Boston’s 10 Best Things to Do While on Vacation

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The following list of activities is designed to meet the interests of anyone traveling to Boston, whether it is your first trip or your 40th. You may be traveling alone, with kids, on a romantic getaway, with a large group of friends, or here for work. No matter what your company is you can find something for everyone on this list of Boston’s best places to visit while here.

Here they are:

1. The Boston Public Gardens

The Boston Public Gardens are also known as the Boston Common and used to be a field in Revolutionary times for the cows to graze. No cattle roam here now but there are the famous Swan Boats which take tourists on a slow ride around the pond while viewing the beauty of the gardens. The famous bronze ducklings are a popular photo spot from Robert McCloskey’s book “Make Way for Ducklings”.

2. Museum of Science

This is Boston’s most-visited museum for a reason – there are over 400 interactive displays and exhibits, plus the IMAX Theatre and the Hayden planetarium, Touring exhibits, in which you use forensic skills to solve crimes or get up close and personal with reptiles are well worth it.

3. Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill is located between Back Bay, the Boston Common, and the Charles River high up on the cobblestone streets overlooking the city. The gaslit cobblestone streets are reminders of the old Boston when horse drawn carriages carried the wealthy through town. Be sure to stop and grab a pint of beer at the most famous bar Cheers and the Bullfinch Pub where “everybody knows your name”- not really but that is the comfortable feel of this area.

4. Fenway Park, Home of the Red Sox

Best if you can catch a Red Sox game, but even if the Olde Towne Team is on the road, take in the flavor of baseball’s second oldest ballpark, in continuous use since 1912. Stroll the concourse, eat a RemDawg, or take a tour of the beloved, idiosyncratic park.

5. JFK Museum

Birthplace of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, this beautifully restored and maintained home has become a museum full of original artifacts which documenting JFK’s childhood, war service years, rise in politics, and assassination. This building is located on Boston Harbor and is a tranquil, peaceful place to visit for the history of an amazing man who made some of the largest impact on Americans everywhere.

6. Quincy Market

These restored warehouses are in the style of South St. Seaport in NYC, but we were first (actually 1975)! Great food, drink, and souvenir hunting, and still nothing like in on a warm summer’s evening. Try McCormack & Schmicks’ seafood, and top it off with a stroll though the adjacent…

7. North End, Italian neighborhood

The feel of this amazing neighborhood is one of walking the side streets in Italy. Outdoor cafes for espresso, pastry shops open late with the smells of cannoli, and old school family members sitting on folding chairs playing cards is typical of what you will see. Bring your appetite and enjoy the feasts that await.

8. MIT/Harvard

In Harvard Square, where John Harvard opened a little school named after him in 1636, you find the famous Harvard University and Harvard Yard. Take a tour of the gorgeous school grounds then walk to enjoy the interesting sites and sounds and people of The Square, a world by itself with a unique unusual flavor. Buy a HARVARD sweatshirt at the COOP department store and pretend you studied there – everyone else does. Contine your tour onto Kendall Square to see MIT, where many a genius in the high tech world have learned and imagined. The MIT museum is interesting in its structure and shows the many past contributions of its graduates.

9. New England Aquarium Whale Watch

Spend the day visiting the harbor seals, penguins, sharks, and seal lion show then hop aboard the whale watch vessel to get up close with the whales. The boat captain is expert at finding the whales and the only time you can catch this tour is late spring through fall. To see these amazing animals breech so close to the boat is amazing!

10. Duck Tour

These gigantic amphibious vehicles are crafted after war vehicles to be able to run on land and go directly into water with the pull of a switch. You get an animated tour or Boston sites and enter the Charles River and Harbor to get an even better view. The drivers of the Ducks are always funny and may even let you drive the duck if you answer a question correctly. Just be sure to “Quack” as you drive through the crowed streets. You are a tourist after all and that is what the locals expect, and it gives them the excuse to quack back.

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