Staycation - Massachusetts (Boston, Worcester, Waltham: house, university, restaurants)

[capecodcathy]

I loved Salem Willows. I hear they've done a lot of renovations, too. Lots of good, reasonably priced restaurants in Salem, too.

[lrfox]

I agree with Battleship Cove in Fall River. It's really cool.

My favorite in the state (aside from Boston of course) is the Whaling District National Historic Park in New Bedford. I've plugged it before on this forum, but it really is a hidden gem. It's 16 blocks of Downtown New Bedford complete with cobbled streets, shops, restaurants, art galleries, museums, etc.

Within this historic park you have easy walking access to the New Bedford Whaling Museum (the biggest and best of its kind), the New Bedford Oceanarium, the New Bedford Museum of Art, A Fire Museum, and like I said 10-15 private art galleries (Gallery X, and the UMass Dartmouth Gallery shouldn't be missed). New Bedford was Herman Melville's home when he worked on a whaling ship and wrote Moby Dick. Many of the famous landmarks in the book are open to the public in the city (the Seamen's Bethel across from the Whaling Museum is probably the most famous). It was also home to Fredrick Douglas and a HUGE stop on the underground railroad. Tours to famous sites can be organized here.

New Bedford was once the wealthiest city in the world (known as the city that lit the world) because of its whaling fleet. Most of the captains mansions and estates still exist and some are open as musuems or bed and breakfasts. My favorites are the Rotch-Jones-Duff House (musuem) and the Octagon House (B&B).

Seeing as the city is still a major fishing port (the highest grossing fishing port in the nation, to be exact) the seafood is phenominal. I suggest the Waterfront Grille on the city's downtown waterfront. You can also tour the harbor on a tour boat or take a ferry to Cuttyhunk or Martha's Vinyard. Visiting the Schooner Ernestina is cool too.

All that is in the downtown area. If you want to leave, head to Fort Rodman/Fort Tabor in New Bedford's Southern tip is gorgeous. Also, visit the Buttonwood Park Zoo set in the large and beautiful Buttonwood Park designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead (who designed NYC's Central Park).

This post is getting longer than I had hoped, but a great time to visit the city is during one of the MANY festivals.
Summerfest was last weekend
Whaling City Festival is this coming weekend
the Portuguese Feast is the best and largest of its kind in the world. LOTS to do. My personal favorite... it's July 30, 2009- August 2.
The Working Waterfront Festival is another good one. It's in September.

Check New Bedford 360, the City of New Bedford official site, Southcoast247, The New Bedford Standard Times for updated info on what's going on in that area.

[capecodcathy]

Excellent post, as usual!

[holden125]

There's so much to do in Massachusetts and everyone's got a lot of good suggestions. Obviously, there are all the activities in Boston. Museums, parks, Freedom Trail, JFK Library, etc., and a great system of state parks and reservations, along with plenty of beaches. Other specific ideas:

The Boston Harbor Islands are beautiful and often overlooked.

It's nice to spend a day in Marblehead, Salem and/or Gloucester and Rockport.

Plimouth Plantation.

Lexington and Concord.

Battleship Cove in Fall River (and the Lizzie Borden house), and the New Bedford whaling historic district, as lrfox explained better than I could.

The Cape--plenty to do, much accessible for a day trip or a weekend.

You can take the ferry to Oak Bluffs, on the Vineyard, and check out the gingerbread cottages and the nearby State Beach, without spending the night.

Springfield has the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Dr. Seuss memorial near a series of museums, and the Forest Park Zoo.

Historic Deerfield and the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is in Stockbridge.

Just beyond the state line are places like Providence, Newport, Portsmouth and Portland that are fairly easily accessible from eastern Mass.

[redpanda]

I love to hit the DeCordova in Lincoln--so beautiful, unexpected, and peaceful. You can even bring along a picnic and eat it in the sculpture gardens. We also love to trek to North Adams for Mass MoCA. Continuing the arty theme, the Isabella Stuart Gardner museum is a great place to while away a too-hot summer afternoon.

