Can anyone tell me the best things to DO/SEE in Boston?

I am going to Boston for the weekend....like 3 in the morning tonight. I am only gonna be there for two days so I wanted to know the best things to do or see so in the short time span so I can have a great time and get a feel for the best of boston.

You have to go to the New England aquarium! It is the best aquarium in the US. I just visited Boston last spring and it was my favorite thing.

You should also go on the Freedom Trail I bet they will have something special for halloween or Thanksgiving.

I'm sure you will get the standard places, like the commons, back bay, north end, Harvard Square, science museum, MFA. There are other less well known places as well.

The Gardener Museum is interesting. It is in a mansion formerly owned by Isabel Stuart Gardener (spelling may be off), a society lady and art collector. Her will left her home and collection as a museum, with the stipulation that nothing could be moved. This gives it very interesting juxtapositions.

Other off-the-normal-route things include the Christian Science Center with its Maparium, in back bay, and the glass flower museum at Harvard.

Finally, if you like this kind of thing, I used to run through Roxbury. Some of the old buildings there are really interesting. Like NY, Boston has all sorts of neighborhoods, but unlike it is small enough so in a day you can get the flavor of all of it.

whatever you do (eat some seafood!) do not drive. the T (bus or train) is your friend when it comes to Boston.

You have to walk the Freedom Trail. It will take you all over the city -- to Boston Commons, Old North Church, historical graveyards, the ship the Constitution, Paul Revere's house, Quincy Market, the place where the Boston Massacre happened, plus LOTS more places. It is literally a brick path set into the sidewalk and you just follow it. You get to see the entire city. It is a lot of walking, but it's not difficult. There are free maps all over the place, so you can make sure you hit all the things that interest you. You can stop along the way and get some lunch or a coffee, and really see all the things you learned about when you were in school!

Ah. Baaston, my home town! Only 10,000,000 things to do thar. Here is where I take "outsiders":

Basically, since you don't have too much time here, stick with the Fenway area, and the Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall area and if you have time, Harvard Square

As much as I love Boston, Harvard Square across the Charles River really ROCKS for me! So much stuff to do there in such a small area! Harvard Square, Cambridge - a very short ride on the T from Downtown Crossing. There isn't much you can't do here in this concentrated, urban, campus town - many restaurants, art studios, clubs, tea houses, museums, shopping, boutiques, pubs, bakeries.

