Boston General Tips by diver-x

Favorite Thing: The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is currently building a new exhibition space on Fan Pier in the Seaport District. The new facility promises to be a boon to the ICA, which is currently located in cramped quarters on Boylston Street. The new, huge, cantilevered building will have one of the best views in Boston as it will be located on the water, facing the harbor and Boston skyline across the water. The new space will allow the ICA to house the large exhibitions that are common today in contemporary art and will also allow the ICA to break into different disciplines, such as theater and music. Expect the ICA to join the likes of the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, New England Aquarium and the Children's Museum as a must-see on your museum tour of Boston.

The new ICA is expected to open its doors in Sept., 2006, and is located near Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant, the Seaport Hotel and Boston's World Trade Center.

Update:
The new ICA is complete! The location is awesome! Right on the harbor and on the new Harborwalk route which is my regular lunchtime stroll. Haven't been inside yet, but look forward to it soon. If you choose to drive, there's plenty of parking, but it's also on the Silver Line, Courthouse stop. World Trade Center stop on the Silver Line will work too.


Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: Take one of the trolley tours!
They're well worth it. You can make the tour as long or as short as you want since they let you get off and back on again later at points of interest (except for the Duck tours, which don't stop). I've taken a couple of tours when my family visited, and enjoyed each one. You can get tickets & information at South Station.
See this web site for more info:
http://www.trolleytours.com/Boston.htm

Fondest Memory: My favorite part of living in Boston is taking walks in the Arnold Arboretum. The Arboretum is a treasure! It was designed by the same man who designed Central Park in NYC, Frederick Law Olmstead, and is part of Boston's Emerald Necklace. Mostly you'll find locals walking their dogs (surprisingly, most DO clean up after their pooches) and great specimen trees & shrubs. In the spring and summer, the flowers are lovely. There is also a nice collection of bonzai on display in warmer months. Some of the plants are nearly 300 years old!

For more information on the Arnold Arboretum and Boston's Emerald Necklace, see these web sites:
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/
http://www.boston-online.com/emerald.html

Please see my Arnold Arboretum Travelogue!

By Public Transportation
Take the Orange Line to the Forest Hills Station. The Arboretum's Forest Hills Gate is a one-block walk northwest along the Arborway from the station.
Refer to the map of the MBTA subway:
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/mbta.gif
You can also take #39 bus to the Monument stop in Jamaica Plain. From there, walk five blocks south along Centre St. to the intersection with the Arborway (Rte. 203). The Hunnewell Building is located inside the Main Gate.

Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: Shop at Downtown Crossing, home of Filene's, Filene's Basement and Macy's. There are also hundreds of other shops, eateries and street vendors along this pedestrian shopping area of Washington St, Summer St and Winter St. You can get lunch and sit at a cafe table right outside of Filene's.

Take the Orange Line or the Red Line to Downtown Crossing or the Green Line to Park St.

Fondest Memory: Update:
It was a sad day for me when Macy's took over Filene's and sealed the fate of Filene's in Downtown Crossing, my favortie department store. With a Macy's just across the street, Filene's was closed and the building sold. The developers have now closed the entire building for renovations with luxury condos planned. This also means that Filene's basement (a separate entity from the regular Filene's department store) has also been temporarily closed until renovations are complete, which is expected to take 2 years! All of the street level take away stands are also closed, including my favorite burrito stand, Sabrosa's and the unique Chilean stand Chacararo's. No word on new locations for those places.

In my opinion, Downtown Crossing is now just a shadow of its former self. Although the mayor is allocating new funding to promote the area, he could start by running a street sweeper on a more regular basis and finding alternative quarters and help for the homeless. I haven't seen much in the way of improvement, and shops are closing right and left. If you want to shop in Boston then my advice for the foreseeable future is to try Newbury and Boylston Streets as well as Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market.

Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: Another must-see in Boston is the North End. Once an Irish enclave (Rose Kennedy was born here), the North End has become the center for Italian culture in the Boston area. Italian restaurants, bakeries, Mom & Pop grocery stores and pastry shops abound here. Get the best canoli at the Modern Pastry shop on Hanover Street, and go to Mike's Pastry for the ambiance (also on Hanover). My favorite restaurant in the North End is Piccola Venezia, right next to the Modern Pastry. It's unpretentious, affordable home cooking!

