Boston event weekends: what to do between sessions

The Freedom Trail, Fenway Park and the harbour, with Harvard and MIT across the river in Cambridge.

Events we cover in Boston

Arriving

Logan (BOS) has free Silver Line buses to South Station and the Blue Line subway; downtown is 15 to 30 minutes away.

Where to stay

Three hotels we would book

• Budget: Freepoint Hotel Cambridge
• Mid-range: The Lenox Hotel
• Splurge: Fairmont Copley Plaza

Event weekends sell out early and prices rise as the date gets closer: book a cancellable room as soon as you know you are going.

Tours

Where to eat

• Neptune Oyster Lobster rolls in the North End
• Mike's Pastry Cannoli
• Quincy Market Food hall
• Union Oyster House Oldest restaurant in the US
• Mr. Bartley's Burgers by Harvard Yard

With kids

• New England Aquarium.
• Museum of Science.
• Boston Children's Museum.

Rainy-day backups

• Museum of Fine Arts.
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
• MIT Museum.

Free things to do

• Boston Common and the Public Garden.
• Charles River Esplanade.
• Harvard Yard.

Getting around

• MBTA subway (the T) takes contactless; the Green Line serves the marathon finish area.
• The marathon closes streets from Hopkinton to Copley: plan cheering spots near T stations.