Boston has many nicknames, from serious to silly, but I think my favorite is “The Athens of America” just for how pretentious it sounds. The capital of Greece, and the ancient world, Athens is known as the intellectual capital of the Western world and the birthplace of democracy. Boston has been the intellectual hub of America since the country’s inception and passing by universities like Harvard, MIT, and Tufts you can certainly see its intellectual roots. Comparisons have also been made between Bostonian’s love for their historical landmarks, such as Faneuil Hall, to the way Athenians think of the Acropolis or Parthenon. But that is where the comparisons end; the landscape, food and history are all unique to the New England region.
When landing at Boston Logan airport, take a few minutes (either arriving or departing) to visit the 911 memorial. Follow the signs from the parking garage on the ground level to an area tucked away and surprisingly quiet. When we think of 911 Memorials, most of the time we think of New York City or maybe even the Pentagon. There is a Flight 93 memorial in the Field it crashed in Western Pennsylvania, but rarely do we think of the flights originating at the Boston airport. Both American Airlines Flight 11 & United Airlines Flight 175 embarked from Logan on that early Tuesday morning and there is a beautiful tribute to those crew and passengers who lost their lives that day. The two glass memorials, with benches to reflect and look out the top of the memorial to the sky, where planes can be seen taking off and landing. Boston is associated with lots of American History, so don’t miss this opportunity to experience such recent history.
Once you take a 15-minute uber or hotel shuttle into Downtown Boston and get settled in your room, I suggest a Hop on Hop-off trolley tour to get the lay of the land and decide what sites you want to visit more extensively. Sometimes the trolley tours in cities are a bit too generic, but I tend to find the ones in historic cities, like Boston, a great value in both time and background information. We visited in summer, so there was an additional sunset tour running to make the most of the summer tourist season. We were able to see the city during golden hour, which made it even more magical. The rocking trolly created the perfect conditions for my daughter to take a nap on my lap, but she was working on minimal sleep after a weekend partying & eating sugar with her cousins. The crash was unavoidable! This was hubby’s first experience in Boston, so he really appreciated seeing some of the further out attractions, like Fenway, that we were not going to get to experience first-hand. This same trolly turns into the ghosts & gravestones adventure after dark, so if you’re more interested in the paranormal side of the city, wait until after sunset when the ghosts and ghouls will be out and about.
New England Aquarium
The most important attraction for us to visit on this trip was to the New England Aquarium. I have always taken my kids to aquariums around the country, both small and large facilities offer great lessons on conservation and aquatic animal husbandry. My daughter’s love for mammals, penguins and identifying colorful fish from around the world made this a priority over any historical sites and she was not disappointed! When you first enter, the scent of fish almost knocks you over, but soon you see a huge habitat with penguins everywhere. They are eating, swimming, napping, and interacting with the divers who clean and maintain their enclosure. Keep walking around the whole habitat, there are some recovering and special species of penguins in a few other areas around the main habitat that you don’t want to miss.
The sea lions will be showing off in the marine mammal center, doing tricks and swimming close to the glass so children get a good look at them up close. The giant ocean tank is at least 4 stories tall, where you walk up a ramp following your favorite animals. On the top floor, there is an open viewing area with a huge green sea turtle tooling around. The Shark & ray touch tanks are also very popular with children who are excited to get their hands wet and touch the slimy and sandy creatures. Animal encounters with the Atlantic harbor seals that can be booked ahead for an additional charge. Next time we visit I think I’ll book the harbor seal art experience for my young artist. After spending a few hours or the whole day in the aquarium, be sure to stop at the gift shop. The large store has lots of the typical souvenirs, but also lots of educational books, activity kits and a whole wall of animal inspired jewelry.
Downtown Sites
Outside of the aquarium you will meet many of the whale watching boat tours, Duck tour (a combo of land & sea) and sunset cruises in the late afternoon. If you are planning to travel north of the city, I highly recommend the Cape Ann whale watch tour out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It was much more than just a tour; it was an educational experience and my daughter learned more in those 3 hours than any Science class could teach her. If you are headed out to Cape Cod, I hear Provincetown also has great tour options. Only if Boston is your only location and you don’t want to leave the city would I recommend taking one of the Boston tours. Most tours out of Boston have a longer boat ride before seeing the whales and are more crowded with tourists, but whale watching is a must do when visiting in the summer, so Boston is better than missing out on the experience.