*Fenway Park - Boston Red Sox 4 Yawkey Way (Cross Street: Brookline Avenue) Boston, (617) 267-1700
*Lansdowne Street - Ajacent to Fenway park and near Kenmore Many clubs there my picks : Avalon, 15 Lansdowne St, Boston (617) 262-2437 One of Boston's biggest and flashiest clubs makes its patrons feel like superstars.
* Embassy 36 Lansdowne St, Boston, (617) 536-2100 Lansdowne Street's most stylish club
* Bill's Bar 5 Lansdowne St, Boston, (617) 421-9678 Funk, traditional rock and head-banging live acts: It's a diverse music scene at this club.
* The Modern 36 Lansdowne St, Boston,(617) 536-2100 A true lounge, where scenesters come to chat, sit and sip.
* Boston Beer Works 61 Brookline Ave, Boston, (617) 536-2337 Acclaimed beers, generous bar-food portions and a relaxed environment attract young, sports-enthused masses to Boston's oldest brewpub.
*Jillian's Billiards Club 145 Ipswich St, Boston, (617) 437-0300 A cross section of social scenes converges at the city's premier adult playground.
*The North End - Even if you are not Italian, you wil BE one when you leave! Excellent restaurants, cafes, Mike's Pastry is to DIE for! Follow the Freedom Trail from Quincy Market. Cross over Cross St. and go up Salem Street for one block. Take a right onto Parmenter St. and follow for one block. Take a left on Hanover Street.
*Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market - bordered by Clinton, Chatham and Commercial Streets -Downtown Boston -(617) 523-1300
*The REAL Cheers Pub - The Bull & Finch Pub, 84 Beacon St., across from the Public Garden, Boston, MA, (617) 227-9605
*Seafood - BEST and Cheap- The No-Name Restaurant, Boston Fish Pier, Northern Avenue, Boston 617-423-2705
*Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston
617-566-1401
*The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum,Columbia Point,Boston (617) 929-4523
*Haymarket Square - Visit the Haymarket on Blackstone St. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Market opens at dawn on Friday and runs until dusk Saturday. A variety of fruits, vegetables, and seafood are offered and the prices beat any supermarket. Even if you can't cook, the Market is fun to visit for the lively atmosphere and frivolity of the vendors. To get there, follow the Freedom Trail from Quincy Market, it takes you right to Haymarket.
*Coolidge Corner Theatre - The building was converted from a church to a movie house in 1933 and the original art deco ornamentation still remains, making for a romantic atmosphere. The Theatre shows many foreign, independent, and art films so it is not the place to go for the latest release, but it is perfect if you are looking for something original to do. To get to the theater, take the Green C line to the Coolidge Corner stop in Brookline. Walk down Harvard St. and the theater will be on the left, at No. 290. For movie times and information call (617) 734-2500.
*South Street Diner - Whether you were part of the 1950s or just wish you were, the South Street Diner provides the perfect combination of rock-n-roll, frappes, and nostalgia. Open twenty-four hours a day, the small diner offers everything from breakfast hot off the grill to the raspberry-lime rickies of yesterday to its signature chocolate mousse cake. The five booths offer cozy seating or sit at the counter for a real blast from the past. Music of the era provided by a jukebox and the life size James Dean adorning the bathroom door lend to the fifties feeling. If you are longing for the days of sock hops and milkshakes for two, take a date to the South St. Diner, located on the corner of Kneeland and South Streets. To get there, follow Atlantic Ave. from South Station to South Street. Take a right and follow it a block. The South St. Diner is on the right, painted blue with the classic diner design.
*Boston by Foot, Boston, MA, (617) 367-2345 or (617) 367-3766 for a recorded tour listing. Ninety-minute tours depart from the Samuel Adams statue on Congress St., near Faneuil Hall.

MBTA - Public transportation - parking is EXPENSIVE here! But the last trains stop apound 12:15 AM http://www.mbta.com/

If you walk the Freedom Trail you can walk all over the city in just one day, and get a feel for tons of things. Eat some seafood, hit up some bakeries in the North End, look at the water front, visit the Aquarium, Paul Revere's House, etc etc etc. . . .If you have time, tour Fenway Park, it's amazing.

Luckily for you, most things are very close. You can almost walk to many things!

In Boston, Fanuiel Hall/Quincy Market is a must.

Freedom Trail as well, except don't walk the whole thing. It'll take up your whole day. Just hit some of the highlights such as the old North Church, South Meeting house and the Cemetery to see John Hancock and other tombstones. They're all within about 15 min of one another walking! And it's close to Fanueil Hall as well.

If you like museums, the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) is one of my favorite in the world (that and the Musee D'Orsay in Paris). Museum of Science is pretty neat too.

If you like to shop, go to the shops at Prudential/Copley Plaza. Also, be sure to walk down Newbury St just for fun and window shop.

Harvard Sq can be entertaining to walk around. Or you can bounce down to MIT and walk those hallways as well. Next to that is the esplanade, where you can walk the Charles River, which is gorgeous in the summer time, walk downtown and grab something to eat near fanueil hall!

You can also get a day pass for the "T" (subway) and ride all over just for fun!




If you have a car, Salem (north of Boston) is not too far.

You might also consider:
- Visiting Bunker Hill memorial in Charlestown (and you can climb it)
- Visiting Old Ironsides (USS Constitution) in Charlestown,
- Visiting JFK library (just south of Boston),
- Visit Lexington and Concord (where it all started) out Route 2.

For food, well, you're in luck!

Enjoy the seafood! For affordable seafood, No Name's is the place to go. Outside of that, you could do the old reliable Durgin Park @ Quincy Market.

And for italian, there's some fantastic italian food in the North end. (almost any place there is great!)

As you might be able to tell, Boston's one of my favorite cities.

Hope you have a fantastic time!

The aquarium and the top of the Prudential center has a great view. Also the harbor, Quincy market, Boston common is nice this time of year.and the duck tour is fun.