Boston

By:  Jennifer Milano, written January 2016, updated May 2016

One of my all-time favorite cities is Boston, or "Bean Town" as it is known to locals honoring the early colonists' appetite for beans baked in molasses.  Boston is fun for all ages, and is a great place to spend a few days with family or friends.  My mother grew up in Boston, so every Thanksgiving and Easter of my childhood was spent in Boston visiting relatives and exploring the city.  Now, I take my children to Boston frequently.  Here are some of the highlights for our family:

Boston Duck Tours 

A fantastic way to get an overview of the city is to take a duck boat tour.  Converted from World War II amphibious landing vehicles, duck boats drive you around Boston's crooked streets, then right into the Charles River to see the city from the water.  The duck boat drivers are notorious for their goofy humor, and usually let the kids drive for awhile on the river.  We have taken the tour twice, both times from the Prudential Center location.  I recommend purchasing your tickets in advance online, to avoid disappointment by sold-out tours.  Click here for more information.

The Prudential Center

The second-tallest building in Boston is a great place to spend time.  There is a good parking garage underneath the building, and a large shopping mall with restaurants on the ground floor.  Take the elevator to the Skywalk Observatory for 360 degree views of Boston.  You can see Fenway Park, the Hancock Tower (the city's tallest building), Boston Common and more.  When we visited, there was an interactive exhibit on the city's history, highlighting immigration.  Our kids, who were probably about six and nine years old at the time, loved it.  Click here for more information.

Fenway Park

The fact that one of my children is a Yankees fan and one is a Red Sox fan is symbolic of their relationship - they don't agree on much.  But they both enjoyed the tour we took of Fenway Park.  Actually, our tour was part of a birthday party for my Red Sox fan, and included time in the locker room trying on team uniforms, batting cage practice and cake in the press box.  Tours are offered to the public, and information is available by clicking here.  If it's baseball season, go for a true Boston experience and attend a Red Sox game!

Boston Tea Party

Our favorite Boston experience is probably the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, which is an interactive lesson about the 1773 event during which patriots dumped 342 tea crates into Boston Harbor to protest the tea tax imposed on the American colonies by Great Britain.  Visitors begin the tour by attending a mock town meeting, led by an actor posing as a colonist activist in 1773.  The museum visitors are the colonists, and participate in the decision to dump the tea into the harbor.  Visitors are then taken onto one of the two ships, where they can actually toss tea overboard and pull it back up onto the ship by rope.  The tour guide then leads visitors through the museum, where they learn about the events leading up to the American Revolution.  After the tour, visitors can have a cup of tea overlooking the harbor.  We have been on the tour twice in the last few years, and both our kids and we love it.  Click here for more information.

Boston Children's Museum

Next to the Boston Tea Party is the Boston Children's Museum, recognizable by the over sized milk bottle by the entrance.  If your children are between the ages of two and ten, the museum is a must.  From the climber in the lobby to the pretend play construction zone upstairs, the museum will keep your children occupied for hours.  There is a good parking garage around the corner from the museum (just follow the signs, after you pass the museum on your left, take your next left).  Click here for the museum's website.  Note that the museum is part of the ASTC Travel Passport Program, so if you are a member of one of the museums of that program, admission to the Boston Children's Museum is free.  Click here for a list of participating museums, valid through April 2016. 

Boston's Museum of Science

Another member of the ASTC Travel Passport Program, Boston's Museum of Science is one of the best museums we have visited.  The exhibits geared toward older children and adults, in our experience, but children of all ages will find something that interests them.  The IMAX theater is always a hit.  Note that it was less expensive for us to join our local science museum, which is an ASTC member, for one year than it was to pay for one day at the Museum of Science, so consider buying an annual family membership at a lower-cost ASTC museum and enter Boston's Museum of Science for free!  Click here for the Museum of Science's home page.

The Freedom Trail and Faneuil Hall

One of Boston's highlights is walking the Freedom Trail, a two-and-a-half mile path noted by a red stripe (sometimes brick) along the sidewalk throughout old Boston.  Many of the sites on the Freedom Trail are listed on this page separately as places of interest.  In addition to those sites, we find it interesting to visit the old cemeteries along the trail.  If you would like a guided walking tour, or more information about the Freedom Trail, click here.  Our guide, Rob, was entertaining and funny.  Faneuil Hall Marketplace, just adjacent to Faneuil Hall itself, is arguably the most touristy place in Boston.  While it is fun to get chowda' (clam chowder for you non-Bostonians) in a bread bowl and sit outside to eat it for lunch, Faneuil Hall is mainly just really crowded.  We try to avoid crowds, especially when we and our little ones are hungry.  Click here for more information on Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and see below on recommendations for other places to eat. 

