What to do Saturday in Boston

RinSly · February 2015

I can't be the only person who settled for friday/sunday passes judging by how fast Saturday sold out. (This happened last year as well but, weather was awesome and my husband was with me (he had a logistics fail this year and can only come Friday) and we wandered on that red brick history tour walk.) I am at loose ends for Saturday because the snow sort of rules out my default option of what to do in a strange city (ie go on an epic walk until I come across something cool or get lost and need a cab back to the hotel).

I'm looking at museums in Boston, is one particularly cooler then the others? (Is fine art a lot bigger then the contemporary one, is the science center still cool to go to w out kids along etc?) Some great cafe ppl reccomend for lunch?Is there some awesome coffee shop to hole up in with a book and people watch? Are tours of the library really a thing? Is there some group of Saturday passless misfits like me having a card/board/etc game thing? Or, is my best bet to find a party Friday night and be too concerned w nurcing my hangover until the friend who's using my husband's Sunday pass shows up around dinner?

(Ok. That was a wall of questions...basically the fact I will need a destination in mind bc it's too cold to just explore is throwing me off. Can't windowshop on Newbury in the snow. I'm staying in back bay if it helps.)

Tonkafriend · February 2015

Here are a few ideas for ways to spend Saturday. It's supposed to be pretty sunny with a high in the upper '30's, so not too bad for a roam around the city. The area around Faneuil Hall and North End is fun. I love the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. There's a courtyard where you can just sit and soak up the sun and pretend you're in Italy. If you're totally sick of slogging around in the snow, Copley Square is neat. A maze of indoor walkways--really it's like a mall on steroids, with high-end stores. A bunch of hotels are connected to it, so you can hang out in their lounges with a nice cocktail and people watch, while enjoying free WiFi.

TheAggroCraig · February 2015

Museum of Science and Museum of Fine Arts are two solid choices if you've never done them before.

Go to Harpoon Brewery if you've never been, get a pretzel with peanut butter sauce. It's within walking distance of the convention center.

If you want to play board games, I'm sure if you're at the Westin there could be other people in a similar situation just hanging out playing stuff.

millerm277 · February 2015

Assuming it's a reasonably clear day, the observation deck in the Pru is definitely worth the money and has a nice audio tour thing to tell you what you're looking/give history if you're not local. I recommend late afternoon, watching the sun set from up there is great.

If you want to hole up in a cafe with a book....go to Trident on Newbury. Great breakfast/lunch food and great books. However, usually packed for breakfast/lunch hours on the weekend. In the afternoon it should be pretty decent for hanging out and reading with some coffee.

justastarkgenius · February 2015

So I live in Boston. If you're looking for a good, fun museum, go to the Museum of Science. It's fun without kids, still interesting, and I highly recommend the extra price for the butterfly garden. The Museum of Fine Arts is excellent if you want a slower, more introverted experience. The MoS won't take very long to walk through but there's a lot of interaction to be had. On the other hand, the MFA can take HOURS to get through all of, it has some wonderful food options, and the gift shop is beautiful. I also recommend going to the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. It has a hidden museum on the top floor that's a hidden gem, and it also has a wonderful enclosed courtyard that's beautiful. The cafes are pretty good there too.

punzie · March 2015

The museum of science is good, but you might want to consider the MIT museum. Still science stuff, it's smaller, but significantly cheaper and less crowded. Plus then you get to walk around MIT.

kensboro · March 2015

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
It was her home, but they call it a "Palace". If you tour it, you'll see why.
The art collection is astounding, and has to be worth hundreds of millions.
Not especially crowded, and you only need a few hours to get a worthwhile tour.

miker525 · March 2015

I have to agree with Punzie if you like cool science stuff MIT is an awesome place to go. Everyone is super friendly and they have stuff you probably will never see anywhere else. Can't say anything about the museum of science as I've never been but MIT is a really cool place.

techiemikey · March 2015

The museum of science is definitely fun, and I have gone there in the past few years in my 20's with no kids. For other ideas, the the Aquarium is also a solid choice. If you are looking for a small experience, something I've been trying to find the time to do is http://www.escapetheroomboston.com/ which is a cool thing to work your brain out with (but you need tickets in advance.) I am not sure about tickets/price, but if you want to see a show, the Blue Man Group has a permanent location in Boston, and is an experience.

LexiconGrrl · March 2015

RinSly wrote: »

I can't be the only person who settled for friday/sunday passes judging by how fast Saturday sold out. (This happened last year as well but, weather was awesome and my husband was with me (he had a logistics fail this year and can only come Friday) and we wandered on that red brick history tour walk.) I am at loose ends for Saturday because the snow sort of rules out my default option of what to do in a strange city (ie go on an epic walk until I come across something cool or get lost and need a cab back to the hotel).

