Boston visit

Hi all,

I will be visiting Boston from June 22-July 5 (with some time in NYC in between). My brother and friend will be studying for the summer at Harvard and I will be there visiting. I would be keen to get some local advice on the following;

1 - Would love to attend an American sports event, be that Basketball or Baseball. Is there anything on at this time which you would recommend attending? Even international events such as European football teams on pre-season would be great to see (I did this in LA a couple of years ago and it was a great experience).

2 - Any nightspot recommendations? We are all 24 years old, not really nightclub people, preferably bars.

3 - Any car events?

Any other relevant recommendations for fun things to do would be great. Would also be happy to catch up with any members for a beer if you're around town!

Thanks

 

Attending the July 4 Boston Pops Orchestra concert and fireworks (U.S. Independence Day) at the Hatch Shell along the Charles River by Storrow Drive will be an unforgettable event. It will be incredibly crowded, you'll need to get there very early but it will be worth it. Trust me.

It will be a fantastic sendoff for your departure on July 5. In fact, you may fall in love with Boston so much that you will cash in your plane tickets home and start looking for a local job!

http://www.july4th.org/

The Boston Red Sox baseball team play in Fenway Park and should be a must see event. They sell out every game so finding tickets will be on the expensive side.

They will play 6 home games while you are in Beantown: Against the Atlanta Braves on June 22, 23, and 24 and then the Toronto Blue Jays on June 25, 26 and 27.

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=bos#y=2012&m=6&calendar=DEFAULT

I'll let the young crowd opine on night life but some popular areas are Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall, North End, Back Bay, Harvard Square in Cambridge, Inman Square in Cambridge.

Have a wicked good time while you're in Bawsten!

 

+1

 

Agreed with all the above except the prices of Red Sox tickets. You shouldnt have any issues getting them on stubhub and there really cheap.

 

How quickly things turn around! One fall collapse and a slow start and now they're cheap! Who'd a thunk it?

 

I know, its crazy. Disappointing there looking so poor but I do enjoy the ticket prices

 

Saturday the 23rd there will be a Boston Cars & Coffee held by YuppieRacing @ the Larz Anderson Auto Museum. It's from 7-10AM and is a great show every time, probably the best monthly show in the area. Hope you enjoy the visit.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have visited Boston once before and really enjoyed it; I am definitely looking forward to spending more time there.

With the Baseball, would any of those games be a preference? Not sure which team is better or would have a better atmosphere.

 

The Braves are in the National (other) League and not a very good team this year, but neither are the Red Sox at the moment and they have identical 28-25 records. IMO, I'd go with the Blue Jays if you have a choice as they are in the American League and in the same division as the Red Sox and so are rivals. The Jays are not doing so well though, in last place in the division.

Either one would be fun.

 

No matter what, going to historical Fenway Park is a great and memorable time. Heres the link for the schedule, reds are home games.
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=bos#m=6&y=2012&calendar=DEFAULT
You can purchase tickets on game day at Fenway or through acetickets.com. Prices range from $35.00 for bleacher seats to + $150.00 very close to home plate. Best seating is around the first or third base lines. Of course behind home plate or by the Red Sox dugout are the best seats to plant yourself. This is Fenways 100th anniversary this year making it the oldest and most beautiful MLB park. Food is pricey (and mostly not good) so best to eat outside the ball park. Fenway Park was also part of a robery and shoot out scene in Ben Aflac's great movie called "The Town". A great story about how a small Boston based town called Charlestown where more bank robbers are produced than anywhere in the world.
Remys Restaurant is a great place to eat before the game, http://www.jerryremys.com/, get their a minimum of 2 hours before game time as it is the place to be before game time. The owner, Jerry Remy, a now retired Red Sox player that now calls the games with Don Orsilo at Fenway. Their is lots to see at and around Fenway also.
Another place to see is The Boston Aquarium. The IMAX Theater directly across from the aquarium. Faneuil Hall, http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/ is another great place to
visit, great colunary diversity and shopping.
I love Boston. I have been to may big cities around the world and Boston is one of the
cleanest and easiest big cities to get around in. To bad the Boston Celtics or Bruins weren't playing also as Boston is one of the greatest fan based sports towns to be in. Next time.
Have fun an enjoy.

 

Forgot to mention Status Ride, http://www.statusride.com/boston-ferrari-rental/, where you can rent some great cars to rent while in Boston. They will even pick you up at Logan Airport. Don't know what you drive but, they will have something you'll want. May want to book now if you want as reservations get full quickly.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. The next question I was going to ask was about seating, so thanks for answering that.

None of us have ever watched a Baseball game (even on TV!) so it's really all about the experience for us, and the atmosphere of such an historic stadium.

The game says that it starts around 7:15pm. How long does a Baseball game run for?