The U.S.S. Constitution

We and our children enjoyed our tour of the U.S.S. Constitution or "Old Ironsides" as the ship is known.  Note that all visitors to the ship and museum must pass through security, and adults must have photo identification.  For specifics and more information, click here.

New England Aquarium

I have never met a child who didn't love an aquarium, so while it is not particularly "Boston", the New England Aquarium is a good place to keep the little ones occupied.  Our children like watching the penguins.  Click here for the aquarium's home page.

Boston Public Garden, Swan Boat Tours and Boston Common

Just like in every other city they have visited, my kids like to stalk the poor pigeons who frequent Boston Public Garden and Boston Common.  The two make up a large park in the center of the city, just adjacent to the historic Beacon Hill.  If you have children, read Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, then visit the statues of the ducks in Boston Common.  Another fun seasonal activity is the Swan Boat Tours.  Click here for more information on the Public Garden, the Common and the parks' features.

Newbury Street, Beacon Hill and the North End

Fun areas to wander include Newbury Street, a charming road famous for its boutiques, Beacon Hill, a historic residential neighborhood with traditional working gas lamps, and the North End, for Italian food.  For a self-guided walking tour of Beacon Hill, click here.

Logistics:

Getting there and around: 

Boston's Logan Airport is connected by public transit via bus and subway (in Boston, called "the T"), but a taxi is more convenient.  If you are arriving by train, Boston's South Station is connected to the T.  While driving around Boston is reserved generally for the brave, driving can be a convenient way of getting around the city.  Parking garages are plentiful.  Just be prepared to get lost a few times.  The "T" is a convenient and fun way to explore the city, and once you are in the heart of downtown, walk.  Taxis are available, of course, as well.

Staying overnight:

While I have the luxury of staying with relatives when I visit Boston, the city has many fabulous hotels.  The Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton are located right on the Common, and are convenient to most sites.  Copley Square has a shopping mall connected to the Prudential Center, and has several hotel options.  If you have a Fairmont Visa card, you can use your free nights at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.  (Click here for information on the Fairmont Visa card.)  Although you will need transportation to the historic sites downtown, the "T" makes it quick and easy. 

If you prefer to be down by the harbor, try the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center.  We stayed at this hotel as a family of four and found it to be close to perfect.  The room was clean and well-appointed with features like charging stations, complimentary water and reading lights.  The view of the harbor from our room was great, and the kids could watch the planes take off and land at Logan Airport across the water.  The staff was helpful and we loved the "no tipping" policy (and wish more hotels would implement one).  The only downside was slow elevators, although this seemed to be a temporary problem as two elevators were out of service.  The hotel breakfast buffet at Aura was average at best.

Eating in Boston:

If you are looking for a New England seafood meal, try Legal Sea Foods, which has several locations around the city.  Legal Seafoods is also a good choice for people with food allergies, as there is a gluten-free menu and the restaurant managers take food allergies seriously.  The Harborside location has a "catch and release" trout pond that children ages twelve and under can try on the weekends.  If you are near Coolidge Corner at breakfast or lunch time, try ZAFTIGS Delicatessen.  Around the corner from Faneuil Hall is Saus, which has a "dive" feel but an interesting Belgian-inspired menu.  The fries are very good, and my husband loved the poutine.  The Belgian waffle was also tasty.  Finding a free seat at this counter-service restaurant can be challenging. 

If you can get out to East Boston, you must go to Rino's Place for homemade pastas and fabulous Italian food in a casual setting. Reservations are taken for parties of six or more, so if your group is fewer than six, be prepared to wait (we waited 90 minutes on a Friday evening).  The house made lobster ravioli, cheese ravioli and gnocchi were scrumptious. Rino's special was good for meat eaters.  Portions are enormous. For Zagat ratings on North End Italian restaurants, click here. 

If you are without the kids and seeking Boston's hot spots, my young, trendy cousin, Erica, highly recommends Yvonne's, a speak easy with delicious New American cuisine.  Erica also loves Toro Boston, and suggests asking for a private table rather than joining the community table.  For both Yvonne's and Toro Boston, you'll need reservations.  For tapas, my cousin, Krissy, recommends Barcelona in Brookline.  For Asian food, Erica suggests Red Lantern.