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Baaaaston

eric/

eric/

Guest
Original poster
Sep 19, 2011
1,681
22
Ohio, United States
Anybody else ever been?


What to do? What to see?


I'm going there for a conference next week. Plan on taking a tour of the Sam Adams brewery so far.
 
This might sound a little hokey, but when I visited Boston I was able to make my way up to Salem and that was honestly my favorite part of the whole trip. Then again I'm a little bit of a history nerd, especially when it's cheesy history.
 
eric/ said:
I'm going there for a conference next week. Plan on taking a tour of the Sam Adams brewery so far.
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Sam Adams is fun. Its free, they tell you about their beer is made for 20 minutes and then take you in to the tasting room for about 20 minutes. I think the last tour of the day is at 3:00 so you would want to get there early.

eric/ said:
Not a big baseball fan and I don't think I'll have the time. But a good suggestion that is much appreciated.
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If you've never been to Fenway before it's worth it to go once, if you go to the bars near the park and wait until after the first inning, you'll probably be able to find really cheap tickets from someone on the street. I've got tickets like that a few times for like $25. Just be stubborn and talk them down. It's worth it just to see the ballpark (there's really nothing else like that experience) and watch a bit of the game, even if you don't stay the whole time.

There's tons of good restaurants but go to the North End and get some food from one of the tiny Italian restaurants. They all have awesome food. Faneuil hall is right near there too, and thats definitely worth seeing.
 
zioxide said:
Sam Adams is fun. Its free, they tell you about their beer is made for 20 minutes and then take you in to the tasting room for about 20 minutes. I think the last tour of the day is at 3:00 so you would want to get there early.



If you've never been to Fenway before it's worth it to go once, if you go to the bars near the park and wait until after the first inning, you'll probably be able to find really cheap tickets from someone on the street. I've got tickets like that a few times for like $25. Just be stubborn and talk them down. It's worth it just to see the ballpark (there's really nothing else like that experience) and watch a bit of the game, even if you don't stay the whole time.

There's tons of good restaurants but go to the North End and get some food from one of the tiny Italian restaurants. They all have awesome food. Faneuil hall is right near there too, and thats definitely worth seeing.
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Awesome, thanks for the advice.
 
I'd start off with not trying to talk like them. They seem to find it less amusing even as the beer is flowing. I should know. :D

I'd definitely go on the Sam Adams tour and taken in as much of the city architecture and surroundings as possible.
 
Echo what zioxide said - check out the North End. After lunch/dinner Mike's Pastry on Hanover St. is awesome, and I should know, I used to work there in high school. :D Just don't even think about bringing a car to the North End. The streets are 1700s tiny and there's never, ever parking. Walk over from Haymarket. Use the T in general where you can, there are tons of stops and it's convenient to all the major attractions.

Sam Adams tour is fun, and their Summer Ale is the truth. I really recommend having some good seafood while you're in Boston - particularly lobster (for which I'm drooling as I type this). Island Creek Oyster Bar is great (order the lobster roe noodles and die a heavenly, culinary-inspired death), as is James Hook & Co. Lobster isn't cheap, but New England seafood is worth it.

I'd also suggest checking out the public gardens, Boston Common, and taking a duck boat ride in the Charles River. It's a fun way to see a lot quickly.

If you're into shopping, Newbury Street is great, lots of boutique shops and some high end dining.

Don't do the damned accent! Many of us don't have it, and the Pahk the cah at Hahvard Yahd joke stopped being funny when it first started - i.e. it was never funny. Have fun and kiss Fenway for me. ;)
 
Being from NY I hate to say this but Boston is one of my favorite cities. Very clean, not too big and love the look of the buildings there.

NE Aquarium is nice if you have a family and quincy market.
 
ericrwalker said:
Being from NY I hate to say this but Boston is one of my favorite cities. Very clean, not too big and love the look of the buildings there.

NE Aquarium is nice if you have a family and quincy market.
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Why? I can easily say NY is a great city. I always enjoy my time there - doesn't mean I despise the sports teams any less. :D

And yes, I think the architecture of Boston is one of the things I miss the most.
 
Queen of Spades said:
Why? I can easily say NY is a great city. I always enjoy my time there - doesn't mean I despise the sports teams any less. :D

And yes, I think the architecture of Boston is one of the things I miss the most.
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So I kid a little when I say I hate to say it.

