Boston

[oulala]

We are going to visit relatives in Massachusetts and on the way home will be spending 24 hours in Boston. Has anyone got any recommendations for food, sights or shops to do in such a short time?

Shopping in downtown Boston isn’t very exciting. Quincy Market beside Faneuil Hall is good for souvenirs and food stalls. Also there is a Sephora there and some other shops. Just down the road from there is the Boston Public Market which has locally produced food, great ice cream in there, and interesting to look round. It’s also close to the aquarium and the harbour area. The Holocaust Memorial is also close by which is very moving.

To get a taste of Boston you could take a duck tour (from outside the Science Museum), or, probably better, one of the hop on hop off bus tours. Alternatively go to the top of the Prudential Tower for the panoramic view, there is an audio guide that tells you everything you ever want to know about Boston. The shops in the mall below are nice too. There is a restaurant at the top of the tower with so-so food decent cocktails and great views.

The iconic Boston tourist attraction is probably the tea party ship, it is a lot of fun. Close to that by the water is the Barking Crab restaurant which is a great place to try a lobster roll, the signature food of New England.
Legal Seafood is always reliable for oysters and lobster. For a fancy meal but not particularly Bostonian I would recommend Yvonne’s near Downtown Crossing.

I miss Boston.

Thank you, that is really helpful.

I went last year, and agree re Tea Party ship. Also the Paul Revere house, and North End for food.

Extend the time you're there- I LOVED Boston. We went just before Halloween so Salem was busy but we'll worth a trip (Reds Sandwich Shop had great food). We got the ferry over; be warned it can be choppy and because of timings you will need the best part of a day assigned to Salem.

We did the Boston Tea Party Museum (ship) which was really good fun and did a lot of walking including The Freedom Trail. Boston Common is lovely, especially if you like squirrels, and a short walk to the Cheers Bar and North End (great Italian food).

Fenway Park was great to see - not sure if there will be any sports games on whilst you're visiting but I'd always recommend that in the US!

We booked whale watching which was cancelled due to bad weather so went to Harvard instead (probably wouldn't recommend this esp. if you only have three days)

I didn't think there was much night life in Boston when we went which suited us as we had busy days, with lots of steps, so welcomed the quite early nights. It felt very safe though, and quite 'familiar'- far more like London than any other US city I've visited.