Help With Boston

[SonOfBeastSucks]

This summer, I am taking a trip to the Boston area. Have either of you ever been? If so, is there anything in particular that you I recommend I do while in the city? Any other tips would also be helpful. Also, is it possible to get the "complete experience" of both SFNE and LC in one day? One more thing, is there any must-see stuff within two hours from Boston that I should look into? Thanks!

[rollermonkey]

First up, SFNE isn't really near Boston.

Lake Compounce and 6FNE could theoretically be done in one day, but 6FNE would have to be pretty dead. (I hit Knight Flight and bailed for LC once, it isn't very far, maybe 45 minutes to an hour.) A better idea is to give 6FNE it's own day and do LC and Quassy together in a day.

 

"Must-see" within two hours of Boston depends on what you like. If you are only interested in amusement parks, then there's nothing really near Boston. Canobie Lake is less than 2 hours away. Pirates Fun Park is awful. There's stuff in NH and ME that's right around the 2 hour mark from Boston.

 

If you really like history, there's more "must-see" stuff than you can fit into a month long visit.

 

Standard touristy highlights (to me) include:

USS Constitution

Bunker Hill Memorial

Heck, the whole Freedom Trail is actually quite interesting and it includes both ^ & ^^ as well as Fanueil Hall, the New England Aquarium, Boston Common, The Olde North Church, Paul Revere's House, The Boston Massacre Site and a lot of other things.

Boston Museum of Science

Boston Children's Museum

Plymouth Plantation Heritage site is about 30 minutes south of Boston, and you can see the real Plymouth Rock. (The biggest let down I've ever experienced! It's kind of a joke amongst those of us from MA.)

Olde Sturbridge Village is popular.

Salem, MA has lots of interesting things from the Witch Trials period.

 

You must try New England Clam Chowder. Fried clams are also pretty popular 'local' cuisine, as are steamers, lobster and other seafood.

 

That should serve you for a starting point. Token Yankee and CanobieFan SHOULD chime in here with opinions, too.

[AznShortBoi8021]

^ What about me? I'm from Boston!

 

Canobie Lake is not 2 hours away. More like 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on traffic.

If you're into trains, I recommend riding the Worcester/Framingham commuter rail line that starts out in South Station. Six bucks gets you 1/3 of the way across the Bay State. There's a LOT of CSX movement on that line.

There's Wollaston Beach in Quincy. It's very nice.

Ride bus #51 from Forest Hills Station to Reservoir(a.k.a. Cleveland Circle). It takes you through Brookline, a town full of rich b******s.

You can also go to Roxbury acting like you're in a white supremacist group. You'll be very popular there.

There's also my house.

The Cambridge Side Gallaria Mall is pretty cool.

If you're into model railroading, Charles Ro is in Malden, just a few miles outside of Boston. It's America's largest Lionel supplier.

There's a lot of railfanning to be done in the Boston area.

 

Unless you're into trains and stuff like that, there's not much to see in Boston, except historical sites.

[RBOrrell]

 

There's the Bull & Finch Pub (aka Cheers) - only the outside lis the same.

[apollo210]

Canobie is the only close park with thrill rides. Go to that, its cheap($27). Pirates Fun Park closed at the end of 2004, so forget about that!

[SonOfBeastSucks]

Thanks to everyone for all of the information. The trip cannot be nearly as long as it should be, so unfortunately, I can only devote one day to amusement parks. I think I will also try to hit Salam one day, and maybe something else. Does Salem require a full day? Also, is the beginning of August a good time to visit the Boston area? Thanks again!

[apollo210]

I've never been to Boston in Early August because I'm sailing on the Mystic Lakes . Also, I'll be in Ireland in early August so if you want to meet, go the weekend after 4th of July! Don't stay in Salem fror more than 3 hours. It get boring! Make sure you get to visit Canobie Lake Park! Bye the way, if you've visited Williamsburg, don't go to Olde Sturbridge, its boring!

[rollermonkey]

Salem is real close to where I grew up. I'll echo, you really don't need more than three hours there unless you get engrossed in the Maritime Museum. It's actually a pretty interesting museum, but if you don't go to that, House of Seven Gables, Witch Museum and the Dungeon should round it out in right about 3 hours.

 

(Sorry, AZN, I always forget you. But then you live in Revere, don't you? Get some Kelly's for me!)

[timetrial3141592]

If you're going to Boston, check out my hometown, Needham.

[AznShortBoi8021]

^Malden is way better. We got gangster wanna-be's and 10 year old chain smokers.

[ParkTrips]

Boston is really cool IMO. I've been several times now... in addition to the cool stuff posted, I'd suggest that if you are into baseball, try to catch a game at Fenway. Its probably my favorite old school park, both it and Wrigley are insanely cool.

 

Oh, and get a pass on the T-trains. I think an all-day pass cost us like $15, but that was a few years ago so it may have gone up.. still, its a good system and very convinient downtown.

[AznShortBoi8021]

^ It's $7.50 for one day, $18.00 for three days, and $35.00 for seven days. The three day and seven day passes are ripoffs. Just get a weekly combo plus pass for $18.50. It lasts seven days and has almost all the features of a seven day visitor pass.

 

If you're going to take public transportation, make sure you're up to date with all your shots. The subways and buses here are nortoriously dirty. If there is somewhere with a wheelchair or crutches in your party, don't even bother with public transportation, unless you want to hold up a trolley, subway train, or bus for 5 or more minutes.

 

By the way, if you're ever planning on using public transportation, shoot me a PM. You can always trust a railfan.

[SonOfBeastSucks]

Is Boston similar to cities such as NYC and San Francisco, where it is just easier to use public transportation? We are going to rent a car at least one day to travel to theme parks outside of the city, but other than that, is a rental car a good idea?

[apollo210]

Accually no. You've got the T to use for the city and you can always walk! But the rental car is a good idea to going to a theme park, but I would just say go to Canobie Lake! Despite some say its an amusement park only, they do have a themed section to Boston in the colonial day. Thats where the 20ft wave of Boston Tea Party is!

[AznShortBoi8021]

^^ If you're traveling within the city, it's nearly impossible to get around by car. Traffic is horrible. Boston is home to the world's worst drivers with the worst accents.

 

Public transportation is sometimes faster and cheaper, but you may lose your lunch riding it. A lot of the transit workers are a**holes, especially the bus drivers.

 

Also, the MBTA is getting a giant make over. It's currently very VERY confusing. Some subway stations accept tickets only, while others only take tokens, and some are cash only. So if you don't get a visitor pass, don't even buy tokens or tickets in advance. If you get a ticket at one station, you may not be able to use it at other stations. Almost all buses accept cash or tokens, but not tickets. Buses traveling between Dudley Square and Downtown are the only buses that accept tickets, and I doubt you would want to go to Dudley Square, as that is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Boston. Visitor passes are accepted everywhere on the MBTA, except the commuter rail. BTW, subway tickets are different from commuter rail tickets. Don't get those two mixed up.

 

The only way to get to SFNE and Canobie Lake Park is by car. Getting to CLP is easy and fast, but it's a two hour drive to SFNE from Boston. I'm not sure about how easy it is getting to Lake Compounce, but I'm guesstimating it is about 3-4 hours.

[SonOfBeastSucks]

Thanks! I may just have to skip LC if it is that far away, especially considering I planned to do it along with SFNE in the same day. Can the T trains pretty much take you anywhere in Boston? The subway and bus sounds like more trouble than it is worth.

[apollo210]

The T subway is very busy but it takes you just about everywhere in Boston! The buses are also very busy, ut you can take them to surounding community's! Visit me! LOL