I am not really a sports fan anyway, but many of my friends and co-workers are anti-sox and anti-NE Patriots (anti-Boston in general). Though I normally don't say I like Boston, doesn't really ever come up in conversation. NY is another breed. A co-worker of mine went to Yankee Stadium to see a game, had a Yankee hat on and a Mets fan started talking crap to him and threw a beer bottle at him, gave him a black eye on a public bus. Imagine if he had a sox hat on.

I don't live in NYC but I have been there several times. I enjoy it there as well as enjoy SF, Seoul and Tokyo. They all have stuff to do for sure. The only thing I enjoy most about NYC though is broadway, and no city will ever compare. I have probably seen shows at least 20 times on Broadway, not to mention the number of times off-broadway. Rent(no longer showing, I saw the most. Anthony Rapp is awesome) and Chicago are my two favorites. Every city has something great.
 
Cool, I appreciate all the advice. Yeah I don't plan on acting like an idiot and trying to imitate peoples accents.

And I'm a huge fan of lobster and stuff so that will be great. Completely forgot that there will probably be amazing seafood there.

thanks :D
 
abijnk said:
This might sound a little hokey, but when I visited Boston I was able to make my way up to Salem and that was honestly my favorite part of the whole trip. Then again I'm a little bit of a history nerd, especially when it's cheesy history.
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A lot of the best stuff to see is outside the city, especially if you like the historical stuff. Go up to Ipswich/Gloucester and hit the clam shacks for fried clams.

If you go to Quincy Market what you will see is a mall filled mainly with other tourists. In the North End, personally I prefer Modern Pastry to Mike's, because they fill the cannolis to order. If you want to shop, Newbury St. is better.

Good museums in the city--the MFA, the Science Museum, and Aquarium are fun.
 
MacCruiskeen said:
personally I prefer Modern Pastry to Mike's, because they fill the cannolis to order
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Blasphemy! :D I promise you the cannolis at Mike's rarely last long after they're filled, especially when it's busy. And some of them must be done in advance - like chocolate dipped ones. Mike's also has cases and cases of amazing stuff - from biscotti, to cookies, to marzipan, cream puffs, cupcakes, cheesecakes, pies, they really have an amazing array of pastry.

Although I will say the line in Modern Pastry is always shorter than at Mike's, so if you're in a hurry, that's something to consider. Why not go to both?

Now I really want a cannoli.
 
Duck tours is fun, there's also other trolley type tours.
There's the freedom tail
Faneuil Hall is interesting.
There's a few museums if that's your speed
The North End has awesome Italian food.
New England Aquarium

There's a ton of history and you can basically walk most of Boston within a day

As mentioned going to a Sox game is a great idea, or even just taking a tour.
 
While I live here I hate Boston with a passion (yes, I can make a long list why) but you are getting some good advice so far.

Don't forget the downtown like Prudential and Copley areas. I would definitely do the aforementioned Duck Tour. I would consider visiting Charlestown - quite charming.
 
Absolutely enjoyed my trip there. Didn't get to see as much as I wanted because of other obligations, but what I did see was fantastic. It made me want to live there.

I guess I'll add Boston to the list of prospective places to find a job/live when I graduate.

Thanks for the advice all. :D
 
Boston is one of my favorite cities. My brother-in-law lives in Cambridge and I was there for the first time a few months ago. Amazing. Very clean, and surprisingly young. Don't try to do anything in particular. As I do with any new city, just exist and become part of it and enjoy your time.
 
GoreVidal said:
Boston is one of my favorite cities. My brother-in-law lives in Cambridge and I was there for the first time a few months ago. Amazing. Very clean, and surprisingly young. Don't try to do anything in particular. As I do with any new city, just exist and become part of it and enjoy your time.
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Perhaps the OP will keep that in mind the next time he visits.
 
GoreVidal said:
Ah, my age shows again. Truly need to pay attention to post times.
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Well it's still applicable advice.

But that's kinda what we did when I was there, and I had a great time. But for me, I really want to see things as well while I'm there. Perhaps next time I'll have enough time to be part of the city, and enjoy the tourist attractions.
 
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