For a historic city, Boston has a lot of green space and public parks. In the center of the city are Boston Commons and the Public Gardens, separated only by Charles Street and often thought of as one place. The Public Gardens has both real swans and swan boat rides that are a little touristy, but lots of fun. Kids love the duckling statues and there is even a duckling day parade in March. There are many other statues in the park to take pictures with, from historic to medically inspired. In the spring, the tulips are beautiful here and much closer than traveling all the way to Holland. During autumn, the infamous New England leaves change colors and offer great pictures of the fall foliage. America’s oldest public gardens will not disappoint in any season.
Boston Commons is technically it’s own park, and is the oldest park in America, a great place for families in any season. The frog pond is always a favorite spot for kids. In the summer, they can beat the heat in the water and in winter, skating on the pond is another great option. The carousel is located in the park and a favorite with younger kids. Boston Commons is one of the sixteen sites on the freedom trail and many of its tours will start here.
The Freedom Trail
When coming to Boston, the Freedom Trail is a must whether you book a private tour, group tour with a historian (that’s what I like to do as a former history teacher) or follow a walking tour on an app or map. It’s an educational opportunity like no other. Continuing on the Freedom trail, you will pass the Park Street Church, Granary Burial Ground, State House, King’s Chapel & Burying ground and the site of the First Public School. Traveling in a northwestern direction, the Old South Meeting House and the Old Corner Bookstore will lead you to the location of the Boston Massacre. Massacre has always been an example of using exaggeration, since only 5 citizens were killed, but it was the first blood shed leading to the Revolutionary War. The Old State House is located near Faneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace. Quincy Marketplace is a fantastic area to eat and shop and is flanked by the North and South Market Place and tons of pop up shops and eating areas outside. It’s always busy, but if you have a family with different tastes, this is a great location to choose from all different foods, from pizza to seafood and lots of sweet treats. If you are looking for more of a sit-down restaurant for lunch or dinner, downtown has Sam Adams Boston Taproom for the best beer choices, The Columbia House (our favorite restaurant that we went back to three times on our trip) and Union Oyster House which is America’s oldest restaurant.
The Freedom trail heads to the North End of Boston, known for their authentic Italian food and culture. Any restaurant in the North End has great Italian food. We went to Antico Forno, on a personal suggestion and had a fantastic meal and a wine from Abruzzi, the region of Italy my mom’s family is from originally. According to Travel and Leisure Magazine, you can’t go wrong with Carmelina’s, La Famiglia Giorgio’s, Giacomo’s Ristorante and Monica’s Trattoria, which I’m adding to my list of places to try. Also, the Daily Catch for seafood and Regina Pizzeria for thin crust pizza have been added to my list too. For a sweet treat after dinner (or the next day if you really overdid it at dinner) try Mike’s Pastry for cannoli. They may have a few pastries other than cannoli, but it’s 99% different flavored cannoli and this place is busy any time of day. Don’t be intimidated by the lines, they move quickly and give you time to decide on your order. Be aware they are a cash only business, so stop by the ATM before getting in line. We made this rookie mistake right before closing and had to come back the next morning! Between meals, be sure to see Paul Revere’s House, the Old North Church and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, the Freedom Trail sites in the North End neighborhood.
The final leg of the Freedom trail takes you north, over the Charlestown Bridge. Up there you will see the infamous mount where the Battle of Bunker Hill took place and can tour the museum. Finally, head over to the shipyard, to visit the USS Constitution Museum and tour the ship. Kids love to tour old ships and get a much better idea of life onboard. The best hidden spot was a playground area behind the Korean War Veterans Memorial. There was a fenced in public playground with lots of shady benches. On the far side, there is even a button to start the splash pad water that is a little hidden. My daughter pushed it, not realizing, and we got a fun surprise on a hot, sunny day. Hubby joined us with some coffee, and we sat on a bench while Cassidy made friends with other kids. I could’ve spent all day on those shady benches. A reward after hiking the Freedom Trail for sure.
Neighborhoods
Continuing to explore Cambridge, The Boston Museum of Science is a hit with kids loving dinosaurs, technology or biology. There are both permanent and visiting exhibits, specialized films and a planetarium. MOS is conveniently located on the Charles River Dam Rd, between Boston and Cambridge. Traveling deeper into Cambridge, everything turns to Harvard’s famous maroon color. Harvard tours of the campus and neighborhood are available and be sure to visit the John Harvard Statue to rub his left shoe for good luck. In addition to intelligent students, Harvard has lots of great museums to help us all learn a thing or two. The Harvard Art Museum is closest to Harvard Yard and North are the Harvard Science Center, Harvard Museum of Natural History, Harvard Museum of Ancient Near East, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology just to name a few. All this History and Science gets my teacher’s brain going…. I love planning family field trips!
