Looks Like I'm Going to Boston

MadMax: The T does not operate 24 hours. See:
http://www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_subway_sched.asp#

Pole: The Big Dig is still not done but they are completing parts of it.

 

No. Depending on the stop, I recall that the last train leaves between midnight and 1 am. Or at least it did ten years ago

If you miss the last train, you can always take a cab.

Driving in downtown Boston is a certified b*tch. Metered street parking is very hard to find and parking lots hourly rates are shocking. Driving from point A to point B can take a Herculean effort, due to the one way streets and the no uturn/left turn signs.

If I were you, I would definitely reschedule your trip to include a game at Fenway. That is a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Don't do Cheers...it is a pure tourist trap.

If you are a Revolutionary War buff, the National Park Service does a walking tour about 4 times a day that starts at their office near Fanuil Hall. It goes through all of the bigtime Revolutionary War stuff and ends up on the North End. Then you can hit an Italian Restaurant on the North End when you are done. Highly recommended.

Definitely check out the Fanuil Hall area.

For nightlife, go check out the bars that run along Landsdowne St. outside the outfield at Fenway. Aerosmith's bar is there and it is lots of fun. If the Sox are in town, try to catch a game,and hit the Dugout across the street from Fenway before the game. It's a bar where you have to go downstairs (underground) to get there, and they serve 50 cent drafts up until the National Anthem. The place is packed until gametime then everyone runs across the street.

 

Did you and Super_mario plan these threads together? He has a thread named "Looks like I'm going to New York"

http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&postid=888455#post888455

 

When I read MadMax's post, I thought it would be nice if I could search for that old thread until I read a few posts further down that Clutch had pulled it up...well, good thing that at least ONE person can still search . Reading that old thread kind of reminded me what a single-minded person I am!

 

If you're there on a weekend (I doubt it) rent a bike and spend some time on the bike/pathways along the Charles River. There's a nice Aquarium there.

I took a group of 7th and 8th graders there for a week in 1984 or so.

If you have time, do a Whale Watch. We went out near Provincetown if I recall. It takes a good half to 3/4ths of a day, though. You may not have that much free time.

 

Here's my take, since I currently live in Boston.

First, go with what Mrs. Valdez and No Worries said. DO NOT rent a car or otherwise drive if you can avoid it. Driving is a b**** here even for people who know their way around, and with the narrow unlabelled streets, traffic, and surly drivers, you will be absolutely miserable if you drive. OTOH, public transportation is very good. I would recommend that you stay near Canton (much cheaper) and take the commuter rail into town when you need to. The commuter rail doesn't run all that frequently, but it does have two stops in Canton -- check out the MBTA web site.

Second, it sounds like you are only going to have nights free. Well, here's a nice day trip if it's still sunny by the time you are done with your deposition:

Begin at Copley Square, home of two old and famous churches, very picturesque and easy to get to from Back Bay Station (which connects to the commuter rail you need).

Walk up Dartmouth St. to Newbury, make a left and walk all the way to Mass Ave. (lots of fancy upscale shops, also very picturesque)

Turn Right and go one block over to Commonwealth Ave. Walk back east for about a mile. It's a beautiful tree-lined colonnade. You'll like it.

This will lead you to the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common. Also beautiful. Cheers is around here, but don't be tempted ... it isn't worth it.

From the southeast end of Boston Common you can start the Freedom Trail, which is a great tour for anyone interested in history. It's indicated by either a red line or a path of bricks (two bricks wide, usually), so you can do the tour yourself.

End up in the North End for nice Italian dinner, as mentioned.

Finally, take the orange line of the T (subway) back from Haymarket Station to Back Bay Station, where you'll catch your commuter rail train back to Canton.


Hope you have fun here, whatever you choose to do. I should do this for a living!

 

Please come to Boston for the spring time.
I'm stayin' here with some friends
And they've got lots of room.
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a cafe where I hope to be workin' soon.
Please come to Boston.
She said, "No.
You come home to me."

 

It's my pleasure to help. I know how difficult it can be to try to show up in a new city, with lots of things to take care of. Let me know if there's anything else I can advise you on.

Hmmm, about the airport, I admit that I hadn't thought of that. And since I don't live around Canton (though it's about a 20-30 minute drive from me), I also don't know where hotels are there. You'd have to do an internet search on those. Getting from the airport to Canton is the one case in which it *would* be easier to have a car, taking I-93 south pretty much as a straight shot without having to bother with local roads.

Is your company paying for you to come out? If so, maybe it would be easier to get a hotel in Boston and scrap the car altogether. Then you could do everything by public transportation and be happy. In fact, that might be the nicer solution, now that I think of it.

My recommended itinerary still stands, though. But you should also see Faneuil Hall when you're around the North End. I'm glad someone else remembered that.

 

Eat here MadMax...

Union Oyster House

 

YESSSS! Forgot about that one. Kind of touristy & expensive, but still good. Sit in JFKs booth of you can.

 

I was in Boston two weeks ago. I was only there for a Saturday so I didn't get to do too much. BTW...I'm in the Navy so that helped out a lot for me that day. I went to Fenway and bought a $7 ticket to go watch the game. It wasn't a seat ticket though. There was about 5 of us going together and when we entered the stadium we was stopped by head of security. We were in our uniforms and he told us to follow him. He took us up to the Green Monster and told us after the game starts take a seat if you find any open ones. After the game we eventually found a group of seats that wasn't taken. I got to watch the game on the Green Monster for only $7!!!! We made it on TV a couple of times (Garciaparra and Troy Glaus hit homeruns over our heads) and made the big screen out in center field over 10 times. It was awesome being there. Hopefully the Sox will be back in before you leave there. That was pretty much all I got to do in Boston because he had to leave an hour later. We went through the Navy.

But there is an Aquarium there that I heard was pretty good. There is also the path that Paul took along with many Revolutionary War things around.

 

Forget about the aquarium. $13 for an adult. The last time I was there, a few of the tanks were closed and it took literally twenty minutes to walk through it. Save that money for the restaurants, because the ones that everyone is recommending are expensive. Take a ride on one of those duck tours. You’ll look like an absolute tourist, but it’s a fun ride. The Freedom Trail is a big long walk, which include historic sights. And when you get back to the Boston Common from that long walk, Chinatown, Bolyston St, Newbury St. and Copley Place is nearby to kill time. Have fun.

 

Wow, that's a misleading thread title.

I assumed Madmax was *moving* to Boston, to work in an Ally McBLT type of law firm. How cool would that be? Those lawyers work, like, not at all and have loads of time to go out drinking, according to the show.

 

If you're anything like me, you'll want the freedom of having a car...even if you don't take it into Boston.

I'd still recommend flying into Providence. It will be cheaper than Logan, and so will rent cars.

Plus you could swing down to Newport on your way out.

 

In that case, if you're really only going to be in Canton for a little while, then I would say staying in Boston and using the commuter rail outbound to Canton (from Back Bay Station) would be the best bet. Getting there during the morning rush hour should be no trouble at all, especially since you'll be going in the opposite direction from most people. Just make sure you get the schedule online. The commuter rail doesn't come as frequently as the subway. Once you get to the station in Canton, though, I don't know how difficult it will be to reach your destination.

If you do go to Fenway, try to avoid the center field bleacher seats. They're the only ones under $20 (unless you count the $18 standing room only seats), but they're generally full of hooligans and drunken college kids. Plus, a couple of factors: (1) you can only purchase two beers at a time, and (2) the seats are constructed so archaically that there's only one way out of each aisle, which means that (3) there's a non-stop parade of people walking back and forth in front of you to get beers, you won't see much of the game, and you'll probably get one spilled on you.