Any suggestions please?

Hi,

We (My husband and I) are off on our USA trip soon starting with Boston for 5 days (as I will have my conference there).. would love some help in planning the best itenery with the time we have.. so far I%26#39;ve come up with:

Day 1: Whale watching (3 hours, start from 10am) and Boston Common - where is a nice area for my husband to go in the evening while I have my conference (from 4-7pm)?

Day 2: Duck Tour and Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall Market Place in the late afternoon-evening

Day 3: Boston Public Garden and Fenway Park (only free half day from 12-5pm)..

Day 4: ... (not free during 2-5pm), Skywalk Observatory during dusk.. any idea what we can do in the morning?

Day 5: Leave to NY via bolt bus.. would you recommend this? Or would the traffic be pretty bad? Are we better off with train?

By the way, we will be staying at Midtown Hotel in Backbay area.. my conference is at the Hynes centre..

Am open to any changes to the itenery.. any suggestions will be much appreciated :) We love museums but already plan to go to few in NY and DC, so not planning to go to any in Boston unless there is a must visit one?

NB: Husband maybe interested in museums while I%26#39;m at conference.. if he only can go to one, which museum would you recommend?

Any suggestions please?

The Museum of Fine Arts has an amazing collection but if you are going to museums in NYC and Washington, I would recommend that the must see museum is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. You won%26#39;t find anything like it in NYC or DC.

Any suggestions please?

What day of the week is day 1?

Hi there!

Your plans sound very comprehensive but I might be able to help you consolidate some of your ideas and offer some other tips/suggestions .

First, The Boston Common and the Public Garden are right next to one another, only seperated by a street. Often, people just keep walking and don%26#39;t even realize that they are moving from the one park to the other--except that the Public Garden is gorgeous and the Common, is, well--common.

So, I would Whale Watch and then, by God, eat and drink!

We have some wonderful one-off places to drink and eat.We have become a real foodie/drinkie place. Really fun.

And Boston loves tourists. We might be aggressive drivers but we love Aussies. I didn%26#39;t see any places on your schedule to just chill after that long boat ride.

Any of the restaurants along the wharf where you will get on/off are great. Legal Seafood, though touristy, really is worth it.

Any of the bars and restaurants along the bay are lovely and fun and genuine.

So I would whale watch and then walk through the North End, which will be close by. Grab a gelato, coffee or drink and people watch! It%26#39;s a great area.

Where should your husband go from 4-7 PM?

There are all sorts of short concerts , held in historical churches , around the area. I would check The Boston Phoenix or The Boston Globe.

We have dozens and dozens of universities here---

Have him take a taxi over to Harvard. Have him roam around Harvard Square and check out the book stores and shops there. Really always buzzing. Pick up an Australian newspaper at the International News Agents.

The Museum of Natural History at Harvard is extraordinary!

See when it closes.

Or you could have him take a tour, Boston By Foot, through Beacon Hill and the African Meeting House.

It%26#39;s cool and free.

You can find that on the internet too.

Also, of all the things I do, and recommend, please go to the Gardner Museum. Nothing like it. Eat there too.

Add this in to your itinerary.

You said Fenway Park. Are you going to a baseball game?

If you aren%26#39;t, there%26#39;s not much to see, actually.

You can take tours, but you have to book--and I%26#39;m not familiar with that.

But, if you can see a baseball game--it%26#39;s a hoot.

Beer, hotdog, crazy fans.

Good bars around there too.

Fanueil Hall , personally, is over-rated.

It%26#39;s just a mall with national stores.

It%26#39;s no where I recommend.

Newbury Street is better--even if the stores are the same.

At least it%26#39;s fun people watching.

I do recommend Quincy Market--buy cheap wonderful fruit.

The Freedom Trail. The Duck Tour. Walk through Beacon Hill, especially at night. Have a drink at the Seven%26#39;s. or Toscano%26#39;s.

The Harpoon Brewery tour on the Waterfront.

Eat in the South End/North End.

If you need any restaurant recommendations, ask.

Hope this helps.

cheers,

K/Boston

The free morning you have would be a good time to walk around the corner from the Midtown to Massachusetts Ave. and check out the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library.

Nothing wrong with taking the Bolt to NYC. It would be wise to try and be on your way before noon time to avoid traffic in Hartford and NYC. Travel time is a bit over 4 hours.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions, I will talk it through with my husband and most likely come up with the new itenery :)

Remay28, our day 1 is Wednesday 28th May..

KateOK, would you be able to recommend some nice restaurants around the Back Bay area that serve lovely breakfast.. and dinner?

For arguably the best breakfast in Boston, take a short cab ride to the South End and hit Mike%26#39;s City Diner on Washington Street. www.mikescitydiner.com. For dinner choices, can you give us what type of food you enjoy? Back Bay is chock full of restaurants.

The Museum of Fine Arts will be a great option for your husband. Wednesday is perfect,the MFA is free after 4 PM on Wednesdays and is open late to 9:45 PM.

I agree with wbp657 that your husband should visit the Gardner Museum. The Museum of Fine Arts on the other hand really isn%26#39;t on par with the museums in New York City.

I would definitely make a point of visiting Harvard Square and Harvard Yard. The Aquarium is also a highlight of the city. Take a harbor cruise from Aquarium and stop at the Constitution (you can return to the Aquarium on the same ticket that brought you there).

For some reason over the past 30 years I have entertained a number of visitors from Melbourne. The thing that really impressed our guest last July who was here for a conference (and who now lives in Brisbane actually) was a chipmunk. Unfortunately I don%26#39;t know exactly where she saw one, and can%26#39;t predict where you could see one in the city (they are extremely common in the suburbs).

One thing I have learned over the years is that I never know what a guest from Oz will find interesting: I can remember for example friends being amazed at how lush our vegetation is, and that we have automatic toll booths everywhere, and that we buy gas with credit cards (okay, so these last two were fascinating 30 years ago!).

The Isabella Gardner Museum will not work for your husband%26#39;s evening out on Wednesday. The Admission desk closes at 4:20 PM and the museum is completely closed at 5 PM.

The only night the Isabella Gardner Museum is on the third Thursday from 5-9 PM.

oops...typo!

The only night the Isabella Gardner Museum will be open is on the third Thursday from 5-9 PM.

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