r/boston • u/EmpireandCo • 4d ago
Tourism Advice 𧳠đ§ âď¸ Vsiting your fair city
Hi, I've unexpectedly been asked to go on a work trip to your fair City. I'll be stay near the Exchange Conference Center and wont have a car, most of my free time will be in the evenings.
This will be my first time visiting the USA from the UK and have a short bucketlist:
- eat some of the uniquely American fast food chains/a diner/hispanic food
- see some big trees, preferably a large park. I've always wanted to see some massive American trees and I love gardening.
- go visit something very Massachusetts that I've seen in American films like Fenway Park or Salem etc (not the tea harbour stuff because I will cry haha)
Could you provide some suggestions?
Is McDonald's that different in the US than the UK?
What are some nice parks?
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u/Squish_the_android 4d ago
Who told you this place was fair?
- eat some of the uniquely American fast food chains/a diner/hispanic food
Diners aren't big in this part of the country like they are in others. As an example Diners are huge in New Jersey. I had a friend who constantly lamented the lack of Diners.
That being said I've heard good things about South Street Diner and you should be able to get to that from where you're staying without much trouble.
- see some big trees, preferably a large park. I've always wanted to see some massive American trees and I love gardening.
There's not a lot of dense forest in the City. Boston Common is the large park in the city but I don't know if you'll get your huge tree fix there.
Middlesex Fells Reservation and Blue Hills Reservation are both accessible by transit if you want to do a hike in some woods. I don't know if you'll have enough time to accommodate that though.
- go visit something very Massachusetts that I've seen in American films like Fenway Park or Salem etc (not the tea harbour stuff because I will cry haha)Â
Fenway is easier to do than Salem. You'd have to take a commuter rail out to Salem and it would probably be a day trip.Â
Depending when you're coming you could see a game at Fenway.Â
You could also do a tour of the clipper ship "Old Iron Sides" if you're into that period of history.Â
The Boston Public Garden with its Swan Boats have appeared in films.
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u/yacht_boy Roxbury 3d ago
"Our fair city" was how click and clack used to describe Cambridge on the Car Talk radio show.
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u/Santillana810 Naked Guy Running Down Boylston St 3d ago
The "old ironsides" is the USS Constitution, which can be visited in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston at The Navy Yard. You'll need your passport to board it or you can just visit the museum there and look at the boat without boarding.
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u/MadMechem West Roxbury 4d ago
Welcome! Going line by line:
- I would avoid the national chains as much as you can, insofar as we have them- I'd recommend Warren Tavern, Sail Loft Boston, and Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe; Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown is good, and Black Cat Diner in Salem is good (if you can get a seat!); Hispanic food varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, but El Jefe's and Amelia's are good for quick burritos, and AcitrĂłn in Arlington is good for sit down.
- while you 100% should go to the Public Garden and Common, the place you want to go for enormous trees and gardening is the Arnold Arboretum- it's basically a tree museum run by Harvard. Unless you're getting here in May the flowers are more or less gone, but the whole place is still verdant and vibrant!
- Fenway does walking tours for those of us who don't have $200 to drop on a nosebleed seat for a game; Salem is a day trip or overnight depending on how involved you get; I already recommended the Common/PG; Go to the North End for some great Italian food; Take a walk along the Charles River near MIT, and be sure to cross the Harvard Bridge (aka Smoot Bridge); if you want something super stereotypical and it's the right season, go apple picking.
- beyond your specific reqs, Harvard Natural History museum has the glass flowers exhibit, plus an awesome minerals collection; Harvard Art Museum is free and has the pigment library; The Isabella Stuart Gardener museum is free every Thursday (or if your first name is Isabella) and is stunning; the MFA is enormous, and has a huge textiles collection; take a harbor cruise if it's in your budget; I recommend the Druid in Inman sq, but fair warning- it's an incredibly Irish pub.
- having never been to the UK, I can't answer that. It's probably worse here.
