Site seeing ideas from Boston residents

[bmwjeanne]

We have booked a cruise on the Gem out of New York on Oct. 4th, 2014. Boston will be one of shore days. My husband loves history and would welcome any suggestions on any excursions. NCL excursions or others that could be recommendd would be appreciated. Actually, would love to hear from Boston residents of their favorite places to visit in a short period of time. Thank you.:)

[Tate90]

I am not sure what excursions NCL will be offering but I would suggest a duck boat tour. They book up fast so if you would be doing it on your own and not through an excursion (if offered)..........I would book as early as you can.

They are a lot of fun and informative.

 

If you have more time you could buy a trolley pass and get on and off at different areas around downtown.........they stop at places of interest. This one would require some time though.

 

Good luck with your decision, I am sure you will get many different suggestions.

[sunnywithachance]

I am not a Boston resident but loved the city when I visited. My favorite thing was walking the Freedom Trail, saw so much that day. Google it and download the map :)

[drsb]

There are lots of walking tours, all good. The duck tour is a lot of fun. If you do the freedom trail walking tour be sure to get the people who dress in period costume. Adds some fun to the walk!

 

I live about an hour away (on most days, without traffic is it about 40 minutes !) I love to go into Boston and play tourist for a day. The tours of Fenway Park and the Sam Adams brewery are fun too.

 

Deb

[DMLyons]

We have booked a cruise on the Gem out of New York on Oct. 4th, 2014. Boston will be one of shore days. My husband loves history and would welcome any suggestions on any excursions. NCL excursions or others that could be recommendd would be appreciated. Actually, would love to hear from Boston residents of their favorite places to visit in a short period of time. Thank you.:)

 

Some people like the duck tour. I don't. However, there are plenty of things you can do.

 

If you don't mind walking, I'd suggest the Freedom Trail, but that's 2.5 miles, so be sure you don't mind the walk if you do it.

 

You can use public transportation (the maps for buses and subways and such are on the local site) to get to the Constitution, the Navy museum, the New England Aquarium, the Museum of Science (plan on a DAY for the MoS), Faneuil Hall Marketplace (which has the Cheers restaurant...note that Bull and Finch, which Cheers was actually based on, is also in Boston), Boston Common, Boston Public Garden, Black Heritage Trail, Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard Museum of Natural History and many more places of interest, many of them attached to Harvard or MIT, both of which are right in the Boston/Cambridge area.

 

If you plan to rent a car, you can do things further out. Salem, MA is only 20 miles or so from Boston and has all the historic tours and museums. Salem, NH is only a little over 35 miles from Boston (a little over an hour out with decent traffic) and has America's Stonehenge. It's a nice quiet place to walk trails and includes an American Indian excavation site and Alpacas.

 

DML

[gcsmith]

There is a famous desert place near the entrance to Little Italy. That is my kind of tourism.

[max405]

Well thats where you dock & where I grew up. On a short stay for short $ I would say take a cab to Castle Iland & get a hot dog at Sullivans { you go buy this fort as you come into dock; 4,5 miles from Black Flacon. Also within walking is the Harpon beer works ( check the web site for times ) Within is The No Name resturant, on Commercial Whaf real fishy lol. hope this helps !!!! Have a good vist, be Boston Strong & Go PATS this is the year !!!! MAX!!!:):);)

[Moondawgie]

I am not from Boston, but it's my 2nd favorite city. I've been back many times.

 

My suggestion: Freedom Trail (walking), Quincy Market (for your appetite) and visit along Trail to the North End (Italian Section). I love everything Boston has to offer ... Commons, Public Gardens, Newbury Street, Isabella Gardner Museum (near Fenway). Take the T (subway). Boston is a walking city (as is Newport, RI). Enjoy.

[KrystalWaters]

I am not a Boston resident but loved the city when I visited. My favorite thing was walking the Freedom Trail, saw so much that day. Google it and download the map :)

 

I was going to mention this too. When I did my Eastern "Tour" I enjoyed this. So emotional and filled with history. A definitely MUST DO!

[izucker789]

Being a history buff you can't do better than the USS Constitution. I have no detaile sbut all is available on the web

[Lulley766]

I'm betting the pastry shop is Mike's Pastry in the North End (Little Italy). Great Italian pastries, especially the cannollis. Ask anyone - everybody knows where Mike's Pastry is.

 

All suggestions you have been given are good. Freedom Trail and Duck boats especially.

[Nitemare]

Well thats where you dock & where I grew up. On a short stay for short $ I would say take a cab to Castle Iland & get a hot dog at Sullivans { you go buy this fort as you come into dock; 4,5 miles from Black Flacon. Also within walking is the Harpon beer works ( check the web site for times ) Within is The No Name resturant, on Commercial Whaf real fishy lol. hope this helps !!!! Have a good vist, be Boston Strong & Go PATS this is the year !!!! MAX!!!:):);)

 

Sully's is under a 2 mile walk from Black Falcon. Castle Island is one of my favorite places in Boston, take most of my out of town friends there. But you do miss all the famous "tourist attractions" if you go there.

[138east]

Consider the following. The Constitution museum opens at 9 am and I believe the first tour is at 10. Take a cab to the Constitution and do that. Then take the mbta water shuttle to long wharf. Do a walking loop through the North end to see the church and Paul Revere's house and come back to Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall. Have lunch in the North End or at the Market. Pick up the Freedom Trail route and walk it backwards to Boston Common. IMO the Freedom trail between The North End and the Constitution is the least interesting part - a quick water taxi ride in the harbor is better.

