I am going on a research trip to Boston in the middle of September and to my great surprise my employer (the Danish Royal Library) have arranged everything so that we have a weekend off in the middle. Most evenings are free as well. Yay!
I know next to nothing about the city so if anyone has suggestions as for what to see and do, they will be much appreciated. Is there something that is not to be missed? Good food? Jazz clubs? Let me know.
Dopefest!
Where are you staying? Will you have a car? What is your budget?
We’ll be staying at the Courtyard Marriott on Tremont Street. Probably no car. No idea about budget yet. The Royal Library pays for accomodation &c. so whatever I decide to spend on entertainment is out of my own pocket. Probably not more than $150/day (and hopefully less).
A dopefest sounds like a great idea. I’ve always been a bit envious of the US and UK dopers - there are so many more of you than Danish dopers.
Last month, though, I was fortunate enough to be able to arrange a meeting with commasense here in Copenhagen (he was here on business) for a mini-copendopefest. It was great fun and I think it would be very interesting meeting some of the rest of you guys IRL…
You’re near Boston Common, a nice park, so you should walk around there. There’s also the swan boats, little swan-shaped boats that you can ride in a pond in another nearby park. There are a bunch of museums. Of the top of my head: Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, Institute of Contemporary Art, New England Aquarium. The MFA and the Aquarium are probably the two most well known. There’s also the USS Constitution, an Revolutionary-War era ship kept in the Boston Harbor and open to the public.
If you like running, there’s a good running path along the Charles River. You’ll be near Chinatown, so you should check out Emperor’s Garden. It’s this huge place (seats thousands, I think) with lots of good cheap dim sum. Two more upscale places nearby are Teatro for Italian and Troquet for French. Both in the theater district, I think, which is close, but expensive. Also for really good sushi, there’s Oishi. If you’re willing to drop a few hundred for dinner, there’s l’Espalier for New American or O ya for Japanese, considered the two best restaurants in Boston. A local chain that’s pretty well known and a lot more affordable is legal sea foods. There’s one near the aquarium, I don’t know if there are any closer downtown.
There are good improv shows nearby (just google boston improv). A popular tourist spot is faneuil hall, with lots of shops and restaurants and street performers. If you like classical music, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is world renowned. I’d also check out Cambridge. Harvard Square has Harvard yard (where the main campus of the university is) and lots of shopping, places to eat, and character. If you go there, you should check out Mr. Bartley’s Burger’s for really good Hamburgers. Further east, in Kendall Square, has some cool MIT architecture like the Stata Center. The famous shopping street nearby is Newbury Street, and there’s also Boylston Street. If the Red Sox are still playing (I don’t watch baseball) you can catch a game at Fenway Park.
Also, if you like history, there’s the Freedom trail, which is a walk in downtown to a bunch of historical sites, like the site of the Boston Massacre or Paul Revere’s house.
The Swan boats are in the Public Gardens, right next to the Common. It’s a bit kitschy, but worth it on a sunny day (hopefully we’ll have some by then). The USS Constitution is over at the Charlestown Navy Yard, so it’s a bit of a schelp. The easiest way without a car would be to take the water taxi from the Marriot Long Wharf near the Aquarium. I would also recommend a Boston Harbor tour if the weather is nice, or the ever popular Duck Tours, which are campy and very fun.
For food, it makes sense to take advantage of the great Italian food in the North End. Too many good restaurants to recommend just one, but a nice pastry and coffee at Modern or Mike’s after is required. Lots of good choices for seafood as well, from Legal’s, Kingfisher Hall, all sorts of choices.
Here’s a link to the Boston Red Sox schedule for September. Looks like they have games against the Orioles, Devil Rays, and Angels mid-monthish. Home games are in red. Dunno how hard it would be to get tickets, but you oughta catch a game at Fenway if you can…
I’ll second the Commons/Public Gardens. Last year I went there for the first time in over a decade, and I forgot how beautiful it is. I fell in love with this city all over again.
I stayed there for the first time last summer and enjoyed walking around the Commons area. For a nice meal out, I would definitely recommend Hamersley’s Bistro, which is quite close to where you’re staying.
Hamersly’s is a great restaurant, and it is on the campus of the Boston Center for the Arts. By mid-September, there should be at least 2-3 plays up, so you can do dinner and a show.
One really amazing exhibition is the collection of glass flowers at the Harvard Museum of Natural History
Even though I think I’ll be repeating some of what others have already said:
North End
(Boston’s Italian section. While most of our new immigrants are Asian and Hispanic, at one time most were Irish and Italian (including my great grandparents).)
Hanover Street is the main street, and parallel Salem Street is worth looking at too.
Cafe Pompeii is a reasonably priced restaurant that was nice remodeled not too long ago. And afterward try a cannoli at the Modern Pastry Shop or Mike’s.
The North End stays quite busy until at least 11PM or later…go there at dinnertime.
Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market: within walking distance from the North End. If you drink, you could walk over there and have a drink after your cannoli.