[capecodcathy]

Wonderful suggestions. Forgot to include on of my personal favorites. Newport RI. That's a lovely day trip. Not MA, but still New England.

[clevedark]

A daytrip to Newport is fantastic. I just took my parents and they said it had a comparable wow factor as a trip to Europe. One caveat-- mansion admission prices are steep.

And for the Berkshires don't forget the free dance outdoor dance performances at Jacobs' Pillow.

A place I love to take visitors in Boston is the Boston Public Library on Copley Square. It is incredibly beautiful and has an amazing courtyard. And this year there's a brand new fancy restaurant.

And a walk around the North End is always nice.

[goyguy]

Here I go again, with my umpteenth plug for...ROCKPORT:
Bearskin Neck - blocks of scrunched-together funky shops purveying everything from leather goods to New Age crystals to the inevitable T-shirts to dog accessories to "motel art" to Chinese novelties, for starters, along with not only the predictable fried-seafood joints but a Mexican/Italian casual restaurant + Roy Moore Lobster Co + Top Dog for dressed-up "franks" + Helmut's Strudel. At the end you can enjoy a wide-ranging view toward Europe, just beyond the "occasion dining" establishment called My Place by the Sea.
Dock Square and Main St - more of the same. Must-visit merchants? Tuck's, proof that the candy store didn't die with Fanny Farmer; Toad Hall Bookstore; and The Galleree for eclectic antiques, folk-art objects such as the coolest watering cans you'll ever see, and still more neat stuff sold by zany proprietors.
Twin Lights - the only paired lighthouses still in operation, easily visible from Marmion Way and Penzance Rd among other streets, reachable only by boats which make the trip on Wednesdays and weekends.
Halibut Point State Park - An abandoned granite quarry with surrounding woods, lightly visited but with fantastic vistas (all the way to Maine on sunny clear days, it's said.)
The Paper House - A cottage with its facade, and a large share of its furnishings, made entirely of pressed and "treated" newspapers. This place makes it into all the "offbeat America" guidebooks.

Rockport's easy to get to by car. Just keep going beyond the end of 128; take 127-A from 127 to see Twin Lights and some surviving farms before arriving in Dock Square from the south, or stay on 127 to head for Halibut Point and the Paper House. Reaching the tip of "the other Cape" without wheels is a cinch via commuter rail from North Station, but the feasibility of that depends on one's willingness to walk 2-3 miles in order to reach the attractions which lie outside the center of town.

During the summer especially, Rockport has a lot of art and music activities going on among other events. Visit Rockport, MA | Travel Guide for Rockport, Massachusetts for a calendar, as well as for the lowdown on places to see and - if time and funds allow - places to stay the night.

[DreamworksSKG]

take one of the "T" busses from Copley Square--I think its the 9 or 10 out to City point in Southie and spenad a half day -afternoon-evening at Castle Island, or wear your bathing suit and go to the beach there for a swim--in the lagoon--or you can just watch the ships in the harbor, see the airplanes landing real close (fun if you have kids who like to watch planes--you can almost see people in the windows) , maybe meet some locals or other tourists and walk around the 3 mile loop around the lagoon --its around 2-3 miles or so around the whole way...lots to see and do and explore for kids.--and adults alike.

Dont forget to bring your camera and extra batteries and check out the fishermen on the wharf and the sailbots in the harbor.

Going back you walk a block to P st. in South Boston and wait for one of the busses back to the "T" stations Andrew Square (red line), South Station (red line) or (Copley Square) (Downtown)..--(green Line)(orange Line)(Back bay)

(just read the "T" bus stop sign for info on which bus #'s and such to get back)

[DreamworksSKG]

Castle Island, Boston Harbor

Department of Conservation and Recreation

Rye Reflections: Castle Island in South Boston becomes a walkers' paradise

Castle Island Beach - Dorchester - South Boston, MA

nine3 MDC Directions

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