Visiting Boston in June- weekend to explore what will I do? (Cambridge: sale, hotels)

[Gabrielle Cooper]

I am visiting from Australia to do a course at Harvard and will have one weekend off- what to fun and energetic to do?
Gabrielle

[smarty]

Duck or Trolley tour will bring you to all the tourist place.
Boston Tours and Ticket Center. Your Ticket to Boston's Old Town Trolley tours, sightseeing, attractions and discount tickets.

Boston Duck Tours

You can also check out Things to do - Events around Greater Boston - Boston.com

Boston sights, attractions, hotels and things to do while visiting Boston - Boston.com

[ogre]

It depends on what you like to do. If you enjoy weekends in scenic places, you might want to head for a beach (generally more broad and sandy south of Boston and more rocky coastline to the north, and the water will be pretty brisk almost everywhere in June), or north to the lakes or mountains in New Hampshire, or west to the Berkshire Hills. The mountains also provide opportunities for hiking, if you're interested in more vigorous outdoor activities.

If you want to stay right in town, there are various possibilities, depending on what you enjoy. Spectator sports? You might at least check out the possibility of getting to a Red Sox game. If you're interested in this, I'd start checking now about getting tickets. They sell out every game, so finding tickets at the last minute is tough. The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: Homepage

If you're an arts and culture afficianado, you might check out the Boston Pops performances at Symphony Hall. Here's the link to their schedule: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Two first-rate art museums worth checking out, if art interests you, are the Museum of Fine Arts, MFA Boston: Home, and the Gardner Museum, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The Museum of Science is not exactly in the realm of high culture, but is worth checking out if it's of interest. It's one of the big-leauge science museums in the U.S. Museum of Science, Boston | Home You may also want to pay the aquarium a visit. Home page

I'm not sure about the cost of these next two suggestions, but you might check out the possibility of a harbor tour, Boston Harbor Cruises sightseeing tours harbor tour boat cruise sunset cruise lighthouse boat USS Constitution, or do an internet search for the various whale watch tours that operate out of Boston as well as some smaller port towns in the metro area.

If you're interested in checking out some of the history in the area, the basic tour that hits the major historical spots in Boston is the Freedom Trail, https://store.thefreedomtrail.org/in...ATS&Category=2. There's plenty of other history to check out in the local area. It would take some research to find the specific places you might want to see, but a couple of areas to consider might be the Revolutionary War battle sites in Lexington and Concord, and Salem, where there were some notorious witch trials in the 17the century.

It seems to me that the best way to get to know any city is to wander around, do a little exploring, and find the local hangouts that you find appealing. This is the sort of thing you might do in your everyday free time, rather than during your main weekend off. It's not cut and dried that certain types of businesses are limited to certain neighborhoods, but areas to check out if you're looking for the largest choice of various kinds of businesses would be: Cambridge for small non-chain restaurants, and some small dance/music clubs; the North End for cozy Italian restaurants; Back Bay, especially Newbury Street, for upscale shopping and sidewalk cafes; Back Bay and Kenmore Square for larger clubs, and also some clubs in Allston. The more upscale restaurants are kind of scattered all over. You might also take a stroll along the waterfront on a nice day.

There's lots more, actually, but these are some ideas to get you started.

[Luke9686]

Red Sox game is a must. Buy from a scalper if you have too. Fenuil Hall is a good bet. So is seeing the Old State House, and Hanover street in the North End.

Boston Common and the public garden are cool too. If you want nightlife, Lansdowne street by Fenway is good. Also Harvard square in Cambridge.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

Red Sox game is a must. Buy from a scalper if you have too.

Please don't buy from scalpers!

Guide to Fenway Park » Red Sox Super Fan - Blog and Guide to Getting Tickets

On Game Days, there are ALWAYS tickets available for that day’s game. Many times, they are excellent seats (that were saved for players and last-minute VIPs). I have gotten 5th row behind the on-deck circle, Green Monster, and Right Field roof tables on day of game multiple times in the past. Its all about timing.

Call the automated line or the box office directly right at 10:00 am - often tickets are available only on the phone or from a rep and not online.
Go online around 10:15 and keep checking - they will often release tickets to the website soon after they open. Even for sold out games, tickets will be dropped and you can get lucky.
Check online again after lunch, like 1:00 or so. This is when the preium tickets get released. I’ve seen it happen any time between 12:00 and 3:00. They usually last only a couple minutes becuase I’m not the only one who has figured this out, but again, the more persistent you are, the better your chances are.
Go to the park early. The box office DOES NOT sell tickets on game day - there is a separate window on Landsdowne St. by gate C. You will see a large line - all of the unclaimed and last minute tickets to the park go on sale here 2 hours before game time. I’ve been told they release an average of 200 tickets here, sometimes more, sometimes less.
Not many people know this, but Fenway Park has a scalp-free section behind the park next to the Ted Williams statue. This is where fans with extra tickets can sell their tickets at face value to other fans. It is regulated by Red Sox staff to ensure scalpers stay away. I know people who got World Series tickets waiting here, though a typical day at scalp free sees only about a dozen or so tickets exchange hands (at least for the more popular games).
Last but not least, wait out the scalpers. Once the game starts, prices drop. Take a stroll back to Kenmore station and then back to Fenway Park - at this point, they want to go home as much as you want to go to the game, and are often willing to dump the few remaining tickets they have for face value or less.

[maggiekate]

eTo see the Red Sox, if you enjoy this is a plus- a week end is not much time! Boston
Commons, and the Swan Boats-Walking the freedom trail. maybe either riding the t to Cambridge, or to visit Cape Cod, and see the Beach? To see The Red Sox if at night-
would be great. It goes way back to the Boston History, and Babe Ruth! A bus will take you to Cape Cod-Hyannis-or even Plymouth. To visit the Parker House-just to walk in is history!