Things to Do and Eat in Boston

Boston from the water

Boston is a great city with a rich history. We highly encourage everyone to make it out and at least spend 3 days in Boston. The weather is very enjoyable from about May to October with enough things to do to make you ask yourself, “Why didn't I stay longer?”

What to do:

Enjoying the trail

Boston Freedom Trail

This is the quintessential  attraction for the city. It is a 2.5 mile walk through the country’s rebellious origins. This is a free walk with some admission fees to enter buildings along the way. You will see and hear names such as Ben Franklin, John Hancock, Paul Revere and many others. Check out our more in depth analysis here.

Fenway Park

Although we did not catch a game or do a tour, word is, this is a good attraction.

 

Entering Havard

Harvard and MIT Universities

Two of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. are located in Boston. Harvard has a historical background with buildings older than our country. A walk through Harvard Yard is a must and do some shopping at Harvard Square. Take a walk along the Charles River (a little long) or hop on the subway to MIT. Check out the MIT museum full of innovative exhibits by students. Take a walk down Main street and do some shopping. Don’t feel bad if you don’t get a lot of the jokes. If you are looking for some grub while over there, feed the inner nerd and go to Asgard Irish Pub. They have authentic Irish food and tons of beer to chose from.

 

Sampling some Flights!

Breweries

Boston likes beer. Sam Adams is one of the major producers that offers a tour. In our opinion, it is a little out of the way and gives the generic "large company" tour. Check out one of the local ones instead! We walked to Harpoon Brewery and enjoyed ourselves. You may have to get there early to reserve a spot on the tour ($5)  an hour ahead (reservations are in person only).  While waiting or instead of going on a tour, head over to the tasting room and enjoy a beer or a flight!

 

Hanging with some rebels

Museums

We love museums and enjoyed looking at what MIT had to offer. We also checked out the Boston Tea Party Ship Museum which uses live actors to reenact the events that took place the night the tea was dumped into the harbor. The Boston Massacre Museum (housed in the Old South Meeting House on the Freedom Trail) explained the events that led up to the incident and located in the building the massacre occurred in front of. Some attractions even offer free explanations, like aboard the USS Constitution.

Right across from Daily Catch

Food and Beer

The North End will have everything you need. Located in the heart of Boston and nick named "Little Italy," the North End has delicioius food, beer, and desserts. We finished off our Freedom Trail at the restaurant Daily Catch which boasts a Sicilian-style seafood. It is a small kitchen with 6 tables and CASH ONLY. There may be a little wait, but totally worth it.  Right across the street is Mike's Pastry for dessert, like a delicious cannoli.

The feud is a street battle!

The Union Oyster House has always been a tourist favorite as being the oldest restaurant in America. We didn’t think the hour and a half wait was worth it, so we just hopped in a neighboring restaurant called the Blackstone Grill and tried some delicious homemade meatloaf. 

Now as far as beer goes... there is a little feud going on as to which bar is the oldest, Bell in Hand Tavern or Green Dragon Tavern. The Green Dragon Tavern is an Irish pub that serves some local favorites such as a lobster roll and clam chowder. You really can't go wrong for beer.

 For breakfast, we went to check out Maria's Pastry (which rivals Mike's) but it was closed so we went next door to Bread + Butter. It was decent, but no Mike’s or Maria’s. If you want lunch on the water, we had a good meal at the Legal Seafood on the Long Wharf overlooking the water.

 

Sit back and relax!

Transportation

Boston is a small city in area and very walkable. To get to outlying attractions in surrounding areas for destinations like Harvard/MIT, take the subway. It costs $2.65 one way. If you know you will be traveling a lot by subway, get a day pass or week pass. We invested in the week pass for $18 and it was definitely worth it.

Taxis are common and easy to get. You will pay more for some convenience. Try downloading the Uber app and give that a shot. We used it to get from the airport at 1am (after subway stopped) and it saved us a good hour from waiting in the taxi line.

Buses are very efficient and full of all sorts of people. We only used the bus when we were by MIT, but they are all around the city. Look up their route online.

We used the commuter rail to visit Salem. It cost us $29  for the 30 minute ride. Not a bad deal! See where else you can get to!

Outside Boston

Boston is nice, but like mentioned above, we took a day trip to Salem. Salem takes Halloween very seriously and we visited a week before Halloween, so it was a must and it was worth it! There was so much to do that our original half day plan turned into a full day. We checked out the Witch House and the Witch Museum. If we were to do it again, we would say skip the long line at the Witch Museum and go to the hanging ground. They have a live reenactment of the famous witch hunt. Famous Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote his Seven Gables book based off a home he visited frequently located in Salem. Check out the tour at Seven Gables to learn more. 

Before you go, pick up some candy at the oldest candy store in America across the street from The House of Seven Gables at the Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie. We went during a very festive time with local arts and craft tents set up all along the main pass and a nice carnival-like set up across from the Witch Museum. It was relaxing with exceptionally good people watching!