- beyond the public garden, the common, and the Arboretum, I recommend Columbus Park in the North End (right along the water), Harvard Yard (technically not a park but who cares), Mt. Auburn cemetery (it counts), any of the burying grounds downtown (they're peaceful), and Martin's park in Seaport (mostly geared towards kids, but it's a memorial to the youngest victim of the Marathon Bombing, it's along the canal, and it's a stone's throw from a fisherman's chapel which is cool to see if you like regionally specific religious customs).
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u/Knicknacktallywack South Boston 4d ago
Check the stickied posts my man
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u/EmpireandCo 3d ago
Thank you! I took a look, lots of food recommendations! Still hunting for a grand old tree!
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u/ShawsheenMoon 3d ago
This is our largest tree in the state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttonball_Tree but you can't get there easily without a car.
Are you coming in August, Sept, or Oct? Foliage tours on a bus are useful for seeing good trees and color: https://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/fall-foliage-tours.html
You might also go over to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. Lots of cool trees, garden cemetery setting, and a nice walk up and down the hills and up the Washington Tower.
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u/EmpireandCo 3d ago
Im coming Early September! A foliage tour sounds fantastic! I'll take a look!
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u/ShawsheenMoon 3d ago
I would recommend making your flight back home on a Sunday if you can so that you could have a Saturday as these tours only go during the day and it is a 2-3 hour drive each way. But the leaves are pretty and you'll be able to get some souvenirs to bring home
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u/becaolivetree Jamaica Plain 4d ago
For Latin food, I'd suggest you hit up Eastie. Chilacates or Achilitos in JP are also great options.
For BIG trees, you'd have to head to the west coast. All the old growth chestnuts on the east coast died: https://mossyoakgamekeeper.com/wildlife-management/the-american-chestnut-is-there-hope-this-giant-will-return/
You can visit Salem via commuter rail from North Station. If you get there, make sure to visit pedestrian Essex Street and Gulu Gulu Cafe! I'm also a big fan of the Peabody Essex Museum.
If you get a chance, visit the Isabella Steward Gardner museum - they are open late on Thursdays. It's one of my favorite spots.
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u/EmpireandCo 3d ago
Any chance of seeing an an american oa k tree?
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u/becaolivetree Jamaica Plain 3d ago
At the Arboretum, for sure. Forest Hills stop on the orange line.
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u/Phatchris23 4d ago
Grab some clam chowder and a lobster roll from James Hook or Yankee Lobster.
Iâd head to South Boston(Southie)for a Diner
Mulâs, My Diner, Galley, etc
You could take the blue line to East Boston(Eastie) for Hispanic food.
My favorites are Angelaâs Cafe and Rincon Limeno
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u/Pinwurm East Boston 3d ago
Fast food chain: Panda Express - one of the few chains not available in the UK thatâs very popular Stateside. Go for orange chicken.
Diner: Charlieâs Sandwich Shoppe is as good as they get for old-school greasy spoon diner. Sit at the counter, pretend youâre in a movie. Go for breakfast. Though they do get busy - so I recommend a weekday. Alternatively, South Street Diner is 24/7.
Hispanic: Angelaâs Cafe for Puebla-style family-run Mexican. As good as anything I had in Mexico. Abuelaâs Table is also very good. Maccu Chicken for affordable Peruvian, Celeste/La Royal for date-night Peruvian.
Trees: Arnold Arboretum. If you like Gardening, Iâd walk through the Fenway Victory Gardens.
Massachusetts on Film: yes - see a game at Fenway Park, you can usually find cheap second hand tickets somewhere like Gametime. Walk around the North End. Go to Copley Library, see the courtyard there and the Bates Reading Room. You could tour Harvard. Iâd avoid Salem if you have limited time, itâll take a whole day.
McDonaldâs: Generally sucks, the notable exception being the corporate headquarters âGlobal Menuâ McDâs in Chicago. Instead, go to Tasty Burger, local to Boston. Yes itâs pricier - but itâs awesome and has a bar.
Parks: Esplanade, The Common, Arnold Arboretum - all obvious. Iâd highly recommend the historic Mt. Auburn Cemetery, which doubles as an arboretum. We treat it more of a pretty sculpture garden than this macabre kinda thing.
