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Row of houses

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Faneuil Hall

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BOSTON SIGHTSEEING, PRACTICAL INFORMATION, TOURIST DEALS, DAY TRIPS AND MORE at BOSTONFORTOURISTS.COM

Where to stay and how to get around

In advance of your trip, choose your hotel. Boston prides itself on being a walking city and also has excellent public transportation. Parking is a pain, and the driving style is legendary. So if you can go without your own set of wheels if visiting for a few days, it will make for a less stressful time. Either download maps ahead of time, or stop at your AAA office, so you get a lay of the land, and choose to stay either within walking distance of major attractions, or else close to a major train stop. Also consider picking up one of many excellent guidebooks (e.g. Frommer's is always down-to-earth) for you to have during your visit for quick reference. Here are some links to get you started:

For a relatively decent map, although not completely detailed enough, try http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&&csz=Boston+MA+&Get%A0Map=Get+Map

For transportation information, see: http://www.cityofboston.gov/transportation/modes.asp You may also want to see http://www.mbta.com/traveling_T/schedules_subway.asp and cross-reference against your map.

For transportation further afield, see: http://www.mbta.com/

As you are figuring out the way the city is structured, either in choosing your activity plan or hotel, notice that the streets that run across Newbury Street from the Public Garden to Massachusetts Avenue are alphabetically arranged. Starting at the Common they are Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester and Hereford. This sort of pattern is always helpful in getting oneself acclimated, or just getting re-oriented after getting lost!

As Boston is such a major tourist destination, you can certainly check an online booking source like http://www.hotels.com/

Note also from the transportation map that Logan International Airport is well connected via public transportation to the city.

*For information on dog-friendly hotels, see the Travel and Tidbits page of poochsite.com (link below).

Where to dine

As befits a city of Boston's sophistication, the dining is anything you would want it to be. Seafood lovers should be in fish or shellfish heaven here, and of course, New England clam chowder is native to these parts. The famous Legal Seafood is an establishment with a history, and a stop for lunch at the Faneuil Marketplace area is a must-do! If you get a Zagat, it will rate restaurants, and will also categorize them in terms of cuisine, price etc. For a useful online browse, try: http://www.boston.com/ae/food/restaurants/