Beantown tourism

[eirias]

So my plan while in Boston has generally been "be a tourist while normal people work, then hang out with folks in the evening." This worked well yesterday (the Arboretum is very pretty; and then I learned to play mah jongg!) and I figured it would work pretty well today, too, since usually when I come to Boston I am not primarily doing touristy things, so clearly there should be plenty of things to see. But, er, looking at the "things to do in Boston" page, it turns out I have seen rather more of them than I realized! At various points in the last ten years, I have visited the ISG art museum, the science museum, the public garden and Boston Common, the markets at Faneuil Hall, and the shops on Newbury Street. It'd be nice to walk the Freedom Trail, but it looks sort of wet today. What else should I see? (If anyone wants to come along, bonus!)

Comments

[nonnihil.livejournal.com]

If the wet bothers you, you're liable to be fairly out of luck for my favorite things -- walking the esplanade or Memorial Drive along the Charles.

Notably missing from your list were the Aquarium (though that's better with a group and I think the penguin exhibit may still be under repair) and the MIT Museum (small but often quite a lot of fun in a nerdy way). And of course "slightly damp" is the best possible weather for a Duck Tour, the ultimate in tourist-ism.

[eirias.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, you know, the MIT museum is awesome but I actually saw that last time I was here and forgot to list it. But it's a good suggestion.

Good to know about the Aquarium -- something for next time I guess!

The ducks, alas, do not impress me much, because we have them up in the Wisconsin Dells. You can tell me that these ducks are the original ducks, that, in fact, they are pre-revolutionary ducks, and I will still not be too impressed. ;)

[ovariance.livejournal.com]

Let's do a word association!

Let's see. . .uh. . .

Boston Duck Boats. . .clueless honkies!

[cynic51.livejournal.com]

+1 for aquarium, although if the penguins are shut down it's not quite as cool.

[drspiff.livejournal.com]

My first thought was a pilgrimage to Fenway but it's probably an evening game if the Red Sucks are in town today.

[cos]

http://boston.going.com/ lists a lot of ongoing things like museum exhibits, in addition to evening events.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

The MFA is always nice, although if I'm there anyway I'm likely to be more tempted by the ISG, which is almost next door, and cheaper, and awesome.

The new ICA (institute for contemporary art) is well-spoken-of and its current exhibit sounds neat, though I've never been.

I think one of these places has a Wednesday deal.

Um, Tomb?

[roamin-umpire.livejournal.com]

Eh, Tomb is very much meh. Special effects are cool and all, but the puzzles are pretty weak and what story there is is lame.

Of course, I'm a semi-regular LARPer, so I guess it's no surprise that I was a bit underwhelmed.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Huh. Yeah, everyone else I know who went there thought it was pretty cool.

[narya.livejournal.com]

The aquarium is cool. I've heard that the Peabody-Essex museum is cool and accessible from the commuter rail though I haven't been there myself.

[silentmachine.livejournal.com]

I went to the Arboretum, too! I ended up taking a nap there, it was so peaceful.

I don't know what else you should do, but have fun!

[ovariance.livejournal.com]

Boston Harbor Islands. Inexpensive. Picturesque (you get to see Deer Island from most).

Also, Fort Independence, which is attached to the mainland.

Oh, and the Boston Public Library.