Help me plan my trip to Boston (Mid-October)?

Question

I'm not familiar with the area but here are the things I'd like to do:

Visit the JFK Presidential Library (Boston)

Freedom Trail(Boston)

Newbury Street (Boston)

Harvard (Cambridge)]

China Town (China Town)

Cheer's Bar (I have no idea)

JFK Hyannis Museum (Hyannis)

Kennedy Compound (Nantucket/Cape Cod- I dont know where any of these are in relation to each other)

We will be flying into Logan airport on a thurs and leaving on sunday. Need help figuring out where these places are, what we can do in the same day, how to get around, as well as where to stay. What are the areas to avoid? And any other helpful tips (especially Kennedy related)....I dont need to do a Duck Tour. Thanks!

Answer 1

The areas to avoid in Boston aren't near the tourist places, so don't worry too much. Don't hang around the Financial District too late at night though, as all the worker-bees have gone home.

I agree with the people who say avoid Cape Cod. The Kennedy Compound is in Hyannis Port, but there's nothing there to see. There's no museum, you can't tour anything, and it's pretty well guarded.  There's a small museum in Hyannis, but the JFK Library is far better. http://www.jfkhyannismuseum.org/

If you get in early enough on Thursday, I'd suggest going up the Prudential Tower for the view of the city. Puts the whole place into perspective. Subway stops: Copley or Prudential.

I'd also suggest starting the Freedom Trail on Friday morning, early. The Freedom Trail is marked by a red line painted on the sidewalk, and links together many of the historical sites. You don't need to do the whole trail.

The USS Constitution (a great tour of a great ship) and Bunker Hill (skip) are at one end. The trail goes through the North End (Italian neighborhood) to Paul Revere's House (OK), Old North Church (really good), etc. There's a plaque somewhere in the North End for Rose Kennedy's birthplace.

My favorite stops are the Old State House Museum and the USS Constitution. If you do go to the USS Constitution, take the water shuttle to the Aquarium. It's the cheapest cruise you'll ever take ($2.00, I think), and the view is spectacular. It puts you back on the Freedom Trail at Quincy Market. Good place for lunch. Make sure you go up to the meeting room in Fanuiel Hall.

There's also a fake Cheers Bar there. The original Cheers is on Beacon Street, down the hill from the new State House and across from the Public Garden. Very touristy, but they do have a nice gift shop and taking your picture in front of the sign is free.

Newbury Street starts close to the original Cheers. The shops are open later than the museums, so do that Friday evening.

Saturday, do Harvard Square first. There are tours of the school -- the best is Unofficial Tours. The shopping used to be funky, but has been taken over by chain stores. The Harvard Coop is worth a look. Then head out on the Red Line to the JFK Library.

The JFK Library is great, easily accessible on the Red Line at the stop JFK/UMASS. If you are fans, it will take a few hours. It closes at 5:00. Sadly, you'll miss the season for the JFK Birthplace in Brookline. http://www.nps.gov/jofi/

Boston Chinatown is very tiny, only a few blocks. The Cheng Kwong market on Essex Street is great to visit -- hundreds of kinds of Ramen noodles, live fish, exotic vegetables. But the rest of Chinatown is pretty boring. Give it a miss unless you have something particular to see. It's only a couple of blocks off the Freedom Trail, though.

Saturday night, find a place to eat on Beacon Hill or in the Back Bay. Wander around for a while.

Sunday morning, before your plane, go to the Public Garden and The Boston Common and wander around. Eat Brunch somewhere.

Other things:

Parker House -- JFK used to eat there, on the Freedom Trail. Invented Parker House Rolls and Boston Cream Pie.

Rose Kennedy Greenway -- Park http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/

JFK Statue at the new State House, West Plaza

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/trs/trsbok/tr...

122 Bowdoin Street - nominal resident, John Fitzgerald Kennedy (registered voting address) Across from the State House, above the Capitol Coffee House. (Nothing to see)

Answer 2

go to castle island definetely if you like history. its a great place.

Also: remember; cape cod is 90 miles away from boston. It's kind of a long drive, but it is definetely worth it. Martha's vineyard is great with some nice hotels. I would rent a bike instead of a car when you go there, though the ferries going there do take cars.

Answer 3

instead of going to boston you should go to salem because its in mid-october there is lots of interesting things there  

Answer 4

Freedom Trail, Newbury Street, Chinatown (one word) and Cheers are all in central Boston and an easy walk.

Harvard - easily reachable by subway (Red Line)

JFK Library - about 4-5 km south of downtown Boston, also easily reachable by Red Line subway and connector bus.

JFK and Kennedy Compound, Hyannis/Hyannisport - on Cape Cod, (not any JFK stuff on Nantucket) about a 90 minute drive from Boston.

Where to stay????  How can me or anyone advise you if you do not provide parameters?

Answer 5

the cheers bar is near govermnet center, though i forget exactly where cause it's been years. besides that, it's a stupid waste of time and not the real bar where it was filmed and nobody goes there but tourists who don't know any better. i'm not trying to insult you, just trying to help you have a better time on your trip and not waste time going to see things that will leave you dissapointed.

the jfk library, freedom trail, harvard (i hope you mean harvard square in cambridge and not just the university because you'll have MUCH more fun browsing harvard square than looking at an old college), newbury street, chinatown, and the cheers bar... all in or just outside the city. use the T (that's the train or subway to out of towners), and it will take you anywhere in the city you want to go. you'll probably want one day for newbury street, since there's so many great stores to look through, though not much the average person can actually afford :)

but window shopping and browsing is still fun. i'd also take one day for harvard square, since there's a lot to take in there as well. you could probably do both the kennedy library and the freedom trail in one day; get a guide for the freedom trail because they will point out all kinds of historical things and give you much more info than doing it alone. china town... well, you may want to spend a day there perusing, or you may want to just get the h**l out while you still have your sanity :)

i would also suggest to you that you visit faneiul hall and haymarket square, which are very close to each other. that's a lot of fun to see. the T map will help you some, but you can ask the booth attendant at the station to tell you where to get off for whatever it is you're currently going to see. but trust me, it is MUCH easier to just take the T around town than to try to drive. you don't want to drive. there's no parking anywhere, and with the big dig a lot of the roads are messed up too. as far as the kennedy museum and the kennedy compound, i have no idea where the museum is in hyannis. the kennedy compound is in hyannisport, which is the oceanfront part of hyannis. it's not on nantucket, but nantucket is beautiful so if you get a chance, the ferry leaves from hyannis to nantucket, if i remember correctly it's about an hour to sail out there. you'd need a whole day for nantucket, and a whole day for whatever you want to do in hyannis. hyannis is in cape cod, at the north end of it. you'll have no problem driving around the cape, so you'll need a car for that, as there isn't much in the way of public transportation outside the city. i'm sure the town of hyannis has a website, you could look up directions on how exactly to get to the kennedy museum/compound.

it really is a lot to do in the short time you have to spend in MA.

as far as where to stay, if you want to do both the city and the cape, i'd say stay somewhere south of boston, maybe the weymouth or braintree area. hotels in the city are way too expensive. this way, especially if you stay in braintree, you're a very short drive from the T station so it's easy to get into the city, and it's not as long a drive to the cape. the cape is approximately an hour south of boston. if you leave from braintree or weymouth or that area somewhere, you'd be looking at a drive closer to 45 minutes, and much less traffic. i'd say just look up hotels online to see who has the best rates. when looking for hotels, try quincy, braintree, weymouth, or abington. i think those will be your best bests for being close to the city and still convenient to get to the cape.

have fun!! you're going at a great time of year!!! (but bring sweaters!)