Lodging & local tips

Greetings,

I am considering a trip to Boston with my wife and two teenagers, 16 year old son and 13 year old daughter. The date of travel would be July 18-24, 2009.

I would greatly appreciate any advice you could provide on great local restaurants, lodging and things to do. I will be doing research into this, so please don%26#39;t think I am requesting your recommendations on the obvious tourist things. I am hopeful that some of you might be able to provide some special tips on '; must see '; places or restraurants that most travelers would not know about. In terms of lodging, we enjoy villas with a full kitchen when we travel,however,I know out east there are typically B%26amp;B%26#39;s and hotels,so this may not be reasonable.

Thank you in advance for your advice in this matter.

Regards,

Dennis

Lodging %26amp; local tips

The must-see things and restaurants really depend largely on you and your interests, and your willingness to leave the beaten path. It doesn%26#39;t make much sense to suggest say, Portuguese food in East Cambridge if you are a vegetarian who wants to eat within a few block radius of your hotel (for example).

People are happy to help you out, but you need to help us out a bit, too, with things like interests, budget, things you do not like, etc.

Lodging %26amp; local tips

This is tough to answer without info from you such as what you like to do, what sort of budget you have for lodging, and what you like to eat. That said, I’ll toss out some information and you can take what’s useful.

“Villa with a full kitchen” is probably impossible if you want to stay in Boston. On Cape Cod you could find a week-long cottage or house rental, but if you really want Boston, most likely, the best you can do is a hotel with a “kitchenette” or an apartment.

Search for apartment rentals on this forum. Past vacationers who posted have talked about apartments on Clarenden St (back bay), Charlestown and the North End.

Consider the John Jefferies House, it is conveniently located and they have suites w/ some sort of kitchen. www.johnjeffries.com . Also, check out the Marriott Residence Inn, it’s right on the Freedom Trail although a bit removed from the ‘downtown’ area, it’s an easy walk or boat ride from there. .

As for “hidden gems” restaurants … in my opinion, they really don’t exist. (Or haven’t in recent years). Rents are high here, so if a restaurant isn’t busy, it won’t last very long.

That said, as Veronica pointed out, there are good restaurants that are not downtown that are poplular among residents. I guess what I’m saying don’t expect to walk into a quiet place at 7pm on a Saturday night and have the ‘meal of your life’ because nobody else knows the place exists!

Some of my personal favorites: %26gt;%26gt; Daily Catch (for seafood prepared simply or Sicilian-style) (www.dailycatch.com) . There’s two Daily Catch locations – in the North End and on Northern Ave, near the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). The Northern Ave location has outdoor seating. %26gt;%26gt; Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage in Harvard Square --- must try a “lime rickey” or a “raspberry lime rickey” here … it’s Boston’s summertime (non-alcholic) beverage and getting harder and harder to find : ( %26gt;%26gt; Border Café in Harvard Square (www.bordercafe.com) %26gt;%26gt; Todd English’s Figs in Charlestown (near Bunker Hill monument, not far from the freedom trail) is great. There’s also a downtown location, Charles Street, I think. Check out www.toddenglish.com %26gt;%26gt; Pizzaria Regina on Thatcher Street in the North End is a perennial favorite. %26gt;%26gt; I always liked Circle Pizza on Hanover Street, but I haven’t been there in about 5 years. %26gt;%26gt; And, although it’s a chain, if you don’t have McCormick and Schmic’s near you, I’d check it out at Fanieul Hall … I had an incredible meal here a few weeks ago.

OK … here’s a tip for both eating and site-seeing: go to J.Pace and Son, an Italian Market that also sells sandwiches, salads and meals …. It’s at 42 Cross street (North End), just down the street from the Aquarium (about a 10-12 minute walk). Grab a picnic lunch there, walk over to the Aquarium/Marriott Long Wharf area and catch a boat out to the Harbor Islands, explore the islands ( www.nps.gov/boha ) and have a picnic. Two islands that I’ve been to: 1) George’s Island has a old fort, bathrooms and a little snack bar but no swimming. 2) Lovell’s island has an old fort (smaller than at George’s), a rocky beach where swimming is permitted, and solar-powered composting restrooms … no running water, nothing for sale, (be sure to bring enough to drink!) One the fun thing about Lovell’s is that way in the past it was the site of a rabbit farm and there’s still lots of rabbits around that come out early morning and late afternoon/early evening to feed and they are fun to watch …

As for things-to-do --- or “must sees” it depends on what you like --- there’s so much. Here’s a few things to research: Freedom Trail (a walk that links significant historic sites in Boston); Black Heritage Trail; Aquarium; Whale Watch from the Aquarium; Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts (they have real mummies!); Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum; Boston Public Garden and the Swan Boats (made famous by author McCloskey’s “Make Way for Ducklings”) ; Duck tour; trolley tour; walking tour.

