Awesome! Thanks for your help. The wedding is on Saturday night and it's actually in Waltham. And the hotel is the Sheraton Newton, which looks like it's near the Massachusetts Turnpike and the website claims that right across the street there's public transportation to downtown Boston. The (tentative) plan is to get to Boston on Friday afternoon so we have Friday afternoon/evening and pretty much all of Saturday free since the wedding isn't until 7 that night. Oh, and I'm actually coming back to Boston for several days in November, so I'll take any and all suggestions and if we can't squeeze something in this time I'll be back soon.
So, Jason used to live in Waltham (I only think this is funny because he refers to it as the 'Tham, and he always says there's nothing to do there). Anyway, that completely irrelevant information aside, things to do in Boston:
You should definitely have dinner in the North End, although if it were me, personally, I would save it for Nov., because something about it being all cold makes the twinkly lights and the whole Little Italy feel seem a little bit more romantic - although it's probably just me being crazy. For expensive but delicious food, you could go to Giacomo's, but if you want something a little less pricey, you can walk around and look at menus - it's pretty hard to go wrong in the North End. Save room for desert so you can go to Mike's pastry afterwards (although, I'd actually go to Cafe Vittoria next door, but that's because I like their caffeinated beverages - more people will have heard of/ask you if you went to Mike's for a cannoli).
You should walk around Faneuil hall and Quincy Market (Paul Revere's house is somewhere between there and the North End), but if you want to sightsee around the whole city what you should really do is get a trolley pass (this was Jason's suggestion, not mine, but it's making more sense as I type). There are Duck Tours, and those are cute, but they're kind of lame, you're stuck on the boat/busthing, and...it's called a duck tour. But trolley passes are about the same price, and if you stop somewhere like Faneuil Hall and decide you want to get off, you can always catch a later trolley (you'd want to make sure the tickets you buy are good all day, but they usually are). If you'd rather do a self guided tour, you could look into the Freedom Trail. I'm sure they have a map online, and there's a place at Boston Common that would probably have brochures. This would be free, unless you want to follow a guide who will be dressed in period clothing.
Also, Jason and I both highly recommend the walk across the Mass Ave bridge. You could start at Harvard Square, walk around Harvard, then take the #1 Bus from Harvard Square to MIT. From MIT, you would walk across the river, and right across the river is access to the Esplanade, which is a really nice green area right along the river. If you keep going down Mass Ave, though, instead of down to the Esplanade, you will eventually hit Newbury Street, where all the uber expensive stores are (it's fun to walk down there and window shop, which is all I ever do on that street :). If you walk down Newbury to the end, you'll hit the Public Garden/Boston Common, and if you take a left out of the Garden (where the pond is), you'll be facing Beacon Hill. Charles Street has a lot of shops, although they're also on the higher end, like Newbury. This all might sound overwhelming, but if you're just walking instead of taking time to shop or run errands, it goes by really quickly. If you're at Charles Street during a meal time, go to Upper Crust for pizza. It's cheap by the slice, and it's the best thin crust pizza I've ever had.
You're also going to be a little closer to Davis Square from your hotel, so you could head there if you feel like BBQ. Red Bones - it's kind of a unique experience, and their BBQ Brisket sandwich is really something. Then there's some ice cream at JP Licks, although the movie theatre and food is really all Davis has to offer - no major tourist attractions.
Let me know when you'll be here in November. This weekend is crazy for me, but I'd be more than happy to take you to one or more of these places then, and we could catch up, or just grab a drink.
2 comments:
Awesome! Thanks for your help. The wedding is on Saturday night and it's actually in Waltham. And the hotel is the Sheraton Newton, which looks like it's near the Massachusetts Turnpike and the website claims that right across the street there's public transportation to downtown Boston.
The (tentative) plan is to get to Boston on Friday afternoon so we have Friday afternoon/evening and pretty much all of Saturday free since the wedding isn't until 7 that night.
Oh, and I'm actually coming back to Boston for several days in November, so I'll take any and all suggestions and if we can't squeeze something in this time I'll be back soon.
So, Jason used to live in Waltham (I only think this is funny because he refers to it as the 'Tham, and he always says there's nothing to do there). Anyway, that completely irrelevant information aside, things to do in Boston:
You should definitely have dinner in the North End, although if it were me, personally, I would save it for Nov., because something about it being all cold makes the twinkly lights and the whole Little Italy feel seem a little bit more romantic - although it's probably just me being crazy. For expensive but delicious food, you could go to Giacomo's, but if you want something a little less pricey, you can walk around and look at menus - it's pretty hard to go wrong in the North End. Save room for desert so you can go to Mike's pastry afterwards (although, I'd actually go to Cafe Vittoria next door, but that's because I like their caffeinated beverages - more people will have heard of/ask you if you went to Mike's for a cannoli).
You should walk around Faneuil hall and Quincy Market (Paul Revere's house is somewhere between there and the North End), but if you want to sightsee around the whole city what you should really do is get a trolley pass (this was Jason's suggestion, not mine, but it's making more sense as I type). There are Duck Tours, and those are cute, but they're kind of lame, you're stuck on the boat/busthing, and...it's called a duck tour. But trolley passes are about the same price, and if you stop somewhere like Faneuil Hall and decide you want to get off, you can always catch a later trolley (you'd want to make sure the tickets you buy are good all day, but they usually are). If you'd rather do a self guided tour, you could look into the Freedom Trail. I'm sure they have a map online, and there's a place at Boston Common that would probably have brochures. This would be free, unless you want to follow a guide who will be dressed in period clothing.
Also, Jason and I both highly recommend the walk across the Mass Ave bridge. You could start at Harvard Square, walk around Harvard, then take the #1 Bus from Harvard Square to MIT. From MIT, you would walk across the river, and right across the river is access to the Esplanade, which is a really nice green area right along the river. If you keep going down Mass Ave, though, instead of down to the Esplanade, you will eventually hit Newbury Street, where all the uber expensive stores are (it's fun to walk down there and window shop, which is all I ever do on that street :). If you walk down Newbury to the end, you'll hit the Public Garden/Boston Common, and if you take a left out of the Garden (where the pond is), you'll be facing Beacon Hill. Charles Street has a lot of shops, although they're also on the higher end, like Newbury. This all might sound overwhelming, but if you're just walking instead of taking time to shop or run errands, it goes by really quickly. If you're at Charles Street during a meal time, go to Upper Crust for pizza. It's cheap by the slice, and it's the best thin crust pizza I've ever had.
You're also going to be a little closer to Davis Square from your hotel, so you could head there if you feel like BBQ. Red Bones - it's kind of a unique experience, and their BBQ Brisket sandwich is really something. Then there's some ice cream at JP Licks, although the movie theatre and food is really all Davis has to offer - no major tourist attractions.
Let me know when you'll be here in November. This weekend is crazy for me, but I'd be more than happy to take you to one or more of these places then, and we could catch up, or just grab a drink.
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