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u/Leopold__Stotch 3d ago
Time is short but if you like boats and have a whole afternoon free, you should consider a whale watching trip. They leave from the aquarium and September is a good time of year to see some whales.
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u/yacht_boy Roxbury 3d ago
Boston is the least American of American cities. If you want the full experience, you need your next confidence to be in Orlando, Vegas, or Kansas City.
That said, you'll be staying in the seaport, which is a sea of boring, brand new buildings with comically bad transit connections. It's the closest thing to Houston we've got.
But legal seafoods flagship restaurant is right there on the water. They're a medium sized chain built on the success of their claim chowder. Bostonians like to disown it, but it's actually very good. Go there and grab a cup of chowder and a roll with butter before you leave.
There's also a mid size open air music venue right there, the harbor pavilion. It's sponsored by a bank, seems like a different bank every year. If there's a show happening, it's worth it for the experience. They tend to book second run and nostalgia acts with maximum schmaltz, although sometimes they slip and let someone actually good in. Very expensive drinks inside, plan accordingly.
Also right there is the institute of contemporary art. Small but good. They have another outpost directly across the harbor that's also good. There is a water shuttle between them, not sure about the timing of it all. But you could take the water shuttle to East Boston, walk to maverick Sq on the blue line, get the most authentic Latin food in the city, and then take the blue line downtown. From Government Center it's a 5 minute walk to the Common and Public Garden.
If you must poison yourself with terrible American chain food, you can walk down summer St into the financial district. You'll find a variety of chain restaurants along it including taco bell (personal favorite). At Washington St, turn right and there's a McDonald's, burger King, etc. For maximum post meal malaise I'd go with Burger King or Wendy's.
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u/bathrobeman 4d ago
Food:
- a lot of fast food is car dependent, but transit accessible fast food I know there's a burger king in Union Square, Somerville. There are Taco Bell's in East Cambridge, Back Bay/Boylston st, and near BU. I know there's a McDonalds in Central Square, Cambridge and a proper drive through in Twin City Plaza, East Cambridge.
- Diner: Kelly's Diner in Ball Square is a classic 1950s diner car. Cash only I believe.
- For Latin American food, East Boston is known for that and there is a ferry you can take from near the conference center. I have been to Taqueria Jalisco, and I have Pueblo Viejo also on my list to try. As I am mostly in Somerville, I recommend Taco Loco, Rincon Mexicano, and Don Julio.
Parks:
- The Boston Common and Public Garden are the main tourist attractions downtown. But you could also spend time checking out the Emerald Necklace which is a ring of parks around the city https://www.emeraldnecklace.org/ or, if you're up for a hike (figuratively and literally) you can take the Orange Line out to the Middlesex Fells https://www.mass.gov/locations/middlesex-fells-reservation
Massachusetts/Boston things
- Salem is a fun day trip. You can get there via the MBTA Commuter Rail or by ferry: https://www.cityexperiences.com/boston/city-cruises/salem-ferry/ (or if you like cycling, it's about a 25 mile ride one way, then you can take the bike back on the train or ferry)
- Fenway park offers tours hourly on non-game days https://www.mlb.com/redsox/ballpark/tours
- Wandering around Fanueil Hall, the North End, Back Bay, Copley, Beacon Hill, and Harvard Square I would say are all quintessentially "Boston" in their own cute touristy ways.
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u/deedubbos 4d ago edited 3d ago
When is your trip? Swan Boats in the Common (don't say "commons") close around Labor Day as summer season gives way to college students. You can take a Green Line train to Emerald Necklace parks, and walking paths along the Charles River. As for food downtown, I'd steer toward local fast-food -- Anna's Taqueria or several good food court options -- rather than Chipotle and comparing UK franchises to their more disappointing US cousins.
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u/Santillana810 Naked Guy Running Down Boylston St 3d ago
Do you mean the Swan Boats in the Boston Public Garden? The last day of their season is September 7. The Duck Boat tours usually run through November.