I'm looking at museums in Boston, is one particularly cooler then the others? (Is fine art a lot bigger then the contemporary one, is the science center still cool to go to w out kids along etc?) Some great cafe ppl reccomend for lunch?Is there some awesome coffee shop to hole up in with a book and people watch? Are tours of the library really a thing? Is there some group of Saturday passless misfits like me having a card/board/etc game thing? Or, is my best bet to find a party Friday night and be too concerned w nurcing my hangover until the friend who's using my husband's Sunday pass shows up around dinner?

(Ok. That was a wall of questions...basically the fact I will need a destination in mind bc it's too cold to just explore is throwing me off. Can't windowshop on Newbury in the snow. I'm staying in back bay if it helps.)

The Westin lobby will have a gaming area on the Mezzanine all weekend. You could probably start a game there any time, and find other tabletop players looking for joiners in the evening.

Also, if you're into the Macabre, there's a medical science museum in Boston that's... memorable.

Rappak · March 2015

A got resource is punzie's magical mystery tour. You can get some great ideas there.

Elenym · March 2015

If you do wind up at the Museum of Science, we recently opened a new Planetarium show about spacecraft engineering which just happens to be narrated by Jennifer Hale (femShep, etc.). Just throwing it out there in case that sort of thing interests anyone.

You can find the trailer and showtimes here.

DearMisterKidnapper · March 2015

RinSly wrote: »

I can't be the only person who settled for friday/sunday passes judging by how fast Saturday sold out. (This happened last year as well but, weather was awesome and my husband was with me (he had a logistics fail this year and can only come Friday) and we wandered on that red brick history tour walk.) I am at loose ends for Saturday because the snow sort of rules out my default option of what to do in a strange city (ie go on an epic walk until I come across something cool or get lost and need a cab back to the hotel).

I'm looking at museums in Boston, is one particularly cooler then the others? (Is fine art a lot bigger then the contemporary one, is the science center still cool to go to w out kids along etc?) Some great cafe ppl reccomend for lunch?Is there some awesome coffee shop to hole up in with a book and people watch? Are tours of the library really a thing? Is there some group of Saturday passless misfits like me having a card/board/etc game thing? Or, is my best bet to find a party Friday night and be too concerned w nurcing my hangover until the friend who's using my husband's Sunday pass shows up around dinner?

(Ok. That was a wall of questions...basically the fact I will need a destination in mind bc it's too cold to just explore is throwing me off. Can't windowshop on Newbury in the snow. I'm staying in back bay if it helps.)

As a Bostonian, I think I can answer most of your questions. The Museum of Science is ALWAYS cool regardless of your age. I would definitely check it out. The Museum of Fine Arts is larger than the Institute of Contemporary Art. I like them both, but I would go with the MFA over the ICA. Or even try ice skating on the Frog Pond.

I love Fire and Ice. There are two, one in Boston (kinda near the MFA) and one near Harvard University in Cambridge. They have all kinds of food to please anyone, and it is a completely new experience.

There is a cool Ice Bar in Faneuil Hall...if you want to get even more chilly.

I am willing to answer any questions you may have! Good luck!

ltgrunt · March 2015

My wife and I made it up here on Sunday and we're spending the week being tourists. We hit the Museum of Science today and we had a great time. The Lightning Show hosted by Terry was a fun demonstration - we both really enjoyed it.

BluestreakWRX · March 2015

I think I have some passes to the Museum of Science that I can get you, if you want to meet me on Friday. I'll check tonight when I get home.

bostongirl97 · March 2015

The main branch of the Boston Public Library in Copley Sq is free and beautiful to wander around in, also the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill Monument and their corresponding museums are free, if you're looking to pay for admission you can't go wrong with the Science Museum or the NE Aquarium, and if you have a kid the LegoLand Discovery Zone in Somerville is on the orange line and so much fun... there's also several movie theaters, the freedom trail, trolley tours...

bostongirl97 · March 2015

ltgrunt wrote: »

My wife and I made it up here on Sunday and we're spending the week being tourists. We hit the Museum of Science today and we had a great time. The Lightning Show hosted by Terry was a fun demonstration - we both really enjoyed it.

if you have some time to kill check out the Planetarium at the MoS, it's separate admission from the exhibit halls but the ones set to music are fun!

builderr0r · March 2015

Like others, I recommend the Museum of Science and the Aquarium. There's also Improv Asylum if you're into improv comedy. And if you're staying in Back Bay, get some delicious frozen yogurt from Pinkberry!

kensboro wrote: »

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
It was her home, but they call it a "Palace". If you tour it, you'll see why.
The art collection is astounding, and has to be worth hundreds of millions.
Not especially crowded, and you only need a few hours to get a worthwhile tour.

