Looking for a little historical tour this Summer, family vacation but with nerdy history buffs.... Where's a good-wholesome-interesting-historical-nice place to stay in downtown Boston? Not a chain....
I want to park the car and leave it, not drive until we're heading out of town. No offense but Boston drivers are the worst in North America, and maybe the world.
And beyond the guidebook and such, any gems to search out? Old cemeteries, really old restaurants, etc. ?
Frank
About two years ago I had a professional conference in Boston, my wife and I stayed in the Liberty Hotel(http://www.libertyhotel.com/) it was once the old Boston Jail. Wonderful place, not cheap but, first class, you can walk to many Boston attractions from it. They really kept the charm(?) of a jail with great upgrades. I would stay there again as my first choice in Boston. There are a number of cells still there, I'm sure you can make creative photographic use if you desire . I think you and your family would find it a real pleasure.
Smart move keeping the car out of town. In college, I'd sometimes drive to one of the suburban last-stops for the T such as Riverside Station. Parking was much cheaper and saner there, and it was a quick T ride into the city.
Last month, I stayed at the Onyx hotel when I went down to a Celtics game. It was very high quality and relatively cheap. Not historical, but rather new. Lots of historical stuff around though. It's near the TD Garden, and a short walk to many of the historic attractions in the NE part of town. In the past, I have stayed at the Seaport Hotel due to being involved in events there, and it was also very good, but not as great a deal as the Onyx.
The oldest restaurant is the Union Oyster House; it's very old inside for a north american building, and it's decent food too. You could easily spend 2 days checking out history stuff in Boston. The salem witch stuff is highly touted in the tour books, but I found it highly overrated. There's plenty of old stuff outside of Boston too, like plymouth plantation (plymouth rock is overrated). I've wanted to go to Walden pond too, but haven't made it yet.
hey frank
you could probably get a place to stay at one of the hotels in kenmore square,
maybe the buckminster, or one of the ones down commonwealth or massachusetts avenue.
another thought is to stay just over the bridge in cambridge, and take the subway
( T ) into the city. there are new hotels that have sprung up just north of the museum of science,
or off mass ave near mit / harvard and they are footsteps away from the public transit.
it's a chain, but the custom house tower was converted to a nice hotel as well ..
as for tours of boston .. sometimes you have to take them with a grain of salt.
the trolly tours folks sometimes make things up as they go along ... ( pointing to the custom house tower saying it
is the hancock tower &C )
the duck tours are kind of fun, in old army amphibious boat / trucks so you get a tour by land and by sea.
i don' t know if the liberty trail is still there, but it is a self-tour-tour where you walk through
the north end and see the old north church / paul revere's ride, king's chapel, north the burial grounds, waterfront, beacon hill &C ...
if they are history and architecture nerds you might want to contact the boston architectural center or walk boston,
or the harvard school of architecture, or one of the walking tour advocate groups and see if
they have one that might work with the things you want to see. if you are a member AAA might even be able to help.
( if i still lived up there, i'd rent a van and give you and your family / friends the tour myself, i studied the history and architecture of boston
for a long time and probably know as much or more than some of the tour-companies )
good luck !
john
I'm no expert on Boston but the few times I've stayed there I've stayed at the Copley Plaza (or maybe it was just the Copley), which IIRC is more or less downtown. It may be part of a chain now but it was an older hotel that has been very nicely refurbished. A little pricey but I thought it was worth it. My principal memory of my trips to Boston is getting lost every time I drove to or from Logan.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
Frank -
I've been to Boston many times (and will be going back in a couple of weeks).
Drivers in Boston are no better or worse than drivers anywhere else. The problem with Boston traffic is that the surface streets all date back to about the time the dinosaurs first left the area, and are too narrow and twisty, and they are one way, and change direction about every other block. On the other hand, the superhighways are underground in tunnels, the traffic moves too fast, signage is minimal, and turns come up too quickly to be able to react. So its a classic case of choose your poison.
My recommendation is stick with the surface streets, slow down a little (not too hard with the traffic), and have someone navigate for you. Better yet, use a GPS (which is another reason to stay out of the damn tunnels).
Old restaurants - Union Oyster House is the grandaddy of them all - fabulous clam chowder; Durgin Park and No Name are also classic spots (and serve great food). Legal Seafood, Anthony's Pier IV, or Jimmy's Harborside are dependable if you want fancy seafood. Every Italian restaurant in the North End serves great food. In Cambridge, don't miss Mrs Bartley's (hamburgers) - on Mass Avenue directly across from Harvard.
Place to stay - hotels in Boston are expensive. When wife and I were there a couple of years ago, we stayed at a Days Inn near Soldier Field. It was reasonably priced and not difficult to get to, but we did need to drive to get to either downtown Boston or Cambridge. When our son was looking at colleges, we found a place out in the Arlington area, parked the car at the Alewife T station, and used public transportation.
There's the famous Freedom Trail that walks you by the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house. The North End is a great place to see even without that. The USS Constitution is worthwhile too. When in Boston I stay w/friends so I have no idea about hotels. I seem to remember Regina's in the North End as the ultimate pizza place, suitable for kids too.
Frank, you could look into B&Bs. I think there is a nice one at or near Harvard square, in Cambridge near Harvard University but can't remember the name. It's close to an MBTA stop which will give access to most places in the city. Check out the Peabody Agassiz museum on the Harvard campus nearby (spectacular collection of glass flowers). Check out the new Busch/Reisinger museum of German culture (if finished).
****Museum of Fine Arts off Brookline Ave in Boston. Endless stuff on line depending what you like. I'm thinking one of the modelling schools might fit your style.
Nate Potter, Austin TX.
Nathan: do you mean the Inn at Harvard? I stayed there some years ago and it was pretty good.
In general, if you can find somewhere in Harvard Sq, you won't need a car, and... you'll be at Harvard! Downtown is a few stops away by subway.
freedom trail .. not liberty trail .. whoops !
if you are going to be in the north end, go to galleria umberto --
the most inexpensive and delicious place you will find in boston ...
it opens at 11 and closes at 2pm ... and thee is a line out the door
the whole time ...
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