Boston Wrap Up

This month I visited Boston, for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised.

1. Things to do

The definite go to’s that I would recommend are:

• Freedom Trail: The Freedom trail is a 2.5-mile walk through historic Boston. The Trail takes you to 16 historical sites in the course of two or three hours and covers two and a half centuries of America’s most significant past. A red brick or painted line connects the sites on the Trail and serves as a guide. As I stayed near Faneuil Hall I decided to split the walk up in 2 and was very happy I did so, as this allowed e the time to see and explore the historical sites to its fullest. It may be very touristy at times, but the Freedom trail Foundation has done an amazing job of presenting the history of one of America’s oldest cities to the public.

• Boston Public Garden: Walking through the Public Garden was delightful not only because the nature but mainly because the public garden is used and seen as everyones backyard. This is where parents play with there kids, couples hold hands, friends have picknicks and …

• The New England Holocaust Memorial: This memorial is without a doubt the most emotion evoking, well thought out memorial I have seen. Each tower symbolizes a different major extermination camp (Majdanek, Chełmno, Sobibor, Treblinka,Bełżec, and Auschwitz-Birkenau), but can also be seen to represent the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust (one million per column), and the six years that the mass extermination took place, 1939-1945.

• Museum of Fine Arts
• Museum of Science
• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus: If you like architecture then you definitely have to go and visit the Ray and Maria Stata Center (Frank Gehry building)

• Harvard Museum of Natural History
• Black Heritage Trail
• New England Aquarium
• Boston Celtics: If you’re a basketball fan like me then this is a must go. Home to one of the most beautiful basketball rivalries from the past decades and always fun to see the game played at it’s highest level.

2. Shopping

If you want to do some shopping your best change of finding what you want, in my opinion, is at:

• Faneuil Hall Marketplace

• Copley Place & Prudential: If you like indoor shopping and the higher-end stores such as Neiman Marcus, Burbury, Moncler, … then this is your place.
• Newbury street: Boston’s most enchanting street. Eight blocks filled with salons, boutiques, and fabulous dining. This street has something for everyone. (More info: Newbury-st.com)

3. Restaurants to go

These are off course the one that I went to and enjoyed, there is much more that I past I will be trying next time.

• Legal Sea Foods: “If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t Legal” — located all over Boston from the classic Legal’s to the test kitchens LTK. I visited 4 different locations while their menu’s vary a bit the seafood is always fresh and delicious.
• Hillstone — located next to the Faneuil Hall and a place to go if you like the new American cuisine. Delicious steak, burgers and sushi in a great atmosphere.
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House — the historical richness of the the Old City Hall, in which the restaurant is located, captivates you before even entering the restaurant. The restaurant’s is known for serving USDA prime steaks that are seared at 1800° Fahrenheit (982.2 °C) and served on ceramic plates heated to 500° Fahrenheit (260.0 °C). Half an ounce (1Tbsp) of butter is added just before the plates leave the kitchen in order to create the signature ‘sizzle’. The steak was amazing.
• Regina Pizzeria — located in the North End and has been in business since 1926. You have be scout the restaurant in advance to avoid having to wait for more then 20 minutes.
• Quincy Market (at Faneuil Hal)

• Hard Rock Cafe  — This has become an obvious stop in my travels.

4. Where to stay

There are dozens of options like in every city. I stayed at the Marriott’s Custom’s House, which is beautifully located next to Faneuil Hall and therefor in the middle of the Freedom trail.

5. Getting there

When flying in it you can take multiple means of transportation into the city. The easiest are a taxi (around $30) or the subway ($2.65/person/one-way).

The subway lines are perfect to easily get around and also the fastest way.

6. Useful links/sources

If you are planning on visiting Boston you can find more info on the city’s website or the tourism website could be very useful for hotels, restaurants, sights and shopping info.

Have a nice year’s end!