Catholic feasts are celebrated in the streets. The best time to experience a feast is at night, when the streets are all lit up and decorated. The oldest and most spectacular feast is the feast of the Madonna Del Soccorso, also known as the Fisherman's Feast. See this url for feast schedules and information:
http://www.northendweb.com/festival.htm

Getting to the North End is tricky by car. It's best to take the T and/or walk. It's about a 15 minute brisk walk from South Station, or 5 minutes from Faneuil Hall or the Haymarket. From Faneuil & Haymarket, just follow the signs. From South Station, take Atlantic Ave to Commercial Street or Public Alley 101. Then take your first left and walk a block or 2 to Hanover Street. Hanover is the center of activity in the North End.

See also my North End travelogue!

Fondest Memory: My transplanted European friends go to the North End when they feel homesick. They say the little markets, cafes and bakeries make them feel at home again.

Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: I get a lot of emails from people asking for advice about moving to Boston, so here's my general advice. Let me preface this by saying these are my OPINIONS gained from my experience living in several different areas in and around Boston, spending time at friends' places and looking at countless apartments & houses in many more areas. Also, I have a budget that does not allow me to live downtown or in swanky neighborhoods like Beacon Hill, so my advice is for the thrifty sort.

First, get to know Boston's public transit system, the MBTA, usually refered to as "The T". Where you want to live should be convenient to a "T stop" because you definitely don't want to drive to work every day. See www.mbta.com for information. My favorite way to commute is on the Commuter Rail, as opposed to the subway; Least favorite is the bus. Commuter rail lines are depicted by purple lines on the MBTA maps. The subway lines are the Red (north-west=>south-east), Blue (east & north), Orange (north-east=>south-west) and Green Lines (west).

Fondest Memory: Where I would live if I could afford it:
Newton Center, Chestnut Hill or Brookline Village (Green D Line)
Dedham or Needham (Needham Heights Commuter Rail)
Cambridge (Red Line) Arts, culture, good restaurants, pubs & history.

Where I have lived and liked it:
West Newton (Commuter Rail, Express bus or drive to Green D Line): Convenient to the Mass Pike, restaurants & shopping in Waltham, Watertown.
Roslindale (Needham Heights Commuter Rail or bus to Orange Line): Charming old-school Boston neighborhood. Great Greek food! The Arnold Arboretum nearby.
Medford (buses to Orange or Red Lines, Lowell Commuter Rail): Convenient to Route 93, 30 minute walk to Davis Square, Somerville, Tufts University.
West Roxbury (Needham Heights Commuter Rail, bus to Orange Line): Quiet, walk to restaurants, grocery store. Arnold Arboretum nearby.

Where I have spent a lot of time and would consider living:
Watertown (Express bus, bus to Red Line): Convenient to Harvard Square, great restaurants, Charles River bike path, shopping, convenient to Mass Pike.
Jamaica Plain (Orange Line): Great restaurants, pubs, garden shops, thriving arts community; Arnold Arboretum is right there.
Somerville - Davis Square (Red Line): Too many restaurants, pubs & entertainment to choose from, thriving arts community.
Wakefield (Haverhill Commuter Rail): Nice, social, suburban community with a pretty lake right downtown.
Melrose (Haverhill Commuter Rail): Lots of pretty, gingerbread Victorians.
Winchester (Lowell Commuter Rail): Charming old downtown area.

Places I avoid due to safety concerns (AGAIN, these are my OPINIONS. Please don't get mad at me if you disagree):
Roxbury
Mattapan
Dorchester
Mission Hill
East Boston
Revere, Chelsea and Everett are borderline neighborhoods in my opinion. There are nice places and not so nice places but I think the not so nice places outweigh the nice ones.

Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: Irish immigrants have been coming to Boston for centuries and the Irish community is a huge presence in town. Traditionally South Boston is the epicenter of Irish culture in Boston. St. Patrick's Day is a huge event and the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Southie is the 2nd largest in the United States. The parade is held on the first Sunday after St. Patrick's Day (March 17), at 1:00. The parade route starts at the Broadway subway stop on the Red Line and goes down W. Broadway, E.Broadway, E. 4th St and Dorchester Ave., ending up at Andrew Square (the Andrew stop on the Red Line).

Check out the Southie Parade web site: http://www.southieparade.org/


Leave a Comment