To ask if you've been to Boston?

[Olaplex]

Have you visited Boston, and if so would you recommend it?

Could you spend a couple of weeks holiday there?

Is there anything nearby worth seeing (neighbouring cities, etc.)?

Oh yes the driving, Someone did that to me recently in the fast lane on 93S MissConduct - went over the slight barrier while hooting and blinkering me. We also have roundabouts (rotaries) and those are always interesting for out of staters.

I loved Boston the one time I visited (spent five days). Its a pleasant size & somehow feels more 'European' than other US cities I've visited, I think simply because many landmarks are relatively old by US standards. And their seafood chowder is amazing (get it in the bowls made out if bread - those were fun). The city itself is very much a city break size, but trips elsewhere are very doable. We went to Salem by train (touristy but fun - would probably be great in a cheesy way at Halloween). If I was in the area two weeks I'd stay in Boston for a long weekend, hire a car and do a roadtrip with DH driving as no way am I driving an automatic on the wrong side of the road

I love Boston! Probably wouldn’t plan to spend more than a long weekend there though, unless you plan on heading up to Martha’s Vineyard but that’s personally a trip I’d only do in summer for the beaches. I also love DC: DC->NYC->Boston (or in reverse) would be a great trip and you can do Amtrak to avoid the hassle of driving although I think the standard of driving on the East Coast is generally excellent compared to Chicago where I lived for 3 years!

I went there a long time ago, but we had a week in Boston and the. Hired a car and drove round New England in the fall. The colours are amazing!!

We went last summer. Spent 6 weeks in NYC, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

3 nights in Boston. Didn’t like it if I’m honest and 3 nights were plenty. Tea Party ship was good, Harvard tour interesting. The history trail is over rated and boring imvho. Plimoth Plantation was much better.

Avoid Salem, there is barely anything there other than tat shops. Wish we’d done Concord instead. Will do that next time.

NYC, Cape Cod, Maine and Vermont all amazing.

We lived in Boston for seven years. It is lovely with lots to do. In normal times, it is great to also spend time in Cambridge and attend talks at a Harvard and MIT, amazing speakers and range of subjects.

We loved short trips out to Vermont. Very green both in countryside and way of thinking.

Beautiful part of the country and I think you could easily spend 2 weeks if you are the kind who likes coffee shops, people watching and occasional strenuous activity

I should have been going next week, but obviously it’s all been cancelled. Hopefully I’ll be able to rebook sometime, as there are some great ideas on here.
We were going to do a few days in Boston, then hire a car and tour around, then take a cruise up the coast to Quebec. I was so looking forward to it.

Avoid Salem, there is barely anything there other than tat shops. Wish we’d done Concord instead. Will do that next time.

I'll grant you that there are a lot of tat shops in Salem. The Witch Trials Memorial, Old Burying Point Cemetery and Peabody Essex Museum are all very worth seeing and you'll never forget dinner at Turner's (make reservations way in advance).

Yes I lived there for a year for university

Really nice quite like the town I came from (Melbourne)

But what made it even better was driving up the coast in Autumn to Canada, going to NYC (oh my student days!) and visiting Cape Cod

@SpottedOnMN

I spent 5 nights there and felt I’d seen most things. It was a great holiday. Great food, and a lovely place to walk around.

You could also go to Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

Yes this... Salem is pretty disappointing!

Marthas Vineyard is pretty but not amaaaaazing. We went to the Vanderbilt Mansion in Lennox - my grandma would have LOVED it (tacky de-luxe). Plymouth Rock, Adams National Historic Park (with the homes of John Adams and John Quincy Adams)...

I know a nice Italian in Boston if you want... - visit Harvard and MIT, the science museum is ok, its a small city so walking is good. We usually get the bus over to NY (its actually a really nice journey and great to see small towns etc).

Cemetery and memorial. 2 min job. So didn’t see the fuss and not worth an entire town of tat shops. Dd and I did the historic witch house and there was barely anything in it.

Horses for courses I suspect.

I liked Boston, but 4-5 days was enough for me. We did a day trip to Salem by train, and I really liked that. On a separate trip we stayed in Cape Cod in early October and I adored it. It's one place I would love to go back to.

Went in the mid nineties but can't remember anything about it unfortunately !

We went for a 5 night holiday and had a lovely time - I do think Salem is a bit disappointing but Concord is nice. We had a great time just walking around but then I was quite pregnant so we were doing so at quite a relaxed pace! We stayed in the Italian district which I think was a good decision - quite central and lots of nice food nearby.

