Visiting Boston in August (Cambridge, Brookline: house, school, university)

[BostNative]

Harvard Sq. Is more than a walk through. I lived in the area my entire life, there is plenty of excitement for a 15 year old especially the last week in August. All types of entertainment in the streets, fun restaurants like Bordes Cafe'. Trust me not a walk through, take the advice from a true Bostonian.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by BostNative

Harvard Sq. Is more than a walk through. I lived in the area my entire life, there is plenty of excitement for a 15 year old especially the last week in August. All types of entertainment in the streets, fun restaurants like Bordes Cafe'. Trust me not a walk through, take the advice from a true Bostonian.

Sorry, guess I'm not true bostonian enough just working in harvard square every day.

Border cafe? Ok... it's a restaurant. Fantastic.

What specifically are you referring to that would be so great for a 15 hear old? Move in day? Honestly? Us fake Bostonians want to know.

Harvard Square is just a bunch of chains now. I didn't say don't go to harvard, but those hotels at the square are pretty much used by people there for some harvard function. IMO a true bostonian (in newton?) would not tell a visitor to stay in Cambridge.

Back bay is still easily the best choice.

[Russbosma]

Originally Posted by stanley-88888888

also last saturday of august there is a big caribbean carnival.

Isn't that the festival that has a shooting just about every year?

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Sorry, guess I'm not true bostonian enough just working in harvard square every day. What specifically are you referring to that would be so great for a 15 hear old? Move in day? Honestly? Us fake Bostonians want to know.

More chains but still an electric atmosphere, a scene you don't find just anywhere and famous teenage hangout for generations. Just wandering around there on the winding streets, soaking it all up would be nice on summer evenings. Back Bay is fine too but Harvard Sq especially suits the young.

I like what this guy had to say on Yelp (with apologies to Ohioans and slighted regions everywhere): Harvard Square can be easily forgotten, overlooked or under-appreciated by Bostonians, especially folks who have lived here their whole lives. But, like Davis Square or Central or even Kendall and Porter, dense and exciting clusters of stores with a ton of foot traffic and interesting architecture are fairly rare once you leave the coasts. There are a ton of cookie cutter towns out there, with only a couple of strip malls on a four lane road to entertain them. But we here in the Camberville have a wealth of squares that intrigue us, allow for walkable bar crawls, and let us spend money on all sorts of cool stuff without having to drive 45 minutes to do so. Love your squares, Boston. Love them and realize how rare they are.

[alidmc]

Originally Posted by zoeadelle

So I am bringing my 15 year old son for a visit to Boston at the end of August. We are both extremely excited but I am struggling to know the most suitable area to stay in. I have read so many articles that they have become blurry so who better to ask but the city's residents! Where would you recommend? Maybe someone also has recommendations of where to stay, as that is also confusing. We are there for the last week of August, so will be there during the St Anthony festival I believe and I see that they will be showing Ant-Man in the open air cinema in the park... all exciting stuff! Any recommendations will be great, as we are traveling from from Gibraltar I want this to be a really memorable holiday. Thanks all.

It's a tough choice between the North End and the Back Bay. The North End would put you close to St. Anthony's feast, the Greenway, and the waterfront, which is my favorite place to walk around in the summer. I would recommend staying at the Boston Harbor Hotel, the Marriott Longwharf, the Battery Wharf Hotel or the Intercontinental.

The Back Bay will put you close to the Esplanade, the Boston Public Garden, and shopping along Newbury Street. You can also walk along Commonwealth Ave or nearby Beacon Hill and see the beautiful brownstones. The Boston Public Library is nearby and it is a short train/cab ride to the Museum of Fine Arts, Fenway, and the Gardner Museum. The Fairmount Copley Plaza, the Mandarin Oriental, and the Lenox are great hotels in the area.

[BostNative]

Missionhill, thank you.

[stanley-88888888]

Originally Posted by Russbosma

Isn't that the festival that has a shooting just about every year?

unfortunately yes. but it does attract about a million people from several states so the likelihood of getting hurt are slim.
maybe not for the tourists who arent city savvy enough to know how to get away from danger and not accidentally run into danger.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by missionhill

More chains but still an electric atmosphere, a scene you don't find just anywhere and famous teenage hangout for generations. Just wandering around there on the winding streets, soaking it all up would be nice on summer evenings. Back Bay is fine too but Harvard Sq especially suits the young.

I like what this guy had to say on Yelp (with apologies to Ohioans and slighted regions everywhere): Harvard Square can be easily forgotten, overlooked or under-appreciated by Bostonians, especially folks who have lived here their whole lives. But, like Davis Square or Central or even Kendall and Porter, dense and exciting clusters of stores with a ton of foot traffic and interesting architecture are fairly rare once you leave the coasts. There are a ton of cookie cutter towns out there, with only a couple of strip malls on a four lane road to entertain them. But we here in the Camberville have a wealth of squares that intrigue us, allow for walkable bar crawls, and let us spend money on all sorts of cool stuff without having to drive 45 minutes to do so. Love your squares, Boston. Love them and realize how rare they are.

Bar crawls are not a positive for 15 year olds with their parents.

I repeat. I'm not saying harvard square sucks or don't go there. I'm saying there are better places to stay. Because there are.

Also I spend literally 7 days a week at harvard. What teenagers hang out there? Cambridge ringe and Latin kids yelling at each other in the yard after school? This doesn't sound familiar to me at all.

I also think that yelp reviewer is probably from some small town.

Very strange recommendation for someone who specifically want to go to St Anthony's festival. Didn't say anything about "we want to travel from Gibraltar to watch harvard kids move in."

[timberline742]

Harvard museums are great for 15 year olds. The museum of comparative zoology, maps museum, art museums, etc.

Harvard Square used to be the place to hang in high school, we all came in from the suburbs to hang in the pit, buy and listen to music, etc. Don't know if that is the case anymore.

Still, I'd do back bay and visit there.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Bar crawls are not a positive for 15 year olds with their parents.

I repeat. I'm not saying harvard square sucks or don't go there. I'm saying there are better places to stay. Because there are.

Also I spend literally 7 days a week at harvard. What teenagers hang out there? Cambridge ringe and Latin kids yelling at each other in the yard after school? This doesn't sound familiar to me at all.

I also think that yelp reviewer is probably from some small town.

Latin kids'll do that. Actually, just about any other kids will to.

We came down from Montreal a coupla weeks ago and had reserved a hotel apartment in Back Bay. Garrison Square is a bit expensive but is suited up like a home. Picked up groceries and shared breakfast and supper w our two sons, 18 and 21. Each had a room and the younger one slept on a convertible. It was 2 grand for 6 nights and the summer is double that. But the back bay area is definitely central to Boston. It makes it easy to go North South or hop on a T to Cambridge or even a walk to Harvard Square on an easygoing amble across the bridge takes about an hour. Boston is very dense and the side streets are just as pretty as Commonwealth Avenue. Unless your son is aching to go-cart and hates contemplative stuff, just walking around Harvard, is a buzz.

Groceries meant that we saved a lot on restaurants and had a meeting time at the hotel for supper. The cost of groceries though was quite a bit more than in Canada. Boston is definitely more expensive a market than say, Vermont; where traditionally, Quebeckers shop for cheaper even with the 30% exchange deficit.

The museums are top notch. The Fogg at Harvard is great. We were overwhelmed by the MFA, much like a visit to the Met can drain if you don't take a day to do it well. I regret not taking in the Gardner museum instead on our last day. All in all, a great city.