Boston POPs!
We try to make an annual trip to Boston to meet with friends and see legendary Maestro John Williams conduct the Boston Pops Orchestra. With its public parks, Charles River Esplanade, great museums, Prudential Center, Harvard Yard…the list goes on…it’s a great city for a weekend getaway.
Dream
It suits us to stay in a hotel that’s in close proximity to Symphony Hall, so here are our top two choices:
Mandarin Oriental: Adjacent to the Prudential Center on Boylston Street, you can nearly make it to Symphony Hall without stepping outside. But not quite. The rooms are luxurious and the staff exudes quality customer service.
Four Seasons: While not as close to Symphony Hall, the rooms are equally as nice but the hotel feels much bigger and busier. Opposite the Public Garden.
Dine
When in Boston our evenings are generally arranged on a tight schedule, centering around Pops performances, and so we try to eat close to Symphony Hall. This means many evenings spent in our traditional post-concert favorite late night dinner destination, The Cheesecake Factory, at the Prudential Center.
On non-concert evenings, we do have a few other local favorites.
Dinners:
Scampo at the Liberty Hotel: Upscale Italian dining in this chic modern restaurant in the Liberty Hotel.
Toscano, Beacon Hill: Another Italian restaurant, this time serving Tuscan inspired cuisine in a more traditional yet upscale setting on Charles Street.
Bin 26 Enoteca: Neighborhood wine bar style restaurant which is casual but refined, with an international wine list and over 60 wines by the glass.
And for breakfast/brunch:
The Paramount, Charles Street: Another Boston tradition, serving American comfort food in a cafeteria style setting. Great omelets and pancakes.
Clink at the Liberty Hotel: Eat breakfast behind bars in this restaurant set inside the converted Suffolk County Jail by the Charles River.
Beacon Hill Bistro, Charles Street: Extensive breakfast menu in this modern, upscale bistro on Boston’s most picturesque street.
Coffeeholics try Pavement Coffeehouse on Newbury Street, for great Counter Culture Coffee and hand-crafted kettle-boiled bagels and sandwiches. Perfect place for a convenient lunch on the go.
Do
Boston has a great mix of cultural, sports and historical activities for tourists to enjoy.
Cultural:
Symphony Hall, Massachusetts Avenue: Home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, this hall built in 1900 is widely regarded as acoustically one of the top concert halls in the World. Whether it is during the Symphony season, the Holiday Pops or the Spring Pops, there is no finer place to experience live orchestral music. We try to visit during the Spring Pops season in May/June to see America’s greatest living composer, Laureate Conductor Maestro John Williams, lead the Pops in his famous Film Nights.
Explore The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Huntington Avenue: One of the USA’s great museums, and its fourth largest, the MFA contains 450,000 works ranging from mummies to modern art! Highlights include French impressionist and post-impressionist paintings by Gauguin, Manet, Monet and Renoir.
Sports Enthusiasts:
Fenway Park: Catch a game at historic Fenway Park, legendary home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
TD Garden: See the Celtics run up and down the famous parquet floor at the Boston Garden.
Exercise:
Run along the Charles River loop, a 17-mile-plus cycling and running path that extends on both sides of the river. Along the way there are great views of the City, Cambridge, and landmarks such as the Arthur Fiedler Memorial Statue and the Hatch Shell, famous for the annual televised 4th of July Boston Pops concerts.
Hubway Bike Share System: Use the city’s extensive bike share program, with over 1,600 bikes at over 160 stations throughout Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. It’s a great way to explore the Charles River and take a trip across to Cambridge to see Harvard Yard on the Harvard University campus.
Tourist Attractions:
Shop on Newbury Street: This quaint mile-long shopping street is lined by 19th-century brownstones containing a range of retailers from high-end boutiques to more bohemian offerings.
Explore Boston Common and the Public Garden: These two city parks in downtown Boston are bounded by Tremont Street, Boylston Street, Arlington Street, Beacon Street and Park Street, and are divided by Charles Street. The larger, Boston Common dating from 1634, is the oldest city park in the USA. The Public Garden contains a pond where you can ride on the famous swan boats. The elegant park is arranged in the style of an English landscape garden.
Grab a drink at the Cheers Bar, Beacon Street: The original Cheers Bar in Beacon Hill, by the Public Garden, used for exterior establishing shots only for the TV series. A replica of the interior bar set has been constructed on the ground floor.