Consider a day trip. Here’s a few options to get you thinking: 1) Salem Mass via train or boat – witch trial history and a very rich maritime/China Trade history; 2) Historic Lexington and Concord, Revolutionary War battles were fought here. Check out the “Liberty Tour”. With that you won’t need a car to see these areas; 3) Provincetown, the very tip of Cape Cod, easily reached by a 90 minute boat ride aboard a high speed catamaran. Once here you can take the summertime bus or a taxi to the Cape Cod National Seashore (www.nps.gove/caco ); go on Art’s Dune Tours

So … are you sorry you asked?!?!?

For ';villas'; (they will most likely be apartments in Boston), check out homeaway.com or VRBO.com.

forgotmypassword has some good tips, but are they good for you? Who knows? As Veronica mentions, you would really get much better answers if you did even a little research on your own first, and THEN asked some questions. Click the ';Things to Do'; and ';Restaurant'; links over on that menu on the left there. Better yet, fork over the 10 or 12 bucks for a Boston guidebook and leaf through it.

Hi Dennis!

Here are a few of my favorite must see/must do things that aren%26#39;t usually tourist hot spots.

-take a boston pedicab tour - just fun!

//www.bostonpedicab.com/

-Tour chinatown or the north end on a food tour

http://www.northendmarkettours.com/

The north end is a great tour but you won%26#39;t soon forget the great experience of eating dim sum with a guide on the chinatown tour - really fantastic and your teens will love it.

-In the North End - Try marcoboston.com or neptune oyster for a different type of non-red sauce north end.

If you are interested, you can also follow Seaport on twitter - just search for Seaport - we have a daily must do tip about fun things going on that day or the following day in Boston.

Enjoy your trip!

SeaportConcierge

www.seaportboston.com

I agree that hidden gems are kind of a thing of the past. There are so many travel research networks and forums these days, it%26#39;s impossible to keep a great place with great prices a secret for very long. Plus, you%26#39;ll find that the posters in this forum pretty much always recommend their personal faves, so any restaurant thread you see is going to have a healthy listing of non-touristy options.

My favorite hidden gems are not downtown, but in the surrounding neighborhoods (Brookline, Brighton, Newton, etc.). If that%26#39;s the kind of advice you%26#39;re looking for, let us know.

Hi,

You have gotten lots of suggestions. Mine would be to spend an evening in Beacon Hill. The quaintest area of Boston. The restaurants are not super fancy but it is whole experience of strolling down Charles Street, finding a restaurant, and enjoying the atmosphere.

The North End of course is a must too - our Italian neighborhood. You could start with a GREAT tour, and then have lunch or dinner: North End Market Tours. They give many great (up to date) recommendations. North End is the Italian neighborhood of Boston and a great area to walk around in. I found our guide to be excellent, and very knowledgeable. It is a combination history-food tour. They also have a tour of China town that I have not taken yet.

northendmarkettours.com/html/markettours/mar…

For places to stay, you can try out these:

check out John Jeffries house in Beacon Hill? It is VERY central, and the rates for suites are very reasonable. The T (sub way) is right there and goes straight to Harvard and other places. And you can walk almost anywhere - Beacon Hill is the quaintest area in all of Boston.

http://www.johnjeffrieshouse.com/

Here%26#39;s another option:

marriott.com/hotels/…

It%26#39;s in Kendall square in Cambridge, very close to the red line t-station so it is super easy to get into Boston (you can also walk in 15 minutes).

They have apartments with kitchen, livingroom, and a few bedrooms. The one I saw had two bedrooms and was quite spacious. My cousin from Sweden stayed there with friends and thought it was great.

Enjoy your trip!

VeronicaSawyer,

You are absolutely right. I am kind of new to this forum thing, so I apologize for the miss communication on my part.

My family is very adventurous. We live in a large city near Chicago and like to try different foods and try new things. We are not vegatarians. I like historical sites, but my kids tire of my love of this and would prefer teenager activities...pool, shopping, baseball games.

I hope this helps. Thanks for your insights.

Dennis

Forgot to answer the budget question. As far as lodging goes, we would not want to spend more than $300.00 per night.

Forgotmy,

Great info. I love all the ideas you recommended. We are not new to New England as we have vacationed on Cape Cod and Maine, but never spent time in Boston.

We like hiking, spending time in the ocean, shopping, historical sites, guided tours, biking...

Great tip on exploring the Harbor Islands and having a shore lunch- Sounds fun!

TravelingSwede %26amp; SeaportConcierge,

Thanks so much for the tip on Beacon Hill. It sounds like a charming area and we will focus our lodging searches in this area. Also the tips on Chinatown, North End and Pedicab sound fun too.

Regards,

Dennis