Bostonians - advice

Diet Kirk

Silver Member
Hi guys,

Instead of posting back in my honeymoon thread as this is pretty specific I thought I'd start a new one and see if we have any Bostonians in the house.

As part of our honeymoon, we are swinging through Boston for two nights. Arriving in a hire car from Portland, ME and then driving on from Boston to see family in Garrison, NY.

My question, Boston looks like a pretty compact city and I've heard driving through it and parking in it is a bit of a nightmare and expensive. Should we get a hotel on the outskirts and commute in? and if so where?

According to google public transport maps, the 'T's' longest route out is about half an hour, which in travel time is nothing to us (we both used to live in London, UK with a daily work commute of an hour).
 
Not a bad idea. Would the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge be in budget? It's not bad, and it's just across the river from North Station. Seems to be a few others within a few bucks, and pretty much all of Cambridge is on a train or bus line. I'd say anything in the surrounding communities within a quick hike to the T would do fine. I used to live in Everett, but there's nothing there I would recommend, can't think of anything in Malden or Chelsea. Maybe Revere, Medford, Somerville, Cambridge or the North of Boston towns.
 
This hotel in Somerville seems like it would be a good bet.
It's right off the highway from the north and it's a close walk to the "T" transportation into town or Cambridge.

The area has a new shopping center with two cool outdoor restaurants - River Bar and American Fresh Brewhouse. It's right up the road from Davis Square which has a few more cool restaurants and parking is fine there.
Precinct Bar in Davis Square has good food and a back room with local bands.
Up the road from there is a great barbecue restaurant in Union Square called Redbones.

I would go to Boston during the day and spend the evening in Somerville.

http://www.laquintabostonsomerville.com/

http://www.assemblyrow.com/#visit

But definitely go to Novare Res in Portland for beer and food.

If you stop into Portsmouth Drum Center on your way back from Portland, hold onto your money because they have a huge wall of snare drums and a back warehouse full of every cymbal you can think of, many hand picked at the factory.
 
If you are going to Boston within the next month bring a snow shovel, cross country skis and lots of winter gear(FYI over 4 feet of snow on the ground)! Denis
 
Also be aware that the T as in MBTA is not running on all gears due to this weather, and it looks like it will be that way for the next month!

Maybe go on Hotels.com and see what they might have in Boston, maybe spend a bit more and be able to enjoy the city and not worry too much about getting in and out of the city with all this snow. Just a thought.
 
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Not a bad idea. Would the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge be in budget? It's not bad, and it's just across the river from North Station. Seems to be a few others within a few bucks, and pretty much all of Cambridge is on a train or bus line. I'd say anything in the surrounding communities within a quick hike to the T would do fine. I used to live in Everett, but there's nothing there I would recommend, can't think of anything in Malden or Chelsea. Maybe Revere, Medford, Somerville, Cambridge or the North of Boston towns.

Thanks dude, Cambridge might be a good bet as it looks quite pretty as it is. I'm just really torn by whether we should just suck it up and stay in the city. Of course money might end up being the deciding factor, but it is our honeymoon!

Funny thing is I think wants tainting my view of dealing with potential heavy traffic is the fact that I will be sitting on the opposite side of the car to usual and be obeying slightly different driving rules to what I'm used to. I have no idea whether I'll take to it easily or not!

If it was in my own country I'd have no qualms about driving anywhere!

This hotel in Somerville seems like it would be a good bet.
It's right off the highway from the north and it's a close walk to the "T" transportation into town or Cambridge.

The area has a new shopping center with two cool outdoor restaurants - River Bar and American Fresh Brewhouse. It's right up the road from Davis Square which has a few more cool restaurants and parking is fine there.
Precinct Bar in Davis Square has good food and a back room with local bands.
Up the road from there is a great barbecue restaurant in Union Square called Redbones.

I would go to Boston during the day and spend the evening in Somerville.

http://www.laquintabostonsomerville.com/

http://www.assemblyrow.com/#visit

But definitely go to Novare Res in Portland for beer and food.

If you stop into Portsmouth Drum Center on your way back from Portland, hold onto your money because they have a huge wall of snare drums and a back warehouse full of every cymbal you can think of, many hand picked at the factory.

Thanks for that, more great stuff for us to check out. Being the lover of lists that I am and with us visiting so many places you should see the word doc I've got pulling all this together for us to look into!

Novare-Res is on our list for Portland.

As a little aside I'm originally from Beverley in East Yorkshire, the namesake of Beverly, Mass so we are also going for a little stop to have a cheesy picture with the welcome sign on the way into Boston.

As for the Portsmouth drum shop, if only I could get gear into my suitcase! I imagine taking anything back with me to the UK could be difficult! But think we are going to stop in for a look.

Make sure to brush up on your Bostonian language skills.

https://vimeo.com/76469750

I can do a passable Ben Affleck if that counts?

If you are going to Boston within the next month bring a snow shovel, cross country skis and lots of winter gear(FYI over 4 feet of snow on the ground)! Denis

Oh no don't worry, I should have said, we are going to be in Boston 30 July - 1 August, hopefully the snow will have gone by then!

Also be aware that the T as in MBTA is not running on all gears due to this weather, and it looks like it will be that way for the next month!

Maybe go on Hotels.com and see what they might have in Boston, maybe spend a bit more and be able to enjoy the city and not worry too much about getting in and out of the city with all this snow. Just a thought.

Sorry, should have said it will be summertime when we come, should we shell out for the city?
 
In Cambridge, the Charles Hotel is right at Harvard Square which is right on the red line. Nice hotel with spa. And maybe there will be a good show at the Regattabar.
 
Sorry, should have said it will be summertime when we come, should we shell out for the city?

Probably not.

Things to do in Boston that will give you a good feel for the city and area.

A Duck tour of Boston.
http://www.bostonducktours.com/Default.aspx

Maybe a whale watch in the morning, or a booze cruise around Boston at night.
If you're into that.
http://www.bostonharborcruises.com/whale-watch/?gclid=CObytNa69sMCFdcZgQodQY4AHQ

http://www.boatonian.com/

Or, not.
Faneuil Hall area is a magnet for visitors, but it's nothing special.

There's really not much that I can advise about Boston at night, so I would consider Somerville or Cambridge in the evening. There's better restaurants and many have nice outdoor seating.

If you're in Beverly for that snapshot, head on over to Marblehead for lunch and a short walk if it's a weekday. Forget it if it's the weekend.

As a side note, my old employers are a couple of good friends who own a beer company called Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. She is from Yorkshire and He is native to New England. He was the recipe formulator and a brewer at Daleside brewery. They make a proper brown ale if you get a chance to taste it here.
 
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