Travelling to Boston this Weekend

[bolt.]

We're travelling to Boston this weekend, so I'd love some recommendations of things to do with my 15yo kid.

What should we be sure to see and do?

I'm Canadian, not American, so a lot of the sights that are mostly focused on appreciating your important national history are a bit less interesting to us. (Not that we are completely disinterested in history, just that we aren't motivated by patriotism to learn and experience all we can on that topic.) We've read "Magnus Chase" books, set in Boston -- so some relevant places to that series (if you know it) might be fun. We love both arts and science.

Also any tips about the airport or other local knowledge would be welcome.

Thanks!

[73349]

https://www.mos.org/ I haven't been in years, but loved this place.

Also https://www.mfa.org/ is nice.

 Here's a trip planner for riding the T: https://www.mbta.com/trip-planner

[Matryoshka]

26 minutes ago, bolt. said:

We're travelling to Boston this weekend, so I'd love some recommendations of things to do with my 15yo kid.

What should we be sure to see and do?

I'm Canadian, not American, so a lot of the sights that are mostly focused on appreciating your important national history are a bit less interesting to us. (Not that we are completely disinterested in history, just that we aren't motivated by patriotism to learn and experience all we can on that topic.) We've read "Magnus Chase" books, set in Boston -- so some relevant places to that series (if you know it) might be fun. We love both arts and science.

Also any tips about the airport or other local knowledge would be welcome.

Thanks!

If you like museums, science museum, museum of fine arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and institute of contemporary art are all interesting.   There's a not super-impressive aquarium next to which you can take both a whale watch, or an mbta ferry over to the Charlestown navy yard (sooo much cheaper than a harbor tour, same view!). At the navy yard is the USS Constitution, a tall ship that fought in the war of 1812 that you can tour (and a small museum).  It's cool even if you don't know the history.  

[Matryoshka]

Oh, and if your 15yo is at all interested,  you could wander the campuses of Harvard and MIT.  MIT has a small but interesting museum (science/tech oriented, of course), and Harvard's Peabody museum of natural history and its art museums are also really cool.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Matryoshka

[Jaybee]

I've never been to Boston, but did anybody else have this song pop into their heads at this post?  

 

[Matryoshka]

38 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

I've never been to Boston, but did anybody else have this song pop into their heads at this post?  

Lol, never heard it.  These are the proper two songs that should pop into your head when you hear 'Boston'.... 😁

 

[pinball]

 

[HomeAgain]

DS recently learned about the museums at Harvard and he's dying to go.  Also on our list still is the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum.  There's a documentary on Netflix about it and the theft that happened there.

I posed your question to my family, though, and the first thing they all said was "so.....something that is not hockey?" 🤣 The Bruins are here and little Makar came down from Calgary to follow his brother's footsteps at UMass.

Be warned, it's a big weekend around here.  The Thanksgiving Parade is happening in Plymouth on Saturday, I think, so the T might be packed.  If you want to go, though, I think a commuter pass is very reasonable on the weekend.

FWIW, my favorite part of Boston is the North End.  I like to eat, and the range of Italian restaurants is very nice there.

[Matryoshka]

40 minutes ago, pinball said:

 

Thanks, never heard that one before. Quite like the music, but have to say not a big fan of the yell-'singing'.

[Eos]

12 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum.  There's a documentary on Netflix about it and the theft that happened there.

Thirding this.  Such a cool spot, teen might like it more by watching the documentary before going.

[Amy in NH]

MIT Splash is this weekend, so campus will be full of high school students.

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, Amy in NH said:

MIT Splash is this weekend, so campus will be full of high school students.

MIT Splash! ❤🧡💛💚💙

But yeah, that will be a mob scene!!

[JennyD]

1 hour ago, Eos said:

Thirding this.  Such a cool spot, teen might like it more by watching the documentary before going.

Agreed.  We watched the documentary and visited the Isabella Gardner museum earlier this year -- just fascinating.  And I completely fell in love with that museum.

The aquarium is on the small side but very well thought-out.  

I flew out and in of Logan Airport last week and it was insanely crowded.  I'd try not to check bags if at all possible.  

