ft waves, 2 hours of hell, and all we saw was one bird and possibly the nose of a dolphin. I hope yours goes better 🙂
About 10 years ago did a whale watching experience in St Lucia. Did actually see the tail of a single whale but nothing else. The swell was awful and my OH had the lovely unexpected benefit of being in the path of a 10 yo projectile vomiting from sea sickness. Then had the return taxi fail to meet us as planned and had to wait 2 hours for another taxi to turn up. Not happy to take us due to the state of my OH Needless to say that was our first and last whale watching experience. Hope Anna’s upcoming experience is better than that
Yikes – I can see how that would put you off! People think that the best whale/dolphin watching is in exotic places, but the best sightings we’ve had have been in Tenerife, especially last year when the drop in shipping meant that more cetaceans were around. On our last trip in August we saw pods of about 50 oceanic dolphins and pilot whales and a HUGE fin whale, about the size of a bus. Then off the beach in Mijas Costa in Feb we saw a pod of whales breaching and shooting water out of their blow holes which was amazing.
I’m hoping that we might see humpbacks on the Boston trip but I’ve possibly used up all my luck for now!
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Yikes – I can see how that would put you off! People think that the best whale/dolphin watching is in exotic places, but the best sightings we’ve had have been in Tenerife, especially last year when the drop in shipping meant that more cetaceans were around. On our last trip in August we saw pods of about 50 oceanic dolphins and pilot whales and a HUGE fin whale, about the size of a bus. Then off the beach in Mijas Costa in Feb we saw a pod of whales breaching and shooting water out of their blow holes which was amazing.
I’m hoping that we might see humpbacks on the Boston trip but I’ve possibly used up all my luck for now!
I got humpbacks on a day cruise out of Seward, Alaska. They swam away from the beach when we arrived and basically put on a 20 min show. Breaches, full out of the water 360 rotations and fluking/waving their tails at us. Incredible experience and have several photos of mid air whales on my kitchen wall.
We had the most stunning whale watching trip from Boston
a Humpback brought her calf to the boat and stayed for over an hour- so close that the guide was only half joking when she warned us that they are protected and its illegal to touch oneits definitely a case of YMMV
If you like beer the Samual adams brewery is in Boston we did it when we visited. You can do a tour and some tastings which is good.
Don’t forget the Cheers bar!
For a single day, bearing in mind you’ll be back, I’d
literally spend it wandering/grazing/drinking. The Common,
Chinatown, market.
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