Boston, MA

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Orie

Service Attendant
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Messages
187
Location
New York City
Hi all,

I have a day off from work next week and I decided it would be nice to visit somewhere new, so I booked a one day round trip on the Acela (using my new Amtrak card with double days, if I'm doing the math right, I'll get 4,000 points out of the Acela vs ~500 for the NER). I do intend to go back for longer than just seven hours sometime, but for the purposes of spending a single day day off on the rails, I had a few questions.

Biggest question: Does anyone have some good ideas for what to do in such a short time span? I have seven hours, from 10am (if we arrive on schedule) until 5pm. I'm really open to anything, I'm just looking for tips on the best way to fit the most into such a short time period. I love museums, history, or just visiting landmarks. Whatever works!

Secondly: Is the Boston subway safe for the most part? Any areas to avoid on it? That's how I intend to get around for the most part. I've lived in NYC for 20 years so I'm not someone who gets scared of Subway systems without cause, but I also know there are some mass transit systems in this country to avoid.

I also noticed there isn't one of these threads for Boston either, so if anyone has any general info they want to share for someone in the future that may be taking a longer trip, feel free to!

Thanks a lot!
 
My suggestion is go to the "T" Ticket office and buy a One Day Pass. I do it once a year and ride the subway/trolley system. Which is very safe. I will take train 66 then buy a one day pass and ride as much of the system as I can. I've managed to get all four major routes ridden in a day. Not acing the system in a day. But last time I did it I was on the 430 Acela. Which at the time was the last Acela set that would go south of NYP. What I did that day was a lot of riding.. I ended up riding the Green Lines "C" line to Cleveland Circle and walked the half mile or so to the Reservoir Station on the "D" line and rode that back into the city. Their is plenty to do!
 
My suggestion is go to the "T" Ticket office and buy a One Day Pass. I do it once a year and ride the subway/trolley system. Which is very safe. I will take train 66 then buy a one day pass and ride as much of the system as I can. I've managed to get all four major routes ridden in a day. Not acing the system in a day. But last time I did it I was on the 430 Acela. Which at the time was the last Acela set that would go south of NYP. What I did that day was a lot of riding.. I ended up riding the Green Lines "C" line to Cleveland Circle and walked the half mile or so to the Reservoir Station on the "D" line and rode that back into the city. Their is plenty to do!
Thanks! I'm sure I'll be spending lots of time on the subway.
 
If you only have a day and want to see the historic sites, I would suggest walking the Freedom Trail.

It's about 2.5 miles from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument and goes by all of the places you read about in the history books. From South Station, take the Red Line to Park St., and head up the hill on Boston Common to the State House and the Robert Gould Shaw/54th Regiment Memorial where the trail starts, marked by a red brick line in the sidewalk. Just follow the red brick lines, you'll pass by or near the Old State House, Fanueil Hall, Quincy Market, the Holocaust Memorial, the North End, Old North Church (of Paul Revere fame), the USS Constitution, ending at he Bunker Hill Monument in Charleston. From there, you can either retrace your steps or walk another 15 minutes to the Community College station on the Orange Line and ride back to downtown. (Get off at Downtown Crossing to get back to South Station. You an either change to the Red Line, or it's so close, you can just go upstairs and walk.) In addition to the historical sites, you get a nice view of the twisty streets and historic architecture of old Boston, so much unlike most other cities in the United States.

Lots of places to eat along the way. Hanover St. in the North End is Boston's Little Italy and has more pasta palaces than you can shake a stick at. The Boston Public Market has a lot of stalls and eateries. If you stop by the Omni Parker House Hotel on Tremont St., you can get the original Boston Cream Pie. Lots of other places, just check your google maps.
 
1. We're taking the Acela to Boston next week, renting a car, and driving to Manchester, NH to spend the night. (We're picking up someone at the airport the next morning.) Any suggestions for interesting places to stop between Boston and Manchester? Every time I've done the one-hour drive, I just get on I-93 and zip up, but we should have our car by 2 PM at Logan Airport, and it only takes an hour to drive to Manchester, so it might be nice to see some stuff along the way if there's anything to see.

2. Speaking of the rental car center at Logan Airport, my research indicates that we can take the Silver Line bus from South Station to the airport and then catch a Massport shuttle to the rental car center. At what terminal should we get off the Silver Line, and which shuttle route should we take? What I would like to do is minimize riding around the airport in a shuttle bus and get to the rental car center as quickly as possible. Maybe I should just get an Uber.

3. Any recommendations for dinner in the Manchester-Concord, NH area?
 
In terms of fun things to do in Boston, i would check out the food scene for sure. Nearly all stations on the T are safe. Boston/Cambridge itself is an incredibly safe city, and you really don’t need to worry.

When you arrive in the morning, I recommend checking out Cafe Bonjour at 55 Temple place. Nearby is George Howell coffee which is for sure the best coffee in Boston.

Legal Sea Foods and Summer Shack are both uniquely great chains that showcase some good Boston seafood.

In terms of all around great food (but definitely on the more expensive side) the Boston Harbor Hotel restaurant is great. Fire and Ice near Copley is a cool place too.

Chinatown is close to South Station and Back Bay. Gourmet Dumpling House is a must if you like authentic Chinese food. If you like Dim Sum, the best food is Great Tastes Restaurant and Bakery. If you want an authentic experience, Hei La Moon is a must.

If you can make your way over the River to Harvard Sq, which is an easy couple stops on the Red Line out of South Station, it’s a great place to visit: it’s very walkable and there are great restaurants and hangouts.

For non food things, the Museum of Fine Arts is excellent, as well as the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum (maybe even better). The latter was the location of the famous unsolved art heist.

Walking along the Charles River is always great. Theres a cool bar/hangout called the Owls nest that’s open in nice weather.
 
In terms of fun things to do in Boston, i would check out the food scene for sure. Nearly all stations on the T are safe. Boston/Cambridge itself is an incredibly safe city, and you really don’t need to worry.

When you arrive in the morning, I recommend checking out Cafe Bonjour at 55 Temple place. Nearby is George Howell coffee which is for sure the best coffee in Boston.

Legal Sea Foods and Summer Shack are both uniquely great chains that showcase some good Boston seafood.

In terms of all around great food (but definitely on the more expensive side) the Boston Harbor Hotel restaurant is great. Fire and Ice near Copley is a cool place too.

Chinatown is close to South Station and Back Bay. Gourmet Dumpling House is a must if you like authentic Chinese food. If you like Dim Sum, the best food is Great Tastes Restaurant and Bakery. If you want an authentic experience, Hei La Moon is a must.

If you can make your way over the River to Harvard Sq, which is an easy couple stops on the Red Line out of South Station, it’s a great place to visit: it’s very walkable and there are great restaurants and hangouts.

For non food things, the Museum of Fine Arts is excellent, as well as the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum (maybe even better). The latter was the location of the famous unsolved art heist.

Walking along the Charles River is always great. Theres a cool bar/hangout called the Owls nest that’s open in nice weather.
I've always enjoyed my time in Boston, but it's in serious need of affordable places to stay, the Hotels are way over priced!
 
Hotel rooms in downtown Boston are ridiculous, so I reserved a room at Courtyard by Marriott South Boston, which is off of Boston St. just south of U.S. 1. I plan on walking across U.S. 1 to the Andrew "T" station. Anyone know whether this a relatively safe area for walking?

The other option was Holiday Inn Express Logan, which is actually in Revere next to Suffolk Downs, but I read that Revere has a high crime rate.
 
Back
Top