How many days would you vacation in Boston?

[LisaR]

You can't get tix to RS games unless you want to pay a small fortune for them through a secondhand dealer.

I personally can't imagine wanting to vacation here for more than 3-4 days unless you are all major history buffs that like taking tours.

There are a lot of nice museums for adults and kids and the aquarium. Most of these places close by 6 or 7 pm. Most of the places that used to be unique and some local charm like Harvard Sq are really just lined now with the same 17 stores that are in every mall. Same with Fanueil Hall. Don't waste your time. It's a food court with a bunch of stores like the Gap and Brookstone that they have in every mall.

Dining in the North End is definitely fun and the MFA and other museums are worth checking out. The duck tours are neat and the nighttime ghost tours are fun .

DH and I are big baseball fans but the kids aren't so we will probably skip the game. The kids are both huge history buffs. DD is even thinking of majoring in history. Both kids claim DC as their favorite vacation spot because of the museums and history so I imagine they will like Boston. We are also considering Colonial Williamsburg. We went when they were too little to appreciate it so that might be an option instead of Boston.

 

[DisneyMim]

I grew up in Cambridge, went to college in Boston and live in the area still. A week should be plenty. Boston is a small town compared to others, very walkable. It's a good time to come weather wise, but as others have said a very crowded time for college commencements. Plan well in advance. I would drive down to Cape Cod (if you have a car). It will be a good time before the summer tourists really get there. Harvard Square is great (walked the yard every day to get to HS), your teens will probably like it. Parking in Cambridge and Boston can be a nightmare so take the T when you can. My mother still lives in Cambridge and I have a hard time parking sometimes. I don't know if others mentioned, but The Museum of Science and the Fine Arts Museum are good too.

Have a Wicked Good Time!!

 

[Northstar]

DH and I are big baseball fans but the kids aren't so we will probably skip the game. The kids are both huge history buffs. DD is even thinking of majoring in history. Both kids claim DC as their favorite vacation spot because of the museums and history so I imagine they will like Boston. We are also considering Colonial Williamsburg. We went when they were too little to appreciate it so that might be an option instead of Boston.

You might want to consider a day trip to Sturbridge Village out in Central Massachusetts. It's a "living history" kind of re-creation though not on the scale of Colonial Williamsburg.

My DH is the kind of guy who reads ALL the historical markers and really would take two days to do the Freedom Trail so I understand your teens. And frequent refreshment breaks increase the time needed for that kind of thing, too!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Not this! The freedom trail in no way shape or form should take you 2 days! It can be done in a matter of hours while you are doing other things in the city, maybe Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market or even the Aquarium. I'm not sure what you'd need to see in Peabody or the surrounding area. There's a Sonic out that way on Rt 1 but really nothing else spectacular that you wouldn't be able to find in your average town. Shopping can be included in any of the days you're already there, it doesn't need a whole separate day. A Sox game can be at night, not wasting a half-day.

No offense intended to snarlingcoyote, but there's far better ways OP can be spending her family's time.

The Peabody Museum. At Harvard. (And tho' I didn't mention it, the glass flower/plant collection which is attached to the Peabody, but isn't part of it.)

The Heritage trail takes me longer than a full day if I stop and do every museum along the route and take time in each of the burial grounds. (Heck, I've spent 3 hours in Copp's taking pictures!)

As for the Sox, everyone who isn't a Yankees fan should do the tour in the day time then come back at night for a game.

 

[Suellen]

You could also make a side trip up to Kennebunkport in Maine. Beautiful small town with lots of shops and restaurants and bed and breakfasts. I would most recommend this is coming the first week of June.

Cocokey outside of Boston with the indoor waterpark.

We like the Aquarium ~ you could also take a whale watch. You could also catch a show.... http://www.boston-theater.com/

The best part of New England is how quickly you can get around to different states. With Boston you have NH, Mass, RI.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I am thinking Coyote meant the Peabody museum at Harvard ( anthropology) ?
or maybe the Peabody Essex museum up in Salem? ( very interesting)

I totally forgot about the Peabody Essex! And I used to have a membership to it! I love the Chinese house inside it!

Oh, I just thought of something cool to do in Salem that almost no one does: skip the Salem ghost tours and the witch tours and remember the real people who died in the Witch hunt! If you have a car you can see the major sites in Danvers (aka Salem Village). http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Danvers.html (This link was given to me when I lived in MA by a co-worker who was from Danvers and had ancestors who were both accused of being witches and who helped convict witches.) One of the coolest spots on this list is the Salem Village Parsonage, but there are NO signs. You just find the street and the address, and there's what looks like a little driveway grown over with grass. Follow it back and there's the archaeological site with interpretive signs.

 

[clori]

I live just a few miles north of Boston. This past summer we tried to visit a Boston place weekly. We visited some old and new places (to us) and these were some hits

Old State House Museum -
Old South Meeting House
USS Constitution Museum
Prudential Center Skywalk
Tour of Fenway Park
Swan Boats

One place that was just so so for my kids was Paul Revere's House.

One place that is fun and quick to see is the Mapporium. I have yet to go since my kids are only 6 and 10 but the JFK Library may be nice to visit. There is also Kennedy's House in Brookline.

We have a membership to the Museum of Science.

 

[redlight]

I think it's great that your kids are into history. You should definitely swing over to Salem.