- Boston
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United States
The museum was established in 1998 as the public face of three research museums: the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum. The museum is beautifully cool and an oasis on a hot day. The beetle/spider exhibition is particularly fascinating. There are special exhibitions, at the time of our visit (Aug 2010) there was the Headgear exhibition: The Natural History of Horns and Antlers. There is a permanent evolution exhibition with displays of diversity within species, computer simulation of natural selection and a look at current research. There is a museum shop and weekend gallery visits which include hands-on activities with trained gallery guides.
26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138.
www.hmnh.harvard.edu/
Open 9-5 daily with adult admission at $9, children $6 with concessions for students and seniors
Google map: tinyurl.com/37qkmks
This delightful bed and breakfast is in Cambridge, very close to Harvard University. 150 years ago it was a country house. Today there are 20 rooms, each decorated in traditional New England style. Breakfasts are plentiful with the pancakes being a particular favourite. There is a well kept garden/terrace in which one can have breakfast under the shade of a Linden tree on warm mornings. The Inn is close to Harvard, MIT, Harvard Square, good restaurants, shops and local bus/subway routes.
6 Prentiss Street, Cambridge MA 02140 www.maryprentissinn.com
Google map; bit.ly/bC6hK9
Good value B&B ( for the area). Clean and the owner is genuinely caring. Shared bathrooms though. Good location next to Live & Kicking lobsters. Fresh, cheap and local lobsters. Also near fantastic wholefoods supermarket
Puttnam St Cambridge mid way between Central and Harvard Sq on the Red line. 10 mins walk from either. Bus route, 2 mins
Staggeringly cheap way of getting round - $15 for 7 full days - even timed. Connections between buses/subway excellent. Get into Boston/Cambridge for a few dollars from the airport. Machine at the airport.
All subway stations
The Go Boston Card is the perfect pass if you want to visit a lot of Boston attractions. The card can be purchased for 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 day increments. Once you have purchased the card you have the choice of visiting every attraction you can think of in Boston and surrounding areas.
Travel to Boston after a day or two enjoying the peace and tranquility of Truro, Cape Cod. Then jump on a ferry from province town and enjoy the landscape and rugged coastline of Massachusetts - watch out for the whales out at sea...
You'll be speechless as you enter the glorious Boston Harbour - watching the fantastic skyscrapers get bigger and bigger on the horizon! It's a must!
Head north into northern New Hampshire or Maine.
Get a car and drive up I93, keep going up towards Franconia Notch or deviate and head for the 'Lakes'.
Titlon and Conway have shopping outlets (NH has no sales tax) and there is the Conway Scenic Railroad which will provide you with a steam rail trip through the autumal colours.
Alternatively, head up I 95, stopping for lunch in Portsmouth NH, and up into Maine. Head north to the mountains.
Both are beautiful, inexpensive (especially with the current exchange rate) and away from the usual UK tourist spots.
www.conwayscenic.com/
www.santasvillage.com/
www.franconianotchstatepark.com/
www.maine.gov/doc/foliage/
www.visitmaine.com/package/3387/leaf_peeping_at_one_of_maines_gems_-_moosehead_lake/
www.lakesregion.org/Activities/FallHappenings/FoliageLeafPeeping/tabid/95/Default.aspx
While away an afternoon on pretty Newbury Street for chic Boston shopping - you'll find everything from Chanel and Marc Jacobs to Urban Outfitters. There are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops to break your journey.
While not completely unique to New England - I’ve heard there are some lanes in New York State and Florida - this bowling game is fun for the entire family.
The pins are posts and the balls are about the size of a softball. Anyone – from a 3-year-old to a person in a wheelchair – can be a competitive candlepin bowler, the weight of the ball has no bearing to one’s ability to aim and bowl it.
The downed wood remains on the alley and can be played to advantage or becomes a hazard. Because the pins are slender and the balls small, "splits" are a common challenge. Developing a well-placed “hook” is an asset.
It may take some telephoning to find an operating facility, but check out the Fairway Lanes on Rte. 9, Natick, Mass.
Come now, rent a car, get on the pike and head west. The trees are just changing colours, the apples are ready to pick, not to mention the pumpkins, and if you're in luck you might find an apple cider donut... home made almost. Don't forget to try a corn (maize) maze.
Mountainous trail near Boston, see it especially during October when the leaves are turning. Very pretty.
The I 90 is the main turnpike road through Mass. At this time of year the leaves are turning, the sky is blue and the rivers and lakes you will drive by on this easy road are glorious. A long straight major road, easier to find than the traditional "leaf peeper" routes up into NH or Maine.
I 90 W out of Boston.
It's a chain but the seafood is so good it's unmissable.
To see a stunning view of the Charles River and, on your left, the BU bridge, the Back Bay area, the Hancock Tower, the Prudential Centre and, on your right, the Museum of Science and the Zakin Bridge, there is no better place to be than the Red Line Train between Chalres/MGH and Kendall/MIT stops.
The train goes over the Charles River, and on a bright day the view is simply amazing. All for the cost of a "T" ride.
Plus, while you're on this train, you may as well stay on it to discover the joys of Cambridge, and all its wonderful squares - Central, Harvard, Porter, Davis, Inman, Teele.
The MBTA train. Charles/MGH station.
www.mbta.com for trip planning.
The traditional American accompaniment to a cup of coffee is a donut (or doughnut) and this chain of shops - beloved by policemen, workmen, me, and millions of others - has excellent coffee and excellent donuts.
www.dunkindonuts.com
or try a telephone directory
Go to Harvard Yard, the Harvard museums. Have cake and coffee at The High Rise Cafe on Brattle St. Go to the MIT Museum. Watch an independent film at the Kenmore Square Cinema. Go to the Central Sq nightspots - River Gods, Zuzu's, The Middle East.
Boston, apart from the Back Bay, the Common, and the Aquarium, is a bit boring and touristy. If you're from England, the historic sites won't seem very historic.
Central Sq - Harvard Sq on the subway red line
Take a tour on one of these restored WW2 amphbibious landing craft - a bit cheesy but a great way of seeing the city's best sites, both on land and water. Some of the tour guides seem to be better than others, but ours was a gem of a local!
Tour starts at the science park.
1797-built wooden sailing ship famous for its defeat of HMS Guerriere in War of 1812 naval battle, and subject of the 1830 Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem that saved it from demolition -
"Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,..."
Charlestown, Boston
www.ussconstitution.navy.mil
Locale for architecture, crowds, shops, eating in Boston's historic 19th c. Back Bay area. Notable are: Copley sq., Newbury St., Commonwealth Mall, Beacon St.
Copley Square underground station
One of the area's leading hospitals, should one need medical attention - emergency or otherwise - this hospital is famous for the high calibre of its patient care.
Brookline Ave., Boston
www.bidmc.harvard.edu
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