visiting in Newton (Boston, Cambridge, Waltham: hotel, restaurants, shops)

[fall_xu]

I will spend one week in Newton(Marriot hotel nearby) for the business trip. This is first time for Newton. Can anyone recommend some places for visiting after work? Or any shops or restaurants near the hotel within 30 minutes walk? Thanks.

[thao]

is that the hotel near the Shaws on the western edge of Newton? If so, not a lot to be honest...
If there's a T station nearby take that downtown or to Cambridge, and you'll find some interesting places.

the Park St. area downtown has some cool places (Falafel King) and it's a fun place in general. Harvard Sq. is arguably mainstream and "boring" nowadays but still worth a visit.

[ogre]

The Newton Marriott is in the Auburndale section of Newton. That is mainly a residential area. There are a very few small stores and such in Auburndale, but not a lot.

I agree with Thao that if you want a lot of possibilities for dining and shopping you may want to take public transit into Boston. The Auburndale commuter rail station is within walking distance of the Marriott. Be aware that after early afternoon there are no trains inbound to Boston that stop at this station. Once in Boston, though, you will find plenty of trains back out to Newton.

If the commuter rail schedule is not convenient for you, you can also walk to the Riverside stop on the green line light rail. Riverside is located on Grove St. The green line trains run more often than commuter rail, though it's a longer ride into downtown Boston, maybe about 45 minutes to the center of downtown Boston, as opposed to 25-30 minutes or so by commuter rail.

By light rail, which becomes a subway once you get close to downtown Boston, the trip could take more or less than this 45-minute estimate, depending on your exact destination. The trip by commuter rail will vary in length as well, depending on which train station you go to, and how far you travel from there to your destination.

Here is a link to the transit system's website, so you can check the schedules: MBTA.com > Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System.

If you'd prefer to stay closer to the hotel, you can walk from the Newton Marriott to West Newton in about 30 minutes. There are a number of restaurants in West Newton's commercial district. The next closest commercial district with a variety of restaurants is downtown Waltham, but that would be a longer walk from the Marriott. It would probably take nearly an hour to walk to downtown Waltham from the hotel.