 

Baseball is not a timed event, it progresses based on nine innings in which each side gets a chance to stay at bat in an inning until they get three outs and so games can go quickly or very slowly. If the score is tied after nine innings, they keep playing more innings until one team is ahead at the end of a full inning.

In general, I would plan on about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

 

gates at Fenway open 1 1/2 hr before start time- Come early- They close off one entire city block and it becomes part of the ballpark- lots of food and old-timey bands and stuff- It's a fun place to be.

Oh and of course you get to sing "Sweet Caroline" In the bottom of the 7th inning.

 

Actually after the 8th inning since 2002. It's the only song between innings that doesn't change.

The 7th inning stretch music in the middle of the inning is God Bless America and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

So Good! So Good!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YynfrH5GHlw[/ame]

 

Thanks again for the many great suggestions. The atmosphere is the main reason we are going to a ball game, so very much looking forward to that!

Will keep you guys posted on how we go, not long now.

Cheers

 

Hi guys,

We have a weekend booked in New York City. What is the best way to get there? How long does the train take? I only ask because domestic airline travel in the US has proved to be a nightmare in the past.

Also is there a train to Montreal?

Thanks

 

Where are you coming from to get to NY? If Boston, the train takes about 3 1/2 hours for the Acela Express (our version of a "high speed" train) and just over 4 hours for the Northeast Regional, both leaving South Station in Boston and arriving Penn Station (W34th and 7th Ave. ) in NY.

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

Delta and US Air both offer shuttle service from Logan to LaGuardia, with one leaving on every hour and the other leaving on every half hour. Time actually in the air is about 40 minutes but the schedule can get backed up so they show something like a 90 minute transit time.

The distance over the road is about 180 miles and you could drive that in about 4 hours if you have a rental car.

For the NY to Montreal leg:

This is from the AMTRAK (US taxpayer owned passenger railroad company) website:


One of the Top 10 Most Scenic Train Rides in the World

The Adirondack travels daily from New York City, through the lush wine country of the Hudson Valley, into Montreal. Heading north, you're scheduled to depart New York's Penn Station in the morning and arrive in Montreal in the evening. Or, board the southbound train anywhere along the line and arrive in mid-town Manhattan in time to enjoy dinner and nightlife in New York City.

There is one train each way each day and it takes a very long 11 hours. Leave in the morning and arrive in the evening, taking up a full day. The price is only $63 one way and some of the scenery going through the Adirondack Mountains should be nice, though. A flight to Montreal is about an hour in the air.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&p=1237405732511&cid=1237608331901

 

I'm not sure if anyone said this but the Larz Anderson Museum has great shows almost every sunday, check their Lawn Events page on their website for the exact dates:
http://larzanderson.org/events/lawn-events/lawn-event-list/
I'm always at shows so if you want to pm me I can give you a much bigger schedule or events

 

Thanks again guys, you've been most helpful. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you make it down under.

Cheers

 

Bump!

Hi guys. My brother, friend and I are currently in Boston. You guys have an amazing city! The streetscape, architecture and general vibe of the place is really cool, and I am really enjoying it more than I did last time given I am spending more time on this trip.

One slight issue we have had is finding good bars filled with young locals. We have only had one suggestion which worked out (red lantern), and cambridge has proven to be deserted at this time of year; any suggestions?

Thanks

 

I'm an old fogey and the last guy that should be answering this but there are a few places along Boylston and Newbury Streets, from about one block from Boston Common heading west (Sonsie, the bar at Abe & Louies might be more upscale or older than you're looking for but is a lively place, Lolita's a mexican place, .

The Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area also has a lot of bars: Ned Devine's, The Black Rose, Clarke's, Union Oyster House (more restaurant than bar), Bell in Hand Tavern, lots of other places sprinkled around the area.

A couple of blocks south of Copley Square at the corner of Dartmouth Street and Columbus Ave. is Clery's, a popular spot around the corner from my brother in law's place. Scene is casual mid 20's with a dance floor downstairs, gets a good crowd.

Probably the best thing you can do if you don't get good suggestions here is to pick up a copy of Zagat's restaurant guide, which costs around $14 and is available in all bookstores plus a lot of drugstores like CVS. This guides have reviews that are compiled from thousands of individual contributors and are pretty accurate in my experience. Far, far better than the crappy "Best of Boston" lists in Boston Magazine or the Improper Bostonian.

I'm counting on all you younger Bostonians to fill our Aussie friend in on good places to go in Boston!

I'll ask my brother in law for suggestions and get back to you.

 

If you are looking for popular bars, go to Boylston Street via the number 1 bus. It takes you over the bridge and there are a ton of bars near the Hynes Convention Center T station. Dillion's is a pretty good one - although drinks tend to be expensive. Also check out Boston theaters, there are usually cheap deals on tickets the day of the show and the shows are pretty decent as well!