[kokotg]

4 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

If you like museums, science museum, museum of fine arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and institute of contemporary art are all interesting.   There's a not super-impressive aquarium next to which you can take both a whale watch, or an mbta ferry over to the Charlestown navy yard (sooo much cheaper than a harbor tour, same view!). At the navy yard is the USS Constitution, a tall ship that fought in the war of 1812 that you can tour (and a small museum).  It's cool even if you don't know the history.  

The USS Constitution is great, and it might be really interesting for a Canadian to see a War of 1812 site from an American perspective...at least I found learning about the war from the Canadian perspective really interesting when we were in Nova Scotia a few years ago (in America the War of 1812 is mostly that one that happened but didn't really change anything in between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. We gathered that Canadians are more likely to actually know stuff about it). 

And seconding the MFA and Museum of Science both being great. Seeing the ducklings in the Public Garden and/or riding a Swan Boat if your kid has any nostalgic attachment to Make Way for Ducklings or The Trumpet of the Swan. 

[Matryoshka]

2 minutes ago, kokotg said:

The USS Constitution is great, and it might be really interesting for a Canadian to see a War of 1812 site from an American perspective...at least I found learning about the war from the Canadian perspective really interesting when we were in Nova Scotia a few years ago (in America the War of 1812 is mostly that one that happened but didn't really change anything in between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. We gathered that Canadians are more likely to actually know stuff about it). 

And seconding the MFA and Museum of Science both being great. Seeing the ducklings in the Public Garden and/or riding a Swan Boat if your kid has any nostalgic attachment to Make Way for Ducklings or The Trumpet of the Swan. 

Swan boats have already been put away for the winter!  And the Public Garden (where they and the ducklings are) is pretty, but honestly this time of year is mostly full of dead stuff...  I wouldn't prioritize it over other things at this time of year...

[kokotg]

Just now, Matryoshka said:

Swan boats have already been put away for the winter!  And the Public Garden (where they and the ducklings are) is pretty, but honestly this time of year is mostly full of dead stuff...  I wouldn't prioritize it over other things at this time of year...

ah yes--I wasn't really thinking about the season! 

[pitterpatter]

I agree with many suggestions here. If you need something to do indoors, check out the glass flowers and marine animals at Harvard. Amazing! Lots of stuffed animals and rocks/minerals too.

https://hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers

[pitterpatter]

Get some cannolis and other sweets at Mike's Pastry. If you go to the downtown location, you can walk a little further and see the Skinny House too for yucks.

https://www.mikespastry.com/

There's a location near Harvard as well.

[Matryoshka]

9 minutes ago, pitterpatter said:

I agree with many suggestions here. If you need something to do indoors, check out the glass flowers and marine animals at Harvard. Amazing! Lots of stuffed animals and rocks/minerals too.

https://hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers

Yes, these are at Harvard's natural history museum.

[pitterpatter]

If you happen to end up in Jamaica Plain, you can get some real Scottish food at The Haven. A little pricey, but most food is around Boston.

https://thehavenjp.com/

I enjoyed trying some cheap breads, etc., from one of the little shops is Chinatown.

There's also a dessert waffle place that is fun in Chinatown.

https://www.sweetwafflesandboba.com/

Another fun dessert to try, but it takes some doing to get there by public transport, and there's no indoor sitting area, so it will be cold and windy.

https://taiyakinyc.com/

[pitterpatter]

The Boston Public library is neat. Grab a booklet and do a self-guided tour of the paintings. The Mapparium is a kind of meh, but my 15-year-old enjoyed it. She had just studied world geography, though.

[bolt.]

3 hours ago, Amy in NH said:

MIT Splash is this weekend, so campus will be full of high school students.

Yes, the 15yo is going to MIT splash, so I will be alone for Sat and Sun, and we will do tourist things together on Mon.

These sound like really great ideas!

[easypeasy]

13 hours ago, bolt. said:

Also any tips about the airport or other local knowledge would be welcome.

Thanks!

Some airport tips:

I have never been able to buy a Chalrie card at the airport. Always have taken a taxi or an uber to a nearby station and gotten the card there. The machines at the airport never seem to work and there are no humans to buy from that I have ever found. 
 

if you take an Uber or Lyft from the airport, they have to pick you up at a very specific area of the airport. When you to to pick up your luggage, you will see stickered arrows on the floor there, pointing you in the direction for pickup. It’s quite convenient once you know where to go!
 