Traveling back into Boston, but this time head East toward the Back Bay neighborhood. The Charles River Esplanade, is another great green space that Boston has to offer both its residents and visitors. There are four playgrounds on the Esplanade in addition to baseball and soccer fields, an exercise course, and a hatch shell oval. There is no shortage of water activities with docks available, the union boat club & Boston Universities sailing pavilion all located in the Esplanade. Additionally, fitness classes, children’s programming and community festivals & events are scheduled during all seasons.
Continuing deeper into the Back Bay area, the Museum of Fine Arts and Fenway Park both draw tons of tourists. Finally, there is The Mapparium and the Boston attraction on my must do list on my next Boston visit. I have always loved maps and geography… it was my gateway drug to travel honestly. This attraction has piqued my interest and I look forward to the How do you see the World? experience at the Christian Science Plaza. Hopefully this experience isn’t a religious conversion tactic, they’ve met their match if it turns that way.
We stayed in the Seaport District, at the Yotel, which is an interesting experience to say the least. I booked a triple room and with this hotel you must be precise. The room is designed to be perfect for minimalists and looks a lot like a cabin on a cruise ship including a top bunk bed for my daughter, over our queen size bed. After years of traveling in Europe, a small, efficient room is just fine with me. Hubby and I did have a good laugh at where we were going to store all the suitcases. I vowed right there that I am going to actively work on my over packing. I was so good before having kids, now I’m a mom who needs to bring everything and I feel like a pack mule on trips. Other than room size, this room was very comfortable and I highly recommend the monsoon shower! If I booked here in the future, I’d probably pay more for a king Jr. suite to ensure a little more room to spread out. The Yotel is located near the Boston convention center and perfect for those who are in town for business or family travel.
This part of the city also has the Museum of Contemporary Art, Boston Children’s Museum and the Boston Tea Party Ships. We took Cassidy to the Tea Party Ships as the only historic activity we did, to preview some of the Colonial History she is going to learn in 3rd grade this year in school. As a former 5th grade and American History teacher I loved every minute of the reenactment and the excitement of having the visitors play characters and chant realistic anti-taxation phrases… Cassidy had mixed reviews. Her biggest complaint was that much of the reenactment was too loud and she was covering her ears. Arguably, I would advise parents with kiddos who are sensitive to sound to bring their noise canceling headphones to allow everyone to enjoy the excitement. She did like getting to go into the ship and seeing its layout as well as ceremoniously throwing the large boxes of tea over the side of the ship.
The Seaport neighborhood has its own green space called Lawn on D with lawn games, live music events all summer and a great spot to share a family picnic. I wanted to grab takeout from The Barking Crab one night and eat dinner out there, but got out voted by hubby who cried he just couldn’t eat another seafood meal (and he calls himself a Floridian)! Speaking of food, Boston is known for its food tours and here are just a few to choose from. A visit to Cheers Beacon Hill for those of us old enough to remember, “Where everybody knows your name” is a must have for a picture. There is also a Pub crawl, seafood lovers tour, North End eats through Italian cuisine and the sweet Donut Adventure to choose from to tantalize your taste buds.
Day Trips
If you get to spend a little more time than just a few days, I recommend a day trip or two of your choice. For the Revolutionary War historians, a day in Lexington & Concord is always a favorite choice and many tours include a tour guide who shares lots of great historic details to transport you back in time. For those with younger kids who want to help paint a realistic picture of colonial living, take them to Plimoth & Patuxet, a living history museum. Kids will get to tour the homes and businesses, interact with costumed characters, and try their hand at some of the chores from the 1600’s. The Mayflower II is located near Plimoth and a second great place to take children. This is a replica of the original Mayflower and the story of the Pilgrims is told while walking the deck of the ship. For those interested in the more twisted side of the 1600’s, Salem is a perfect day trip. Take a car or ferry to Salem for either a historic witch’s history or follow the movie location tour for the 90’s cult classic, Hocus Pocus https://lauramariemyers.com/bewitching-town-of-salem/. Finally, there are ferries from Boston to both Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod if you are looking for a relaxing summer beach day instead of a history lesson. Even though I had been to Boston many times, most often on school field trips full of museums, reenactments, and history tours, it had been years since my last visit to the New England capital. There has been some cleaning up of the city and expanding to a wider array of interests for tourists over the years, mixed with the old favorites and a fantastic food scene. Boston is a must visit during any season, but I was so glad to get to enjoy so much of the freezing city I remember, in its summer glory!
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