[dewi]

My husband and I are thinking of visiting Boston for a few days mid July.
What's fun to see and do?
What neighborhood should we stay in to be in the center of things.

I love arty neighborhoods, galleries, old architecture, historically preserved neighborhoods, and walking around. Poking in and out of shops, ethnic foods.
I'm from Manhattan so I go to museums regularly. Unless there is something special this summer at one of the museums.

Thanks

 

[woodchick]

Beacon Hill is a nice neighborhood to walk around and check out the architecture. Historic New England runs a walking tour (scroll down, it is listed in May) on Saturdays that covers history and architecture. Then you can check out the shops and restaurants on Charles Street.

The North End is nice and the Italian restaurants are delicious.

 

[DaughterOfKali]

If you can find a place on/near Newbury St, that seems like it would be perfect for you.

 

[belltree]

The Southend is a very mixed neighbourhood with lots of ethnic food. In the Northend you will find Boston's Little Italy. Newbury Street is a good place for shopping. Beacon Hill is an old neighbourhood to walk around. Camebridge and Harvard across the Charles are also nice for walking around. Boston has lots of little neighbourhoods to explor.

The MFA has an exhibition this summer with Titian, Tintoretto and Verones, that's supposed to be really good.

 

[StrongFeather]

It may be completely out of your way, but I like Jamaica Plain.. Definitely a different vibe than downtown. Also if you want a bit more eclectic try to walk around in Cambridge. I has much more character (IMO) than Boston. But I am born and raised here..

You can get to both Cambridge and Jamaica Plain by the public T.

 

[DaughterOfKali]

I like Cambridge.

 

[lach]

The "Boston in a Day" tour that I usually take friends on starts by following the Freedom Trail from Park Street Station, with lunch at Fanueil Hall, and then dessert in the North End. Then we head back over towards Park Street, through the Public Gardens, down Newbury Street (if shopping isn't your thing, and it's all upscale chain stores so that's understandable, go down Commonwealth Avenue and enjoy the peace... fun fact: zoning rules at the time said those houses could only be 3 stories tall. Good thing Mansard Rooves were in style at the time!) to Dartmouth Street, then up to Copley Square to admire the famous church/Hancock Tower dichotomy. Then across the street to Boston's absolute best kept architectural secret, the Boston Public Library. LOVE this building, and I bore everyone I know to tears by telling them all about it

Make sure to go up to the 3rd floor and look at the Sargeant murals: he considered them his absolute masterpiece and legacy, but they've kind of been roundly and consistantly panned since he did them! Still worth a look if you like art. From there the South End is only a few blocks over, and that sounds like it would be right up your line.

Yes this route is very touristy, but you also get to see a good portion of the city, and there are lots of little places along the way to stop in and hang out or shop.

I should note that I used to be a tour guide, so I actually bore my friends all throughout the day telling them more than they ever wanted to know about everything! And the nice thing about Boston is that it's nice and compact, and definitely a "walking city," so you can see much of what you want to see in a day... and obviously if you have longer than that there's no need to rush.

When you get up here, take a look at a free magazine you'll find on many corners called The Improper Bostonian. They have listings of all the exhibits, shows, events, etc that are happening at the time. We have lots of smaller museums that most people haven't heard of but which sometimes have really amazing little shows.

 

[xmasbaby7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lach The "Boston in a Day" tour that I usually take friends on starts by following the Freedom Trail from Park Street Station, with lunch at Fanueil Hall, and then dessert in the North End. Then we head back over towards Park Street, through the Public Gardens, down Newbury Street (if shopping isn't your thing, and it's all upscale chain stores so that's understandable, go down Commonwealth Avenue and enjoy the peace... fun fact: zoning rules at the time said those houses could only be 3 stories tall. Good thing Mansard Rooves were in style at the time!) to Dartmouth Street, then up to Copley Square to admire the famous church/Hancock Tower dichotomy. Then across the street to Boston's absolute best kept architectural secret, the Boston Public Library. LOVE this building, and I bore everyone I know to tears by telling them all about it Make sure to go up to the 3rd floor and look at the Sargeant murals: he considered them his absolute masterpiece and legacy, but they've kind of been roundly and consistantly panned since he did them! Still worth a look if you like art. From there the South End is only a few blocks over, and that sounds like it would be right up your line. Yes this route is very touristy, but you also get to see a good portion of the city, and there are lots of little places along the way to stop in and hang out or shop. I should note that I used to be a tour guide, so I actually bore my friends all throughout the day telling them more than they ever wanted to know about everything! And the nice thing about Boston is that it's nice and compact, and definitely a "walking city," so you can see much of what you want to see in a day... and obviously if you have longer than that there's no need to rush. When you get up here, take a look at a free magazine you'll find on many corners called The Improper Bostonian. They have listings of all the exhibits, shows, events, etc that are happening at the time. We have lots of smaller museums that most people haven't heard of but which sometimes have really amazing little shows.

This sounds like a good plan to me. I also used to live in NYC, so there are many parallels to decide which area sounds fun:

South End is closest to West Village/Chelsea with most of the city's best restaurants and locally owned places.

Commonwealth is our Park Avenue, zoned only for residential, but much more beautiful architecture.

Newbury is a mix of 57th street/Madison, both the midtown and uptown areas, not really that interesting for a NYer.

Jamaica Plain is a tiny, tiny Park Slope, so a better place to live than tour, IMO.

The Public Garden will blow away any garden in New York. There is no equivalent. The Boston Commom isn't landscaped and more like Central Park.

I love Charles Street in Beacon Hill and walking up Mt. Vernon to Louisburg Square to be in the essence of the best Boston architecture, too, except for COmmonwealth.

The Downtown area in Boston wouldn't appeal to me because the historic buildings are overwhelmed by modern high rises in most areas. North End is too crowded and touristy on most weekend days.

I would focus on the Charles Street area of Beacon Hill, head through the Public Garden, then follow the great tour outlined above, personally. Don't miss the South End!

 

[dewi]

My husband and I really do love looking at formal gardens.
That might on the list.
And i liked the comparison to NYC neighborhoods. That was helpful. I think i will buy a "walking" tour book.

I totally forget aobut Cambridge, I want to see Harvard.
It's such a classic type of place to visit.

I have visited Boston a few times before but it was always child centered and focused, and most of the time we saw and did nothing I can remember except children's museums and such, I was too busy appeasing many whiny cranky tired children's needs!!!

It's fun to travel like an adult again, with my interests as the priority.

Silly Factoid about me and Boston:
As a young adult I went to some random crazy house party (drove from NYC with friends on a whim) the apartment was where the Boston stranger killed one of the women some years earlier. Creepy!

Thanks.

 

[lach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dewi My husband and I really do love looking at formal gardens. That might on the list. And i liked the comparison to NYC neighborhoods. That was helpful. I think i will buy a "walking" tour book. Thanks.

Check out Arnold Arboretum or the Mount Auburn Cemetery. Of course, I've never gotten around to going to either... but they're supposed to be lovely!

 

[earthgirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lach Check out Arnold Arboretum or the Mount Auburn Cemetery. Of course, I've never gotten around to going to either... but they're supposed to be lovely!

Well, if you're going to check out the arboretum, you should check out Forest Hills Cemetery. That place is amazing!

 

[dewi]

I love an interesting beautiful cemetery! Especially intrigued by the wrought iron work for the gates, they are usually hand made and sculptural.
When we visited Provenance France a popular tourist thing to do, was visit historic cemetery's. They had snack shops, and gift shops on the grounds. It was wild, people mourning the dead going to funerals, and tourists wandering around.

Thanks everyone.