Boston is one of my favourite cities, so much to see and do, and I love the feel of the place. It’s one of only two cities I’ve visited that I’d like to live. It’s an absolute gem.

Lots of great ideas already, and as others have said, two solid weeks might be a bit much. I’d also add a trip to/split with Washington. It’s six hours by Amtrak, which sounds a lot, but the Acela Express is very comfortable; business and first class only, and reasonably priced when we last did it. You could easily fill two weeks in Boston and Washington, and both have Stay Alfred apartments; we stayed at one of their Washington locations and it was outstanding value.

OP, I’d suggest you also post on the Travel board; you’ll get loads of great suggestions, and it’s slower moving, so threads don’t get lost as much as they do in AIBU or Chat.

It's a nice easy flight, too. Due to a work trip added long after the holiday was booked I ended up doing four transatlantic flights in four weeks (while 23-27 weeks pregnant!) and the Boston ones were much nicer than the Texas ones, which I would guess is more comparable to California.

the nfa has the finest collection of Manet paintings outside france
book in advance!
www.mfa.org/visit

It entirely depends on when you go. I'd aim for August and hit the feasts in the North End (Italian neighbourhood). The street music and food is fabulous. Go across the river to Cambridge and your Harvard and have a mooch around all the little Indy shops in Harvard Square. You can take the ferry to the very tip of Cape Cod called Provincetown. There you will find gorgeous sand dunes, artist colonies, galleries and drag queens! You can take a tour to see the seals and perhaps a Great White if you're very lucky. Or take a whale watch and see the feeding humpbacks.

Take a drive 30 minutes north to Marblehead. Old town Marblehead is a gorgeous sailing town. Lots of proper old New England wooden houses. Go to Fort Sewall for a little history or the lighthouse. Rent kayaks and paddle about in little harbour (little harbour boat company). There are two islands to stop at so pack a picnic. You can actually walk to brown's island at low tide. Grab lobster rolls at little harbour lobster company for dinner. Or have dinner at the Landing or the Barnacle. Both are right on the water. Salem is next door and worth seeing the witch museum and the Peabody Essex museum. On the way back into Boston stop in Swampscott at Oyo to get frozen yogurt and sit on a bench with a fabulous view of Boston over the bay. One of my favourite beaches to spend the day is Nahant beach. It shallow and warm and clean. You can walk out for ages. You can rent surf boards or SUPs from Ocean Surf in Swampscott (next to Oyo). They do lessons as well.

If you have kid under the age of 10 the children's museum is absolutely fabulous. The tea party boat is right next door. The science museum is good for all ages. The Isabella Gardener museum is small but fabulous.

Head North to Maine to Kennebunk or to see something gorgeous go further to Nat harbour. New Englanders couldn't be more friendly so chat to them and ask where to go.

Agree 4 nights is enough in Boston (stay in the Back Bay area, and don't miss Bukowski's bar, located in the side of a car park opposite the Sheraton). Cape Cod is nice and sort of like a flat Cornwall - lots of nice beach etc but not a lot else. Depending on the time of year, you can reach ski resorts from Boston.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time in Boston as I used to live in New Hampshire. I’d say 5 days would be more than enough for the city and immediate area.

If it’s Autumn then I’d definitely hire a car and drive up through New Hampshire and Vermont to see the absolutely stunning scenery.

If it’s summer then the Maine coast, or Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard would be great.

Any time of year you could easily factor in NYC for a day or 2. Oh and depending on time of year then a trip to Salem might be interesting and it’s easy to take a bus there from Boston.

Ed stayed in Cambridge and weren’t impressed with Harvard Square at all. No Indy shops or anything really.

really lovely city. I’d say a week would be plenty. It’s probably smaller than you’d think. There’s so much to do around and combined with an/other citie/S a really great holiday.

Yes! Lovely city! I'm a history teacher so really enjoyed the history trail (there's a walking route you can do), Bunker Hill etc. You can really easily catch the train out to Concord which is lovely for a day trip and I think I did the Plymouth plantation from there. Probably wouldn't want more than a week in the one city though.

I've been several times and it's a lovely city! I'd do a week, not two though.

Two weeks yes but only if you go to Martha's vineyard, Cape cod etc. As someone said above 4 or 5 nights in Boston is plenty. We had two and also saw the harvard area etc