 

From the Common take the Red Line at Park St. two stops towards Braintree to South Station and transfer to the Silver Line (do not exit the platform - follow the signs to the Silver Line transfer) and take the SL2 bus back to Black Falcon.

[alwalaska]

Does anyone have an opinion on the hop-on hop-off buses found here?

[138east]

This is one of the most popular hoho trolleys. They pick up at Black Falcon.

[alwalaska]

This is one of the most popular hoho trolleys. They pick up at Black Falcon.

 

Thanks. We are staying at the Renaissance right by the port post cruise. I travel a ton for business, so I decided to spend a ton of points and enjoy a really nice hotel.

 

The trolley web site said that they are not picking up near the renaissance due to construction and that we should go to stop 20 to catch the trolley (closer to the art museum). Do you know anything about this construction and if it will affect our stay at the hotel?

[138east]

I was down on Northern Ave/Seaport Blvd on foot in April and didn't notice anything special going on, but I wasn't looking for it either. What exact date are you doing this? If there are cruise ships in port that day, you might be better off walking over to the Westin to board the trolley before it gets to Black Falcon terminal and fills up with cruisers. I don't know how well the trolley stops are marked, but I'm sure the folks outside the Westin will know exactly where the trolley stops there.

[alwalaska]

I was down on Northern Ave/Seaport Blvd on foot in April and didn't notice anything special going on, but I wasn't looking for it either. What exact date are you doing this? If there are cruise ships in port that day, you might be better off walking over to the Westin to board the trolley before it gets to Black Falcon terminal and fills up with cruisers. I don't know how well the trolley stops are marked, but I'm sure the folks outside the Westin will know exactly where the trolley stops there.

 

Thanks. We will be there October 11 and the morning of the 12th, so anything going on now will probably be different by then any way.

 

We are getting off of the NCL Dawn on the 11th, so unless other ships are in port, by the time we are ready to start touring, there shouldn't be anyone getting on at the port stop. I will check and see if other ships are there as well. I hadn't thought about that before, so thanks again.

[emcee207]

Listen to 138 East; as usual he has the best info.

 

With all due respect to the poster, do NOT go to Salem MA or Salem, NH. You will have PLENTY to do just in Boston for the one day. Freedom Trail, USS Constituiton, Fenway Park, etc, etc.

 

And, again with no disrespect to the poster, Castle Island is nice but not sure I'd write off other things downtown to go there. And, I've had lots of better hot dogs than the ones there.

 

One thing I"d do is go to the Holocaust Memorial which is right by Quincy Market and across the street from the Union Oyster House. Also, lunch in the North End. Please, don't be sucked in by the Durgin Park devotee's. It is a horrible place, really, I am serious.

 

In light of the fact today is the one month anniversary of the Marathon bombings, it might be nice to just also stop there and say a prayer for the victims.

[emcee207]

Also, just steps away from your hotel is the new Legal Sea Foods Harborside Restaurant which is a great place. Great food, great view of the Harbor and lots of fun. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. Don't mistake the Legal Test Kitchen which is right next to your hotel. The new Harborside is better.

[bmwjeanne]

Thank you for the responses. Appreciated all of your ideas. Look forward to checking into all.:D

[krzi]

Legal Sea Foods is good, also check out Atlantic Fish Co, they have the best new england clam chowder in a bread bowl!

[oceanadiana]

hope I'm doing this correctly! I've looked at cc many times - first time to post question. thanks for any assistance on this. 1st time for Boston cruise--June 1. We're arriving in the evening before cruise and hoped for advice on hotel. We arrive late so will probably just go to bed...hotel with free breakfast? best hotel option to just spend an hour or two in the morning before boarding? area? shuttle advice? thanks!

[Shak]

Does anyone have an opinion on the hop-on hop-off buses found here?

 

I am not from Boston but I do have an opinion of hop on hop off busses. My first trip to Boston I did what most people recommend and that is to go on one of these buses. What I discovered is that the buses didn't run as often as advertised and found myself wasting valuable time waiting on a bus. The other problem is that the loop is too big. If you go to the Constitution you are stuck taking the Cambridge leg and it takes a very long time to get back to Boston.

 

On my next trip to Boston I learned to use the T (subway). I found it very easy to use and to get around quickly. While you don't get the nice narrative as you do on the busses you will see a lot more.

 

For those going to Boston as a port of call I would suggest you take the T to Haymarket. From there you can easily get to the North End and Quincy Market. To tell you the truth that should encompass most of your day.

 

Besides the great eats at the North End you can also go in the Old North Church and tour Paul Revere's house.

 

Shak

 

Shak

[138east]

You're doing fine. Hotwire 4* hotel in the waterfront area for $142 with an approval rating of 95% is highly likely to be the Westin Waterfront, which is one of the hotels closest to the pier. Cab would be $25 from the airport. This is a great deal. Ther are only three 4* hotels in the Waterfront area, so there is no risk since the Seaport and Renaissance hotels are just fine as well.

 

Cab to the port would be about $10 or you can take the Silver Line for $2.50/pp. In the morning you can take the T a couple of stops into Downtown or just walk along the waterfront.