I live right by that museum and I've never gone inside lol. ><

yolomcswaggytots · March 2015

If you enjoy ice skating, I recommend going downtown to frog pond. It's been a while since I went there, but it's beautiful at night with all the lights, and there are also some nice people

BluestreakWRX · March 2015

I have passes to the Museum of Science. PM/DM/Facebook/Tweet me if interested.

Gaus · March 2015

One of the locations of the MOBA ( Museum of Bad Art ) is located in the basement of the Somerville Theatre and is free with the purchase of a ticket to a movie. The museum is one of three locations, that are all small, but that's the easiest to get to ( Davis Square on the Red Line ). And if you want to just see a movie, just get there a half an hour early. Also, near Porter Sq which has some nice Japanese cafes in the mall, and Harvard Sq which also has some nice shops.

http://www.museumofbadart.org/
http://feitheatres.com/somerville-theatre/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/café-mami-cambridge-2

RinSly · March 2015

Thank you everyone! I think I will end up checking out the library (bc free is good) and maybe the Isabella Gardner palace bc it seems to be the closest to my hotel. I did the Freedom trail a few years ago, but, idk that I want to mess w that in the snow lol.

You guys have made me feel much better about being at loose ends on Saturday, I'm actually looking forward to it instead of being anxious now. Much

Lucid_Seraph · March 2015

I highly recommend the Boston Public Library -- it's free, it's a gorgeous building, and there's books.

I also suggest the New England Aquarium. THEY HAVE A SHARK AND MANTA RAY PETTING ZOO!!! YOU CAN PET SHARKS :O (they do not bite. They are very small sharks, and mostly afraid of you, but they like pettings.)

ltgrunt · March 2015

Tourism update: My wife and I hit the Aquarium and the Museum of Fine Arts today. Both were pretty great.

The Aquarium you can do in a few hours even if you like to read every plaque. And as Lucid_Seraph said, you can pet rays and sharks. That was pretty awesome - especially the huge leopard ray.

The MFA I recommend devoting a good five hours to if you want to take it all in. Or, alternatively, you can hit the 12 "greatest hits" they have listed on the back of the MFA map and wrap it up in about an hour.

Arinikus · March 2015

Just saw this post and idk if you're still interested but I actual ly have a pass for Saturday (and Friday if anyone needs it) that I've been trying to offload. If you want it, it's yours.

tapauly · March 2015

LexiconGrrl wrote: »

Also, if you're into the Macabre, there's a medical science museum in Boston that's... memorable.

Is that this: http://www.yelp.com/biz/warren-anatomical-museum-boston ? It sounds interesting, I'd like to check it out!

mzaleski · March 2015

If you are staying close to the convention center there are some great options. The Institute of Contemporary Art (http://www.icaboston.org/) is a stellar are museum, with a cool view and some decent exhibits. If you want to go a bit further, the Museum of Fine Arts (http://www.mfa.org/) it also great.

RinSly · March 2015

Arinikus wrote: »

Just saw this post and idk if you're still interested but I actual ly have a pass for Saturday (and Friday if anyone needs it) that I've been trying to offload. If you want it, it's yours.

you are awesome. Ive got a friend coming to keep me company now tho so, one pass wouldnt work.

sigma8 · March 2015

Everyone's already made great suggestions. To those, I'll add what seems like a glaring omission to me: Harvard.

Harvard just opened a brand new, renovated, museum building that combines three previous collections and puts them under one giant roof. I have seen some of the collections separately, but I haven't actually been to the new building yet. After years of construction it just re-opened like two weeks ago or so. Located on Quincy St right across the street from Sever Hall in Harvard Yard. Website is here: http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/

You can also work your way up to Divinity Ave and check out Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum (Archaeology and Anthropology). While you're there, you can check out Memorial Hall (looks like a gigantic church, but isn't; lobby is open to public).

In this weather, I'd probably stick to the museums, but the campus is generally fun to explore. Many buildings are not restricted to students (and of course, a bunch are, too).

I listed a bunch of places to eat in Harvard Square in this thread, technically derailing it.

Whatever you do, enjoy yourself on Saturday!

Penny Arcade

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