Boston: parking/restaurant/tour suggestions?

[redredwine]

H and I are heading out to the East Cost next week for a vacation. We will have 3 days/nights in Boston and looking for some suggestions: 

We will be staying in Beacon Hill. 

1. Parking: We will have a car (we're road tripping from NJ to NY to Boston to RI so we need a car for those parts) so we need somewhere to park the car for a few days, within walking distance so that way we can take a day trip nearby if desired. ETA: We're at an AirB&B with no parking included. 

2. Restaurants? We'd like to stick to lower budget places and I'm pregnant and H doesn't drink, so we're not very fun in bars/breweries currently, lol. BUT we're down for good food anywhere, even if it's a bar/brewery

3. What to do? H has never been to Boston, I've been twice but would love to do a bit of history. H is OBSESSED with Hamilton and is now reading more about the American Revolution/early American history, etc. Would love any fun/informative tours, but also open to a fun tour as well (like, in Portland we have Shanghai Tunnel tours, etc)


Thanks!

[mbcdefg]

Whereabouts are you staying? (duh, sorry, you already said Beacon Hill!)

We usually just park at our hotel when we're in Boston and pay for in-out privileges and then do our best to find street parking if we go out.

Are you used to driving in non-grid system cities? I love Boston but it's a total PITA to navigate, and can be intimidating if you're not used to city driving and complicated winding streets. If you aren't up to the task or just don't want to move the car, then it might be best to just leave the car parked and either walk or take a Lyft/Uber to your destination. Probably the latter since it will be cold, there may be leftover snow from the upcoming blizzard, and IDK if you are up for walking.

There's also the T (subway) but we rarely use that, and a bus system that we've never used. Maybe locals can chime in on that.

We always get a lobster roll at James Hook on every visit. 

We had very good pizza in Charlestown at The Brewer's Fork when we were in Boston in December. 

Very touristy, but the cannolis and sweets at Mike's Pastry are very good. Get in line and have cash ready and know what you want.

Fantastic ice cream at JP Licks.

Everyone always raves about Giacomo's for Italian food but we've never been able to get in. I think the one in the North End (their Little Italy) does not accept reservations but the other location does. 

A lot of people say to just go to the North End and pop in any Italian restaurant for a great meal, but we've never had luck with that. We always seem to pick the duds. But we're also from the NYC metro area and my late FIL was a chef from Italy and therefore MH is SUPER-picky about Italian food, so your mileage may vary.

RockNVoll has a good list of Boston restaurants. pandce.proboards.com/thread/542764/boston 

We liked the Freedom Trail, the guided tour of Fenway Park (weather permitting?), and the New England Aquarium. Not sure if they do boat tours on the harbor in wintertime. 

[mrsdoe]

That rock n voll list is pretty spot on.

[redredwine]

Mar 13, 2017 15:07:34 GMT -5 mrsdoe said:

Mar 13, 2017 13:57:03 GMT -5 redredwine said:

H and I are heading out to the East Cost next week for a vacation. We will have 3 days/nights in Boston and looking for some suggestions: 

We will be staying in Beacon Hill. 

1. Parking: We will have a car (we're road tripping from NJ to NY to Boston to RI so we need a car for those parts) so we need somewhere to park the car for a few days, within walking distance so that way we can take a day trip nearby if desired. 

2. Restaurants? We'd like to stick to lower budget places and I'm pregnant and H doesn't drink, so we're not very fun in bars/breweries currently, lol. BUT we're down for good food anywhere, even if it's a bar/brewery

3. What to do? H has never been to Boston, I've been twice but would love to do a bit of history. H is OBSESSED with Hamilton and is now reading more about the American Revolution/early American history, etc. Would love any fun/informative tours, but also open to a fun tour as well (like, in Portland we have Shanghai Tunnel tours, etc)


Thanks!

For once I can answer questions instead of ask them! Haha. check with the hotel if they will validate or if they have any garages they recommend with in and out privileges. There's enough to do in the city where you won't need your car so you could potentially save a few $$ by seeing if you can find a spot in the kenmore area for a garage. Government center garage or center plaza garage are both big and convenient - not sure rates but it's somewhere between 30-40/day. The Lewis wharf parking lot is usually where I park on weekends and it's ~$20 but it's a lot smaller and I don't know if it fills up weekdays.
thanks! I should have mentioned we're at an AIr B&B, so there's no parking included. 

in back bay I like Stephanie's on newbury and Atlantic fish co., mistral and lespalier are very good but $$$ (but cheaper if you go for lunch). If you head to faniuel hall Union oyster house is good. Really cheap/counter service options are James hook lobster (waterfront), Sam lagrassa (near the common), shake shack, als. Kane's donuts. In this north end antico forno or Fiore. Modern pastry for dessert.

