Visiting Boston for a weekend

[britfish]

Any suggestions on fun things to do with a 7yo? Any affordable hotel suggestions? Thanks!

 

[monorailmom]

"Affordable" hotels in Boston are tough to come by! I can recommend some that while not terribly "affordable", are not the most expensive and are in great locations. Check out the Marriott Long Wharf and the Copley Marriott. You can walk out of these hotels and be right in the middle of the best of Boston.

Witha 7yr old, I'd check out the Boston Aquarium (right next to the Long Wharf hotel). It's not the best aquarium I've been to, but when my kids were young they loved it. The Boston Museum of Science is always a great take-in, and you could easily spend a whole day there. Another suggestion is the Boston Duck Tours...you get to see Boston both by land and water. You could spend some time shopping at Faneuil Hall, too. They run walking tours of the Freedom Trail out of Boston Common, which are led by period-dressed narrators. I'm not sure what season you're coming in, but if it's springtime, a ride on the Swan Boats in the Public Garden is necessary. Also, if you have read the book Make Way for Ducklings, a visit to the statue also in the Public Gardens is fun.

Hope all of that helps! Enjoy your trip!

 

[britfish]

awesome info., just what I was looking for! We are planning on visiting in April. Are the sightseeing things you mentioned walkable from the two Marriotts or will we have to drive to them?

 

[BSil]

Monorailmom hit a number of the great things to do in Boston.

Some other things you could check out:

Maybe a ball game at Fenway or a walking tour of the park
Museum of Fine Art
A Harbor cruise for dinner/relaxing
I think you can still go to the top floor of the John Hancock building and look out over the city.
A walk down Newbury Street for shopping, or browsing is fun.

There are about a million good places to eat in Boston. My favorite are steakhouses. If you have a tight budget then skip them, but if you can splurge one night try one of these: Ruth's Chirs, Abe & Louies, or Smith & Wollensky. The food will knock you out, and if it doesn't the bill might, but you will enjoy every bite.

Have fun.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

awesome info., just what I was looking for! We are planning on visiting in April. Are the sightseeing things you mentioned walkable from the two Marriotts or will we have to drive to them?

The subway (MBTA) can get you most places downtown.

 

[3boymthr]

as PP mentioned you definitely can get everywhere downtown either by walking or using the MBTA. Do double check the maps ahead of time so you can minimize the number of train changes (if any).

We love the Museum of Science. With a 7 yo I'd also recommend the Children's Museum.

The Duck Tours are great! Our school takes the kids on a Duck Tour when they hit 5th grade and the kids love it.

If you child is a good walker there's also the Freedom Trail. It's a great way to see some of the sights. Even if you don't go to all of it you can still hit some of the highlights. For a 7 yo I'd recommend Paul Revere's House, The Constitution, Bunker Hill Monument and Faneuil Hall marketplace. There's a place to get fresh french fries that the kids absolutely love and most days in late spring and summer there are street performers (The Auditions are on the 21st of April and are open to the public).

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

I am from outside of Boston so if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I had a suggestion. I know they have trolley that is a sightseeing one. It is a hop on and off. So you can get off somewhere, look around and then when you want to go to the next sight, you get back on. I looked up the price. It is $37.80 for adults and kids are $14.50 but you can use it for 7 days.

 

[DebMcDonald]

I have to disagree with some of the above. I also live outside of Boston but work in Boston daily.

I would not visit Ruth Chris or Abe and Louie's with a 7 year old, we did Ruth Chris last year in Boston and it was Awful and not work the money we paid.

Fenway park - laughable - you'd need a second mortgage for tickets to those games and you even might need to sell your 7 year old

You can definitely get arund on the T and they do a a daily pass and a weekly pass. Using the Charlie card (a refillable card is $1.70 each way and using a paper card is $2. See link below.
http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/subway/

I'm not a fan at all of our aquarium, but money better spent might be a whale watch, you can also combine that with an aquarium ticket. The whale watch can be ALOT of fun.

Big fan of the science museum, there's also the Children's museum which if you happen to be in town on a Friday night you can go for $2 a person after 5:00 which is plenty of time.

I'm not sure when the swan boats get put in, but thats also fun and very reasonable. You can also see the duck statues in the Boston Garden. Fanuiel is also very fun and there's also street performers there, especially on weekends. Depending on when you will be here in April there's the Boston Marathon on April 16, but that also makes it a very busy time in the area and hotel rooms will be at a premium.

I'd also plan on doing dinner in the North End - my personal favorite is Giacomo's. Mike's pasty is excellent, but if you are a true north ender, then modern is what is recommended, but I prefer Mike's. Alot of resturants in the North End are cash only, so just something to consider.

You best best for hotel rooms may be on the outskirts and then taking the train in daily. There's the Quincy Marriott, which is very nice. Braintree has a super 8 motel - but I would not recommend that.

