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[chenar]

Hey folks,
  Do you have any great and exciting ideas for what to do in Boston/Cambridge (a three day trip or so) in the late summer?


a_canadian


P.S. I heard that the Gargoyle store on Newbury St. closed in February. 

 

 

[galactic_hedgehog]

The indoor lightning show at the Museum of Science.  Wicked cool.

Even better from inside the cage, if you know what I mean.

[swtrixie]

I took the tour boat ride around the Boston Harbor then had lunch in the North End which is heavily Italian. Both were very good.

Faneuil Hall is a interesting but a very touristy spot. Boston Common is great and don't miss walking through Harvard yard when in Cambridge with a visit to the COOP.

[magistra]

Gotta do the duck tour.

http://www.bostonducktours.com/

It's also pretty simple to do a walking tour of some major sites, including Revolutionary War sites.  I'd spend some time just walking around.

Don't miss Filene's, especially Filene's Basement.

Harvard has lots of great museums, none of which I saw, because the day I went turned out to be graduation. 

Cambridge also has some great bookstores and shops in general.  Shoenhof's is foreign language books, if you're interested.

[notaprof]

Speaking of walking tours, it is free to follow the Freedom Trail.  Since it will be hot, you might want to time it to end up at Bunker Hill at sunset, it's a nice view from there. 

http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/

The Isabelle Stuart Gardner Museum is pretty cool.  The building is gorgeous.

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

Just about anything you do in Boston can be interesting, geez I sound like zinnerson!

[galactic_hedgehog]

Whale watches!

[ptprof]

If your a baseball fan, nothing equals a game at Fenway Park.

[liquidambar]

The Museum of Fine Arts is very nice.  Somebody already mentioned the Freedom Trail, but I'll second that.

[terpsichore]

If your a baseball fan, nothing equals a game at Fenway Park.

Even if you're not a baseball fan, it's a lot of fun.

Boston Public Garden is great. There you can see both the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture AND a monument to the use of ether for anesthesia.

[zharkov]

Don't miss Filene's, especially Filene's Basement.

Too late, Filenes is now Macy's.

My short list:  Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, Harvard Square / Harvard museums, walking around the North End, Trinity Church, the State House and the Shaw / Mass 54th Monument across the street (film Glory).  A little off the beaten path, Mt. Auburn cemetery in Watertown, next to Cambridge.

[the_honey_badger]

Anything you do in Boston will be wonderful. Anything.


(I'm homesick today...)

[ptprof]

Anything you do in Boston will be wonderful. Anything.


(I'm homesick today...)

I second this....
(another forumite missing Boston)

[iomhaigh]

(some repeats here because of cross postings -- apologies!)

Swan Boats (cheesy, but it's a must).  You can do the Duck Boats, too, if that's your speed, but I loathe those things unless they're involved in a victory parade when I'm not trying to drive on the streets.  

Picnic lunch by the Hatch Shell, followed by a walk up the river and over into Cambridge.  

Take the Green line trains just because; old trolley cars are cool.
    
Aquarium (penguins walked freely there in the 80s).

Fenway Park (day of tickets might be available.  Big might.)

Sadly, the real Filene's basement is no more.  

Pizzeria Regina or Mother Anna's in the North End.  Then walk down Hanover or Salem St and hit whichever bakery is still open for dessert.

Newbury Street is sometimes an interesting place to walk through if you like feeling poor and looking for celebrities.  

Great used record stores in Kenmore.

The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum is wicked cool.

The MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) is also wicked cool.  

Faneuil Hall is a touristy spot, yes, but if you need a quick lunch and you're up that way, then Quincy Market has a wide selection of good fast lunch food that will satisfy most anyone.  

Walking the Freedom Trail can be fun if history and walking is your thing and it's not hot.  

Go to the top of the Pru or the Hancock (I think the Hancock might still be closed, but the observation deck at the Prudential Center should be open if the Hancock is closed.)

The Back Bay Fens are gorgeous in season and safer than they used to be (still a daylight thing.)

If it's wicked hot, then you can walk through the fountains at the Christian Science Center, which is next to Symphony Hall, which might have concerts running.  There's also this bizarre globe that you can walk through at the CSC -- used to be free to get into it because it's on the way to the reading room.  

It used to be fun to gawk at the mess that the Big Dig was.  Now there are some parks where the highway and construction debris used to be.  

If you can get away, Revere Beach is always fun.

There's an IMAX theatre at the Science Museum; they used to have this great trip through Boston that they used as a preview film -- nothing like flying down Storrow Drive at 80 mph in the IMAX.  Might still be part of the show -- I haven't been in a while.    

[galactic_hedgehog]

There's an IMAX theatre at the Science Museum; they used to have this great trip through Boston that they used as a preview film -- nothing like flying down Storrow Drive at 80 mph in the IMAX.  Might still be part of the show -- I haven't been in a while.   

I wonder if they still have the pre-show narration by Leonard Nimoy?

[iomhaigh]

There's an IMAX theatre at the Science Museum; they used to have this great trip through Boston that they used as a preview film -- nothing like flying down Storrow Drive at 80 mph in the IMAX.  Might still be part of the show -- I haven't been in a while.   

I wonder if they still have the pre-show narration by Leonard Nimoy?

Oooh!  I totally forgot about that!  That was so cool!