Chinatown: I love Chinatown, but it’s most active during the day, with street vendors and lots of activity. I think you’re better off going there at lunchtime instead of dinner.
Boston Commons/Public Gardens: Wonderful place to relax, walk, and talk or think. If the weather is good, and you like animals, if you sit quietly the squirrels will eat bread out of your hand!
Downtown Crossing: Withink walking distance of Boston Commons. While it isn’t what it used to be, it’s a closed-off street with lots of stores if you have any shopping to do. (It’s pretty much dead at night, go on a Saturday or Sunday during the day.)
Cambridge/Harvard Square: Again, not quite what it used to be, but when the weather is nice there are magicians and singers and other street performers. A good amount of nice little coffee shops.
Newbury Street: Fancy stores, fancy restaurants, and fancy people.
Allston (Brighton Avenue and Harvard Street not far from Boston University, lots of bars filled with students at night, if that’s your thing.
Super 88 Market, Commonwealth Avenue: It’s an Asian supermarket, but at the front of it is…well, imagine the “food court” at the shopping mall. But it has pretty much every type of Asian food available you could imagine. I would guess it stays open until at least 10PM.
Freedom Trail: A walking, self guided tour of Boston’s history. A Google search should have more information about this. Having grown up here, and staring at a book about the trail right now…I’m embarrased to say I’ve never walked it!
Prudential Building or Hancock Tower: Boston’s two largest office buildings. Each allows you to pay a small fee to enter the top floor, where you can see the entire city. If you go just before sunset, you can hang around and see how the city looks at night too.
It’s close to the Newbury Street area, and the Prudential Building also has a shopping area at the bottom with places to eat.
I’m sorry I don’t know more about museums and such, but the Museum of Fine Art is pretty much at the top of anyone’s list. And our Aquarium is really nice.
Fenway Park: I have no interest in sports, but I did go on a $12 tour of Fenway Park, where a guide explains the park’s history. I would never even have had an opportunity to set foot in the park otherwise, and it was very interesting.
Suggestion: If any/all of the above things interest you, here’s one route you might consider, which you could do on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, all on foot:
Lunch in Chinatown, look at the shops at Downtown Crossing, walk around the Commons (or sit and relax), then walk on Newbury Street. Depending on your taste/budget, dinner at a nice place on Newbury, or something simpler (or even Legal Seafoods) in the Prudential Building. Then go to the top of the Prudential just before sunset. From there it shouldn’t be a long walk back to your hotel.
For jazz, Scullers (www.scullersjazz.com) and Regattabar (www.regattabarjazz.com) are the two primary venues.
The Boston Arts Festival runs from Sept. 11-13.
The new Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston is pretty cool. www.icaboston.com
Dinner at Durgin Park is a lot of fun. www.durgin-park.com
Chris Luongo, that was very comprehensive!
But I’d say Downtown Crossing is seriously not what it used to be. I never feel quite safe there anymore, although it’s probably fine. I had some incidents with pretty skeezy homeless people there recently.
For museums, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum is another must, and it’s right next to the MFA. Not only is the museum itself a work of art, but it has historical significance as well. It was the scene of the largest art heist in history.
Bostonians love football, and September is the beginning of the season, so if you’re curious about American football, you could spend some time in a sports bar and watch the Patriots play. Just cheer when everyone else does 
Here is the schedule: Official Game Schedule of the New England Patriots
Great suggestions everyone. Thank you! I’ll look into it during the next week or two and I’ll probably be back with more questions eventually. I will definitely see a lot of Harvard, since that’s where we’re going. Italian food and baseball are great suggestions, too. (Don’t know anything about baseball, but I imagine that if I can stand watching entire cricket test matches a mere game of baseball will be a walk in the park.)
Boston By Foot has some fun walking tours. Relatively inexpensive compared to others in the area too. No reservations needed, just show up. The tour guides are all volunteers and aren’t completely going by a script either, so they can each do the tours they enjoy doing and give it their own little spin.
I’ll second otorophile’s recommendation of the Museum of Science, one of the best science centers in the country.
I’ll also happily give Panurge a highly positive reference to any and all Boston-area Dopers. He was extremely hospitable to me during my visit to Copenhagen last month, inviting me to his home and making me a very nice dinner. Despite a 20+ gap in ages and a 3,000 mile gap in hometowns, we found no shortage of things to talk about, a few of them not directly related to the SDMB. I met his friends and family, and generally had a fine time.
I only wish that this trip was bringing him a little closer to the DC area so I could repay his kindness directly.
So I’ll ask you Beantown Dopers to pay it forward on my behalf and show **Panurge **that we 'Merkins can be as hospitable as Danes.
blush. Thanks, commasense - It was a really great experience to hang out with an almost complete stranger for an evening. If the Boston doper population is as friendly and easy going as the Maryland branch, I would really like to meet up with some of you.
And thanks for the museum recommendations - I will definitely check some of them out. FallingLeaves - that sounds really good. I have a friend who does the same sort of thing here in Copenhagen and it is always very interesting. Perhaps I should join one of those tours.