I had always taken a cab (which are right outside of the baggage pickup area) but one day decided to call in an Uber. It took us forEVER to find where to go bc we started looking OUTSIDE (and there are zero signs on the outside).

SO many good restaurants and museums, etc. have fun!

Have fun at MIT!!

[Matryoshka]

7 hours ago, bolt. said:

Yes, the 15yo is going to MIT splash, so I will be alone for Sat and Sun, and we will do tourist things together on Mon.

These sound like really great ideas!

He'll have a blast! My kids loved MIT Splash so much!  My older two actually went back and taught classes there when they were undergrads (Most are taught by MIT students, but you don't have to be an MIT student to teach at Splash, just submit a proposal and have it accepted)

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

He'll have a blast! My kids loved MIT Splash so much!  My older two actually went back and taught classes there when they were undergrads (Most are taught by MIT students, but you don't have to be an MIT student to teach at Splash, just submit a proposal and have it accepted)

DS loved it too. He made some great friends there and gamed together for at least a couple years after. 
 

There's not much to do around MIT; I’d head to Harvard for food and museums, or across the river into Boston. Once you cross the bridge, you could head to Newbury St for shopping (we love Trident bookshop and they have a great cafe upstairs), then wander through Beacon Hill (pretty, historic neighborhood), through Boston Common and over to Faneuil Hall/historic stuff/waterfront. Then hit up the North End in search of coffee.

Boston is really small and walkable; if you have a car, you can park in one of the lots next to the MIT campus and just leave it for the day. Or if you don’t want to drive (highly recommended!), it’s easy to catch public transportation from the airport.

[Eos]

A friend brought me the program from a cool show at MassArt Art Museum, it's on until December 18th:

https://maam.massart.edu/exhibition/designing-motherhood

[EmilyGF]

12 hours ago, pitterpatter said:

Get some cannolis and other sweets at Mike's Pastry. If you go to the downtown location, you can walk a little further and see the Skinny House too for yucks.

https://www.mikespastry.com/

There's a location near Harvard as well.

I was making sure someone mentioned Mike's Pastry! 

🙂 The Museum of Science is nice, but sort of out-of-the-way. It has a great Eames-designed math display. We wanted to go to the MIT Museum last time we were in Boston (summer 2021), but it was closed for COVID. DH says it is great.

A 15-year-old might love the glass flowers at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, or not. You know your kid the best. When I took my kids the first time, they were little and found the flowers "boring" and got nightmares from the taxidermy. YMMV. 

The USS Constitution is neat, even though it is American. I think it is interesting just to think of naval technology of that time, and it doesn't feel very patriotic, just historical.

Emily

[JennyD]

5 hours ago, easypeasy said:

I had always taken a cab (which are right outside of the baggage pickup area) but one day decided to call in an Uber. It took us forEVER to find where to go bc we started looking OUTSIDE (and there are zero signs on the outside).

I just did this last week.  The area for Uber/Lyft pickup is now very well-marked, there are big purple arrow signs everywhere telling you where to go.  

However, once you get to the designated pickup area, you still have to find your driver.  There seems to have developed an informal system in which the drivers come in, zoom into a parking space, leap out of their cars and start loudly calling out passenger names.  Meanwhile the people waiting for pickup are clutching their phones, squinting at the screen, looking around and hesitantly calling out drivers' names.  From what I saw, people do eventually find each other but it can take a little while. 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by JennyD

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, EmilyGF said:

I was making sure someone mentioned Mike's Pastry! 

🙂 The Museum of Science is nice, but sort of out-of-the-way. It has a great Eames-designed math display. We wanted to go to the MIT Museum last time we were in Boston (summer 2021), but it was closed for COVID. DH says it is great. 

Lol, the Science Museum is easy walking distance from MIT! Two minutes in a car. Of all the things mentioned,  it's the closest!  Bonus, on the way, on First St., is Toscaninni's, which has gelato to die for.  I used to live in East Cambridge (in between MIT and the Science Museum).

