Taking a trip to Boston from PA...next week... Any advice?

[cltc5]

Gonna take my first driving trip here from PA with family.  Plan to stop at walhburgers then go into Boston.  Anyone have any advice on affordable hotels away from the city, places to see,  where not to go, .  how to avoid heavy traffic, etc.  much appreciated, lookin forward to seeing the city.  Feel free to pm as well-thanks

[KG Living Legend]

Stay in PA, lol..

[tarheelsxxiii]

Eat. Pray. Love.

[Neurotic Guy]

My favorite places in Boston to walk around -- and all pretty close to each other:

Public Gardens/ Boston Common -- kids may enjoy a Swan Boat ride in the public gardens and the grounds, in my opinion, are beautiful.  I am older and my kids in their 20's so not sure what your kids would like.

Boylston Street and Newbury Street from the public gardens: stores I can't afford, interesting food.  Boston Public Library is a great take on Boylston St, a short walk.

North End -- great food, pastries and interesting architecture.  Also a short walk to TD Garden!
Basically across the street from the North End -- the Waterfront with the NE Aquarium, Omni Theater, and Whale Watch trips.  Also short walk to Faneul Hall.

I also really like Charles Street, which is also adjacent to the Boston Common/Publi Garden.  Walking up the streets that lead from Charles Street toward the State House (and eventualy Govt Center and City Hall-- really nice and interesting, historical structures.   Charles Street has a couple great places for pastries.   The walk here might be hard (and not so interesting) for small kids.

Anyway -- that's what I like.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Ana's Taquería

[Emmette Bryant]

My favorite places in Boston to walk around -- and all pretty close to each other:

Public Gardens/ Boston Common -- kids may enjoy a Swan Boat ride in the public gardens and the grounds, in my opinion, are beautiful.  I am older and my kids in their 20's so not sure what your kids would like.

Boylston Street and Newbury Street from the public gardens: stores I can't afford, interesting food.  Boston Public Library is a great take on Boylston St, a short walk.

North End -- great food, pastries and interesting architecture.  Also a short walk to TD Garden!
Basically across the street from the North End -- the Waterfront with the NE Aquarium, Omni Theater, and Whale Watch trips.  Also short walk to Faneul Hall.

I also really like Charles Street, which is also adjacent to the Boston Common/Publi Garden.  Walking up the streets that lead from Charles Street toward the State House (and eventualy Govt Center and City Hall-- really nice and interesting, historical structures.   Charles Street has a couple great places for pastries.   The walk here might be hard (and not so interesting) for small kids.

Anyway -- that's what I like.

Tommy Point to Neurotic Guy for having excellent taste.  The first memory of my life is riding the swan boats at the Boston Common.  If you have little kids I would take them there.

[cltc5]

Thanks guys for the help.  Tommy points all around

[jpotter33]

Where you coming from in PA?

I've only been to Boston once (Game 4 2012 Eastern Conference Finals), so I can't really give much advice. But I'd definitely have some sort of idea where you're going instead of winging it. My buddy and I drove there from St. Louis, and we got lost for awhile after the game and ended up walking through Boston College's campus at 3 am in the morning. Apparently, that's not the greatest area. Pretty confusing layout to the city for visitors, so just know where you're going!

[manl_lui]

Depends on your budget for hotels in Boston. Most hotels in Downtown, and Copley are pretty expensive.

As for places to see

Museum of Fine Arts is a must go. Not as big as the MET, but still worth a look.
There are two places I like to go for nightlife. Tremont st has a few good lounge and clubs, and Seaport area has a lot of nice bars and lounges as well. Del Fresco's a great steak house (I bought my best friend there for his bachelor's). The Lounge in Legals by waterside is absolutely gorgeous (I actually met Marcus Smart there 2 weeks ago)

If you are visiting North End, I recommend Improv Asylum and another place called Shear Madness (both comedy clubs)

Stay away from Chinatown (I grew up there and it smells like crap, it might ruin your trip  ), though Ghostbusters is being filmed there so if you want

Boston Common is a nice place to hang around, Prudential

[Cman]

The answer depends a bit on what you mean by "with family"
Kids? Young kids or older?

Ideas:
Aquarium. It is relatively small, but I think well done. My 5 year old really likes it.

Rent bikes and take them from downtown Boston along the SW corridor (basically the greenway that runs along the Orange Line) to Franklin park and the zoo. If you do this, make sure to check out Doyles Cafe off Green Street in Jamaica Plain (http://www.doylescafeboston.com/) . It is a fantastic, historical pub that is off the beaten path but has a lot of history (murals inside of former Boston mayors and politicians -- side story, my wife used to work for the City of Boston Parks Dept and they celebrated major events here, like promotions, etc).

Duck Boat tour of the city. It is touristy, and might seem pricey, but I think it is well worth it. You see a lot, quickly. Just make sure to plan ahead and get tickets (near Prudential Center).

Eat at the top of Prudential Center. There's a pricey restaurant (Top of the Hub) but also a bar area where you dont (or at least in the past didn't) need reservations - but get there early. Great views of the city.

See a game at Fenway Park. Yes, I know the Red Sox aren't any good this year, and I know this is Celtics blog, but Fenway is one of the oldest and is a special place, in my mind.

In terms of where to stay:
In Boston/ Cambridge/ etc its going to be pricey. You could look in Salem, though perhaps not many options (Hawthorne Hotel?) The nice thing about Salem is it is easy to take a the T (commuter train line) into Boston. There is also a ferry from Salem to Boston that I've never done but is quite popular with commuters. There's also good stuff in Salem, like the Peabody Essex Museum (really a very nice regional museum) and House of Seven Gables if that's your thing, but also more touristy stuff.

[JSD]

Can you be more specific, OP? What's the age group of your family?

[JSD]

Gonna take my first driving trip here from PA with family.  Plan to stop at walhburgers then go into Boston.  Anyone have any advice on affordable hotels away from the city, places to see,  where not to go, .  how to avoid heavy traffic, etc.  much appreciated, lookin forward to seeing the city.  Feel free to pm as well-thanks

Real quick, avoid driving between 6AM-10AM in the morning and 3-6PM at night, no matter what highway you use.

[flybono]

You drive to Boston, you gotta see a Redsox game at Fenway!

Enjoy the traffic!

[cometboy]

If your into history, you've come to the right place. Take in Lexington and Concord where we became who we are today. Old North Bridge in Concord, Lexington Green, Battle Road around route 2a in Concord area, Bunker Hill in Charlestown, etc. Lots of places where the revolution began. It's also cool to visit the old graveyards in Boston (e.g., Granary). You can see where the Boston Massacre victims are buried.

There's lots to see, but it really depends on what you're into and the ages of your children. I second the aquarium.

Like someone else suggested, it might be a good idea to stay outside of Boston with good access to the T, and yes, Fenway is a must.

CB

[TheTruthFot18]

Gonna take my first driving trip here from PA with family.  Plan to stop at walhburgers then go into Boston.  Anyone have any advice on affordable hotels away from the city, places to see,  where not to go, .  how to avoid heavy traffic, etc.  much appreciated, lookin forward to seeing the city.  Feel free to pm as well-thanks

Real quick, avoid driving between 6AM-10AM in the morning and 3-6PM at night, no matter what highway you use.

Best advice.