If you have specific recommendations, but let me know and I'll answer anything I can.

 

[britfish]

thank you so much for all the advice!

debmcdonald, would you recommend a certain area for a hotel? It looks like the ones on the harbor or harborside seem a little more affordable.

 

[DebMcDonald]

thank you so much for all the advice!

debmcdonald, would you recommend a certain area for a hotel? It looks like the ones on the harbor or harborside seem a little more affordable.

I did a search on Tripadvisor because I wanted to be able to see what their recommendations are.

Their top choices for value are:

Onyx Hotel - A Klipton Hotel
Club Quarters (we stayed in one in NYC, clean, simple very reasonably price)
Omni Parker House (famous for Boston Cream Pie) I'd be suprised if you could get a good price, but it would be worth the look, fine location, just outside of the public gardens and in downtown crossing.

I do like Marriot Long Warf (but unsure on how expensive)

My husband recommended Jury's, but may not be kid friendly.

There's also Holiday Inn, Beacon Hill, I work at a major Boston Hospital and this is one we recommend, but it's going to be very basic. There's also a whole foods in that parking lot and a starbucks and Au Bon Pain right there also.

I'll ask around at work and see if I come up with any additional recommendations. There is something right across the river in Cambridge, but I can't think of the name at the moment.

Just realized I didn't really read your question - sorry - you'd be find in the harbor area and it's really beautiful, Boston as a whole isn't that big so you'd not be too far away from anything.

 

[java]

We always stay Long Wharf. It's right in the middle of the action. Boston is a very walkable city. North end is great and I'll second Giacomo's! mmmm

The children's museum is really fun. And my kids enjoyed walking around Faneuil Hall. The last time we went was the summer so they had tons of street artists. I'm not sure if April will have that going on. The aquarium is small and crowded so I don't know if I would push that one.

If I was in Boston right now I would getting a White Mountain Ice cream with peanut butter cups mixed in!

Boy we need to plan another trip soon! Have a great time!

 

[clori]

double post.

 

[clori]

I live just a few miles north of Boston and have a 7 and 11 year old girls. I think the swan boats open in April. They both like to visit the Old South Meeting House (request the free scavenger hunt) and enjoys the Old State House Museum and the USS Constitution Museum. My 11 year old has outgrown the Children's Museum so we go to the Museum of Science more often (have a membership). If you do the duckboat they have let the kids have a turn steering the boat whenever we have been on it which I think is the norm.

Oh my kids don't really like the aquarium. They were ok with Paul Revere's House but it wasn't a favorite. My dd7 likes to watch the entertainment at Fanieul Hall but not into much shopping. We have done the free family scavenger hunt at the Prudential Center which is cute once. If you were to ask my dd7 what her favorite Boston activity is in nice weather she would probably say the Boston Common playground. The Prudential Skywalk has a nice view of many famous Boston landmarks and there is a child's version of the audio tour - I haven't done it with my youngest yet but my oldest loved it at 9. My kids really like the Museum of Fine Arts when they have special activities planned and like the audio tour. Both kids like touring Fenway Park as well.

 

[pipakolos]

Hello mate..there are plenty of info on the web and this forum to pick the most suitable for you..just be careful and read the reviews..personally I use otelicious.com when I travel .They have low ,high prices,and many offers... But you have to search for the best reviews and the best deals...take care and have a blast...

 

[powelweb]

if you aren't already signed up on travelzoo.com, you may want to consider it as they sometimes post good hotel deals for Boston in their weekly top 20 list that comes out on wednesdays.

have a great trip!

 

[powelweb]

follow up- just beware that the city will be packed for the Boston Marathon the weekend of April 14-15 with Marathon Monday on April 16, so hotels will be very full and expensive, but if you need to visit that weekend because it is school vacation, completely understand.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Hotel suggestions: Marriott Courtyard in Cambridge, one subway stop from Boston; or Hampton iInn in Cambridge, walking distance to the T and the Science Museum (and so, less expensive - with free secure parking at the latter).
Dine suggestions: Fire+Ice in Boston or Cambridge, The Doghouse, Chacarero if you can find it (they moved from Downtown Crossing shopping area to, I think, the North End - where you'll find a great variety of Italian food options!), Jasper White's... I'd avoid the steak places on the previous page. While a reasonable suggestion, they're chains. You can visit them in numerous cities.

 

[britfish]

follow up- just beware that the city will be packed for the Boston Marathon the weekend of April 14-15 with Marathon Monday on April 16, so hotels will be very full and expensive, but if you need to visit that weekend because it is school vacation, completely understand.

good to know, I'll have to see if we can modify the dates.

 

[britfish]

thank you debmcdonald and clori for all the helpful info. Thanks so much to everyone for your help!

 

[britfish]

Still putting together our weekend. Which do you think is better for a 7yo, Childrens Museum or Museum of Science, or both?