Jamaica Plain that someone mentioned,  on the other hand... as we say in New England,  'you can't get there from here'... 😂

Edited November 18, 2022 by Matryoshka

[EmilyGF]

1 minute ago, Matryoshka said:

Lol, the Science Museum is easy walking distance from MIT! Two minutes in a car. Of all the things mentioned,  it's the closest!  Bonus, on the way, on First St., is Toscaninni's, which has gelato to die for.  I used to live in East Cambridge (in between MIT and the Science Museum).

Jamaica Plain that someone mentioned,  on the other hand... as we say in New England,  'you can't get there from here'... 😂

I guess it depends on where OP is staying. It was always out of the way for me, but I never stayed near MIT.

ETA: I always got off the MBTA near the Common and it always seemed a hike to get to the Science Museum since most of what we did was to the east, not the north.

Emily

Edited November 18, 2022 by EmilyGF

[Matryoshka]

3 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

I guess it depends on where OP is staying. It was always out of the way for me, but I never stayed near MIT.

ETA: I always got off the MBTA near the Common and it always seemed a hike to get to the Science Museum since most of what we did was to the east, not the north.

From the Common, it's only a few stops on the Green line to the Museum of Science. It's even still walkable distance from the Common, just, yes, more of a hike.  The Museum of Science isn't far to the North. It sits on the Charles River dam, literally straddling the Boston/Cambridge border.  Short walk from there to the North End (which is East of the Common), though easier to take the T because sidewalks suck there, but I've done it. It's a stone's throw from The Garden/North Station.

But MIT is over the river in Cambridge,  and very close to the Museum of Science.

[kokotg]

Incidentally, do other people immediately think of the Marianne Moore poem when people talk about the glass flowers or just me? "Superior people never make long visits, have to be shown Longfellow's grave or the glass flowers at Harvard..." 

[Anne]

I haven't read the other responses but I highly recommend the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  One of the most unusual museums I have ever visited - I just love it.  Even if your teen is not much into art or museums, she might really enjoy the Gardner!  I also love the MFA, but for completely different reasons.

Have a great trip!

Anne

[Terabith]

Have a great trip!  I keep seeing this thread and hearing this song in my head:  

 

[pinball]

On 11/17/2022 at 3:27 PM, Matryoshka said:

Thanks, never heard that one before. Quite like the music, but have to say not a big fan of the yell-'singing'.

Yes, I know about the yelling…but he did lose his leg, so…

The song was in the Departed and the Bruins play it during games at times.

 

[Selkie]

4 hours ago, pinball said:

Yes, I know about the yelling…but he did lose his leg, so…

The song was in the Departed and the Bruins play it during games at times.

 

That song will forever remind me of the Blackhawks vs Bruins Stanley Cup Finals in 2013, because it was played so often.🙂

[pinball]

12 hours ago, Selkie said:

That song will forever remind me of the Blackhawks vs Bruins Stanley Cup Finals in 2013, because it was played so often.🙂

That was a good series! Two of the Original Six in the Finals is neat.

 

[bolt.]

Thank you all so much for all of your help.

Our trip to Boston was a wonderful experience! My teen enjoyed Splash at MIT immensely, and they are already talking about how to save/earn money for the travel and hotel costs next year.

On the basis of the vague but enthusiastic recommendations here, I went to the Isabella Stuart Gardiner Museum -- what an experience! It was such an immersive space, like a 3D living scrapbook of the arts and sense of place one experiences in Europe. Our family traveled in Europe for 6 weeks in 2019, and the instant I crossed into the museum, I was transported back to those experiences. Truly extraordinary! I did that by myself during one of the days of Splash, but if we return another year, I'll probably take my teen with me for another visit.

On our "tourist day" together we visited the Aquarium, which was lots of fun. Then we took a "duck" tour for some history, followed by about 4 hours at the Museum of Science. We didn't see the whole Museum of Science completely though, so we'd like to return there too. An amazing thing is that many science centers take each other's passes for free or discounted admission, so on the off chance I brought our local passes with us. We were welcomed to just walk right in and enjoy it for no cost. What a perk!

The airport was fine, and we got around with a combination of Uber, the train system, and a lot of walking. The city is very walkable.