As for what to do I would go see the common and do the freedom trail. I've never done a duck tour embarrassingly but I would recommend that. The Ica and museum of fine arts are also excellent. If your h is into history he might like the tea part museum or uss constitution museum, granary burying ground, or Paul revere house. There's lots of history in concord and Salem but w 3 days I would spend all my time within city limits. Oh duck boat would be fun!
We may end up going to Concord or Salem the morning we're planning on leaving the city.    


Thanks for the suggestions mrsdoe

[redredwine]

Mar 13, 2017 15:05:10 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Whereabouts are you staying? (duh, sorry, you already said Beacon Hill!)

We usually just park at our hotel when we're in Boston and pay for in-out privileges and then do our best to find street parking if we go out.

Are you used to driving in non-grid system cities? I love Boston but it's a total PITA to navigate, and can be intimidating if you're not used to city driving and complicated winding streets. If you aren't up to the task or just don't want to move the car, then it might be best to just leave the car parked and either walk or take a Lyft/Uber to your destination. Probably the latter since it will be cold, there may be leftover snow from the upcoming blizzard, and IDK if you are up for walking.

There's also the T (subway) but we rarely use that, and a bus system that we've never used. Maybe locals can chime in on that.

We always get a lobster roll at James Hook on every visit. 

We had very good pizza in Charlestown at The Brewer's Fork when we were in Boston in December. 

Very touristy, but the cannolis and sweets at Mike's Pastry are very good. Get in line and have cash ready and know what you want.

Fantastic ice cream at JP Licks.

Everyone always raves about Giacomo's for Italian food but we've never been able to get in. I think the one in the North End (their Little Italy) does not accept reservations but the other location does. 

A lot of people say to just go to the North End and pop in any Italian restaurant for a great meal, but we've never had luck with that. We always seem to pick the duds. But we're also from the NYC metro area and my late FIL was a chef from Italy and therefore MH is SUPER-picky about Italian food, so your mileage may vary.

RockNVoll has a good list of Boston restaurants. pandce.proboards.com/thread/542764/boston 

We liked the Freedom Trail, the guided tour of Fenway Park (weather permitting?), and the New England Aquarium. Not sure if they do boat tours on the harbor in wintertime. 

awesome!! and thanks for the RockNVoll list, too!!  

[janegold]

My friends who live in Beacon Hill park in the Boston Common garage but i don't know what the rates are. It's probably the closest, though. Might also take a look at the garage near MGH.

Some of our favorite not too expensive places to eat are The Gallows, Legal Harborside and Myers + Chang. Good breakfast/cafe places are Flour and the South End Buttery. Mike & Patty's is a teeny tiny sandwich place that has amazing breakfast and lunch sandwiches. We have an Eataly too.

For things to do, the Duck Boats do entertaining tours. For more history-specific tours, there are lots of historical walking tours but I don't have any specific recs. Cemetery tours may also be really interesting. A history buff may also enjoy a trip to the Boston Atheneum. If you're into art, the Isabella Stewart Gardner is a small museum with a great collection. The MFA is also great. For a day trip, I would recommend Lexington and Concord, particularly if you're also into early American literature (Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott, etc.). There are tons of cool galleries and artist studios in the SoWa district of the South End. If you're visiting in May - October, that area also has a big fun artisan/farmer/food truck market on Sundays. (ETA I see you're visiting next week, n/m.).

[WOUNDTIGHT]

Ditto on Boston Common garage. I also second Stephanie's on Newbury. Near Beacon Hill I also like Teatro and in the North End Limonchello is amazing.

[downtownbk]

"off the eaten path" tour of the North End is where I bring guests! It's a 3 hour food/history tour of the neighborhood. It starts around 10am so you will still have the day to do other activities.

Check Boston Common garage for good rates!

[LoveTrains]

Tritto on Boston common garage.

[jillboston]

Agree on Boston Common Garage. The city is very walkable - you can easily do Beacon Hill, Newbury Street/back bay and Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, Greenway and North End on foot from where you are. North End is a must if you like Italian food at all.