Boston Things to Do Tips by dinhyen

Boston doesn't aspire to be a garden city like Victoria or Portland. Yet its many parks and green spaces explode with colors with the arrival of Spring. You don't have to look far. On the banks of the Charles, along the streets of Back Bay, indeed throughout the city you can see the whirling kaleidoscope of colors. The dreariness of winter is completely replaced by the exuberance of Spring. It's almost as if the city and its soul experience a rebirth.

The showpiece of the springtime metamorphosis is the Public Garden. The stars of the show are the carpets of multicolored tulips, but others are no less lively. Pink and white cherry blossoms adorn one side of the park, while weeping willows festooned with yellow blossoms dip their droopy branches into the lake. Colorful mallards create crisscrossing trails on the water. The elegant statues and monuments of the garden become winsome ornaments for this colorful display.

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Directions: Subway Green line, Arlington stop, or Red line, Park Street stop.

Boston is a great city for walking. You can explore most of the downtown area on foot. Summer is a popular season with tourists, most of whom take the Freedom trail, which is a great idea. You can do the trail in its entirety, or you can take a short detour and explore Boston Harbor.

One of the oldest in North America, Boston Harbor hasn't yet experienced the transformation/renewal seen at other harbor city (like San Francisco's Pier 39). This is a blessing, as you can catch the winds and a view of the ocean on the wharf without being pestered by a tacky souvenir shop.

The mainstay of the Harbor is the New England Aquarium. Though not the biggest or the best in the world, it's charming and has many interesting exhibits. It's even the setting for a movie ("Next Stop: Wonderland"). On Long Wharf, there are many cruise ship operators that can take you for a tour of Boston Harbor, around the Harbor islands, or to Stellwagen Banks in the Atlantic for whale-watching. Once you're done, head to the North End for a sumptuous supper and dessert.

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Directions: Subway Blue line, Aquarium stop, or Orange line, Haymarket stop.

Autumn evokes conflicting emotions. On the one hand, you're looking forward to the fantastic display of colors. On the other hand, you feel a lingering sadness, perhaps in contemplating the unstoppable passage of time, or perhaps in mourning for the end of beach season?

Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain is the best place to experience the autumn in Boston. It's almost as if you've entered into a different world. Tranquility pervades here, the only sounds being the cracks of falling leaves.

Arnold Arboretum is the terminus of the Emerald Necklace, a chain of parkland which begins at the Public Garden. The Emerald Necklace is best experienced on a bicycle. Begin at the Public Garden, ride along the Mall on Commonwealth Ave. Cross into the the Fens before you get to Kenmore Square. Ride along the Fens, passing the Museum of Fine Arts and many stately buildings. At the end of the Fens, cross over Rte 9 to Leverett Pond. Ride through Olmsted park, there are many hiking trails here. Cross into Jamaica Ponds, one of the nicest body of water in Boston. From Jamaica Pond, it's only a short ride to the Arnold Arboretum. You can ride in the Arboretum, or if you're in the mood, Franklin Park is another 15 minute away.

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Directions: Orange line, Forest Hills stop, or bike there. You can either bike along the Emerald Necklace or along the Pierre Lallement Bikepath, which runs parallel to the subway Orange Line.
Website: www.arboretum.harvard.edu

When the last yellow leaves fall to the ground, the Frog Pond in Boston Common turns into a giant outdoor ice rink. It's best experienced on a crisp Sunday afternoon when the slanting rays of the sun warm your cheeks and the back of your neck. Many visitors here take a detour from their shopping spree in nearby Downtown Crossing, from a gastronomic excursion to Chinatown, or from an afternoon in the Theater District. Of course, many come here just for the skating. Granted, the ice isn't the best, but few things are more pleasurable than gliding in the open air surrounded by a winter wonderland.

After a large snow storm, the Common turns into a giant snowpark. Sledders, young and old and all young at heart , line up at the top of the hill for a exhilarating ride down.

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Directions: Subway Red line, Park Street stop, or Green line, Boylston stop.
Website: www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/bostoncom

The most beautiful view of Boston is from the Cambridge side of the Charles, especially at sunset and at night. Here many tree-shaded bench give an expansive and unobstructed view of the Boston skyline across the river. At night the soft, colorful reflections on the water impart a romantic feel to the scene (but you didn't hear that from me :)

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Directions: Along Memorial Drive on either side of Massachusetts Ave.

This bridge is named for, you guessed it, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a prominent Bostonian. Its brick towers resemble salt and pepper shakers, which impart the bridge its local moniker. The subway's Red Line runs over the bridge, unarguably its most scenic stretch. As the train cross the bridge, most passengers usually crane their neck to look out at the scene spreading out before them.

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Beautiful views of the Boston skyline can be seen from one of the three bridges over the Charles River which connect Boston and Cambridge. The 0.5-mile Harvard Bridge, oddly named because Harvard is nowhere near there, is the longest. On one end is Boston's Back Bay, on the other is MIT's campus. It isn't measured in feet or meters but in "smoots", a product of an MIT fraternity's pranks. A "smoot" is a little more than 5 ft and is the purported height of one Oliver Smoot, who was so short he could only be used as a unit of measurement.

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This iron bridge is so named because one of its terminus is the campus of Boston University. This vantage point gives you an unobstructed view down the Charles River basin. The west is to your back, so at sunset you can catch the Boston skyline gleaming in the distance. In warm seasons, sail boats and rowboats crisscross the water below.

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The graceful necks of the swanboats have been a fixture of the Public Garden for ages. For $1 you too can glide across "Swan Lake". Don't expect anything too exciting, however. If anyone asks, you can always say you did it for the experience.

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The John Hancock Tower is the center piece of Copley Plaza. In fact, along with the Prudential Tower, it has become a centerpiece for Boston as well. At 60 stories high, it's the tallest building in New England. The observatory at the top gives visitors a 360 degree view of a vast landscape. In fact, on a clear day, it's said that the mountains of New Hampshire are visible from the observatory.

Designed by I.M. Pei, the building is distinguished by its sheer glass sides. On a sunny day the it looks almost transparent. As stunning as it is beautiful, and visible almost anywhere in Boston, this architectural jewel lives up to, indeed revels in, its status as the Boston landmark.

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Directions: Green line, Copley stop.