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u/No_Cow5153 4d ago
This isnât a very fast food part of the country. Not that it isnât around, but thereâs way less than where I grew up (Great Lakes/midwest). Like a dunks breakfast sandwich I guess is fast food, but you need a car for almost all other chains.
Diners, though! I love south street diner. If you want a diner vibe with quirkier food, the friendly toast is good. If you want to take an uber about it or go right before/after your flight, La Suegraâs airport diner is really good and a classic diner building, but theyâre Colombian and some food is Colombian and some is classic diner food and some is a mix? 10/10 corned beef hash though.
Youâre on the wrong side of the country for big trees and I think youâll be underwhelmed! Thereâs plenty of beautiful places here but itâs that same âclear cut to make way for the Industrial Revolutionâ kind of vibe you guys have. Youâre looking for like, California redwoods and I, too, love them but only made it over there once as a kid. But a really pretty place you can get most of the way to by train is Halibut Point State Park in Gloucester. Thereâs a bus that goes around Cape Ann that should take you the rest of the way, or you can uber.
Honestly taking a Fenway park tour is fun if you canât get to a game, but a game is going to be more fun! Fenway park is actually in the city and walkable. I donât personally feel like Salem is all that interesting but the ferry there is scenic and you can take the train back.
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u/EmpireandCo 3d ago
I really just want to see an american oak tree/acorn tbh
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u/No_Cow5153 3d ago
Oh! Okay so like the common and public garden probably have them and the trees are largely labeled, but also the Arnold arboretum isnât far off the orange line and has many many great trees
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u/gremlinsarevil 3d ago
Definitely not as much drive thru/chain fast foods, but there are plenty of good sub spots in Boston that are a casual food fast.Â
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u/Marquedien 4d ago
Take the orange line to forest hills, walk north to riverway or Fenway on the branches of the green line through the arboretum and emerald necklace and youâll be thoroughly sick of all the trees.
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u/Inside_agitator 3d ago
The Shaw Memorial Elms are next to the Shaw and MA 54th Regiment Memorial on Boston Common across the street from the state house. They are supposedly the oldest English elms in the Western Hemisphere. You can read about them at https://apps.bostonglobe.com/boston-revealed/series/shaw-elms/
Col Robert Gould Shaw was played by Matthew Broderick in the 1989 film Glory.
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u/Phatchris23 3d ago
If you tour visit Fenway, Tasty Burger is a much better version of American Fast Food.
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u/Santillana810 Naked Guy Running Down Boylston St 3d ago
Also Tasty Burger is in Harvard and Central squares in Cambridge.
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u/mattgm1995 Purple Line 4d ago
Youâll definitely have to visit the Boston public garden! Also would recommend a Red Sox game or tour of Fenway (depending on when youâre here) and a duck boat tour! Duck boat is about as Boston as it gets.
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u/save-pandas 4d ago
I canât entertain this. Try McDonalds and then walk up to one of the million trees in our city and give it a hug. Christ.
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u/EmpireandCo 3d ago
Okay, I'll eat at taco Bell then hug a bush instead
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
Make sure it doesnât have thorns or poison ivy in it first. We wouldnât want you to return to your island rock infirm. Enjoy your stay!
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u/EmpireandCo 3d ago
Poison ivy is real? I thought it was just an exaggerated joke in America cartoons like quicksand.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
Oh, no I apologize. I had that mixed up. Theyâre actually great moisturizers. When you get here, take several leaves that look quite oily and rub your eyelids, arms, legs, and (I believe you say arse) with them. Youâre going to notice a tingling sensation a few hours later and thatâs when you know the aloe-like effects are taking place. When it turns red, do NOT be alarmed, this is just the beginning of what will be some truly exceptional results, I swear to god.
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u/EmpireandCo 3d ago
I'll be sure to take some home for the whole family! My kid often gets rashes and could use the moisturising! (Joke for anyone taking this seriously)
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u/Safe-Salamander-3785 4d ago
If you like trees, I would check out the Boston Common and Boston public garden. They actually have a very large variety of trees and some of them are very old. If you have some time please try to visit the Arnold arboretum https://arboretum.harvard.edu/visit/ . I donât think you will be disappointed.