My brother and I, along with our wives, are meeting up in Boston in early April (we pick a city and meet there for a joint vacation every year; they are coming from the UK, my wife and I from Florida).
None of us have been to Boston, and all I know about it comes from The Boondock Saints, Dropkick Murphys lyrics, and Fallout 4. What to do? Where to eat?
We did Chicago last year and the architecture boat tour was one of our favorite things ever. I really want to eat some proper New England lobster rolls, though I understand Boston isn’t prime LR country. I have a vague interest in seeing Harvard Law, just because I’m a lawyer. But otherwise, we really have no idea what we should do and see.
Stay at the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor. They have a shuttle from the Airport. Take the water taxi from there to the downtown. Then you can do a hop on and hop off tour. Seafood or clam chowder is the thing. Other dopers will tell you more.
Boston’s North End has some of the best Italian food in the US. Very authentic restaurants, you’re can’t really make a poor choice. I have had some great meal at Monica’s, but any place that isn’t good will quickly go out of business. For dessert, the lines will all be at Mike’s Pastries, but go to Modern or Cafe Vittoria (more of a cafe than a pastry shop) for a less touristy experience.
For seafood, Legal’s is very popular with the tourists, but frankly it’s just average. Lots of the places in the North End have amazing seafood, but for more traditional fare try Neptune, Union Oyster House, Island Creek Oysters, or for a funky bar atmosphere the Barking Crab. You’re right that you’re not going to any of these places for a lobster roll. If you really want a roadside seafood experience, head up to Woodman’s in Essex.
You can spend time in Harvard Square (which is wear I live) but unless you have a particular place you want to see it’s just another Boston square. You can walk Harvard Yard and along the river, and see the Coop. The various Harvard museums are nice.
Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are prime tourist spots, and they’re interesting if you like shopping and/or are near the waterfront or the North End. The Aquarium is right there as well. The Museum of Fine Arts is good, but the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is more authentic Boston. The Duck Boats will be operating, and as corny as they are it’s a fun excursion.
Normally in these threads I am the one saying Boston City Hall isn’t as bad as it’s reputed to be, but even if they are fans of Brutalism there are a lot better examples in the UK.
I’d agree that if you had to pick one, pick the Gardner since the architecture is so distinctive for an art museum.
Second all the the great ideas so far : Also maybe try & catch a Sox game at Fenway, even if you’re not a fan. Historic park & great atmosphere. Wander around the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill, take a Swan Boat ride in the Public Garden, meander & shop Newbury Street & have lunch at an outdoor cafe (depending on weather, of course). You can sometimes get deals on hotels connected or adjacent to the Prudential/Copley Plaza mall like the Sheraton, Westin, Hilton, Marriott & Collonade all right there. Thornton’s on Huntington is a great, inexpensive breakfast & lunch spot right there, & Charlies Sandwich Shoppe is also a classic. Love the Black Rose for the chowder, Guiness, & live Irish music on the weekends. Have a great time in Beantown!
If you really want the lobster roll experience, you have to be at least partially sunburned, have sand in uncomfortable places, be sitting at a picnic table near a parking lot/road, and lose half of your fries to an aggressive seagull. But you won’t get all that in April, so IMHO, you may as well get a lobster roll from the Barking Crab or somewhere; it will be fine (unless you’re already going to be driving through the boonies; and even then places might not be open yet).
Don’t know what else you’re looking for, and whether you’re planning on driving to the boonies, or staying around the city. Since you’re in Chinatown, I recommend Dim Sum for breakfast/brunch one day (China Pearl is good). Duckboats, or take a harbor tour on boats, both good. Other thoughts: see the USS Constitution; if you’re into plants the Arnold Arboretum might have something in bloom around then (a straight-shot subway ride from Chinatown); if you’re rich and have connections, get Red Sox tickets; Bruins and Celtics are also within walking/subway/easy taxi distance from Chinatown, with Revolution MLS soccer a half-hour drive away (and possibly a train ride, depending on schedule).
The Swan Boats season starts April 18, so I don’t think they’ll be operating yet. The Sox are in town the first week of April, so dress warmly and that would be a great opportunity to see Fenway for a day game.
Dim Sum in Chinatown is a great choice. I haven’t been to China Pearl in years, we usually go to Hei La Moon or Empire Garden.
Boston Museum of Science is excellent. It is somewhat oriented to a younger crowd, but I still love it. The Mugar Omni Theatre has a curved Omnimax screen, and it a great experience
Newbury Street is where the really expensive shopping is. I generally loathe shopping, but there are some interesting places there. Well, if you think a poorly constructed, particleboard end table for $4,000 is interesting (and I kinda do)
I’ll third or fourth Fenway. Noplace quite like it.
Harvard University has some impressive collections that are open to the public.
And if you’ve a car, there’s Battleship Cove in Fall River where you can explore WWII era battleships and submarines.
I don’t have any interest in watching an entire baseball game. Those things take fucking hours. I would like to do a tour of Fenway though - do they have those on non-gamedays?
I thought Anthony Bourdain’s Boston episode was pretty well done and insightful if ya can find it out there somewhere before you go, maybe on Netflix. One really nice aspect of Boston I find is its accessibility. As a smaller, colonial era city the central areas are pretty compact & you can easily wander & explore from one end to the other in leisurely way.
I believe that lobster at restaurants is just there to fleece tourists. It can easily be $40 or $50
But all the supermarkets here sell live lobsters, typically $5-10/lb. And: They will steam them for you right there in the store.
So, assuming your hotel has a microwave, get some paper plates and utensils, buy a pound of butter, and for shot money you can absolutely gorge on lobster.
I used to work for a UK company, and when my colleagues would visit Boston (we had an office here) I’d have them over to my house for lobster. I used to love the reaction of my (very well paid) VP who couldn’t believe I could just lay out 10 lobsters like that, because he had no idea how reasonable they were at the supermarket.
And local tip: Steamers (clams) are better than lobsters, and can also be steamed right at the store. Also need vast amounts of butter, and make sure you remove the gasket!
Eat lobster in a hotel room??? 1. I think it’s rude to eat strongly smelling food in a hotel room. 2. They’re on vacation! They’re not college students gorging on the McDonald’s dollar menu while slamming a case of Keystone Light in the room before going out that night.
I’ve never had a problem with odors in a hotel room (and I travel nearly weekly), so I don’t know why it would be an issue- I would tie the shells and waste in a bag, though.
And be that as it may, I simply cannot pay $50 for something that can be bought for $7.50, retail.
It’s a little outside of Boston proper, but it’s on a subway line, although technically at that location it’s an above ground train, anyway the T but if you have an interest in either architecture or cinema the Coolidge Corner Theater out in Brookline is a must visit. Originally a Universalist church that was converted to an art deco movie theater in 1933. I saw Lawrence of Arabia there back in 2003 or so, It’s really a beautiful building and they show an excellent variety of films. Here’s a list of some upcoming shows.