Where in Boston does Tauck take you?
We are using our gift of time for the day before the trip. So we don't duplicate where we will go with Tauck, what do you do and where do they take you when you are in Boston?
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We are using our gift of time for the day before the trip. So we don't duplicate where we will go with Tauck, what do you do and where do they take you when you are in Boston?
Comments
Have you received your final documents of read the web page itinerary, that will give you a good idea. One of our favorite places we went to in. BOSTON was the JFK library
It looks like the tour covers most of the highlights. While your question is "where does Tauck take you," here are some of the things we frequently do over and over as natives, that you might consider.
Boston is a walking city with a lot of history and many neighborhoods to explore. You will be staying in the Back Bay, just a short way from Olmsted's Emerald Necklace along the Charles River. Cambridge and MIT is seen right across the river. The walk to the Emerald Necklace brings you across some of the most iconic streets in that area. A stroll along any street is relaxing and retains the feel of 19th century Boston - make sure you peak into the front yards - lovely mini gardens, often personalized by the owners. Commonwealth Avenue going east brings you to the Public Garden. Its mall has beloved trees and historic sculpture along the path.
The bar at the Newbury is old Boston - the watering hole for Robert Parker's Spencer. The new Restaurant at the top, Contessa (https://contessatrattoria.com/) has a different, sophisticated take on Italian cooking. Lunch reservations are easier than dinner. It has a view over the rooftops of the surrounding area. Gordan Ramsey has a new restaurant on Boylston Street at the Meridien Hotel.
Nearby the hotel is the Public Garden, a lovely stroll with its trees and Victorian gardens. Don't miss the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture by Nancy Schön before you stroll down Charles Street at the foot of Beacon Hill. They get dressed up for the important events through the seasons.
The North End is our favorite neighborhood and still retains authenticity although some commercialism is creeping in. Stroll through the streets and the shops and eat. I like L'Osteria, https://losteria.com/, a simple family run restaurant - the Veal al Burro e Limone is great. Go to Bricco, https://bricco.com/ for a great gourmet Italian meal. Reserve ahead of time for a table by the window. Its sister restaurant Mare down the alley has a nice bar area with a gas fire cocktail table that is nice for drinks. You pass its bakery and small grocery on the way. We like modern pastry for fresh filled cannolis - take out - although some refer Mike's Pastry. Caffe Vittoria https://www.caffevittoria.com/ is a lovely historic cafe for dessert, a caffè and post meal digestif.
Afterward stroll the Rose Kennedy Greenway or Harbor Walk. The greenway is starting to look good. It tops the infamous "Big Dig" that I experienced for decades while working downtown. Sites in the North End include Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church and Copps Burying Grounds (Boston's second oldest). Your tour may include some of the latter. The waterfront is nearby with Christopher Columbus Park and the Aquarium. The famous Union Oyster House is on the other side of he Greenway and Fridays and Saturdays the outdoor Haymarket is operating.
Skip the Fanueil Hall Marketplace - they have ruined it. However Fanueil Hall is lovely inside and historic.
A short ride down Huntington Avenue is the Museum of Fine Arts with renowned Impressionist and Dutch Collections and much more.
PS: I tried to make the links live but it did not take. What am I doing wrong - I am sure Alan will tell me! :-)
bucketlist - Thank you very much for this information. One other place I was recommended in the North End is Giacomos. Are you familiar with it? How would you say it compares to L'Osteria or Bricco?
Bucketlist – Your links in the above post all seem to work. What do you mean by “make the links live"?
You can color the link and underline as well as make a hovering tooltip so those with a pointing device such as a mouse will see a pop up when hovering over the link. It requires entering a bit of code into the post and most people will not want to bother with this. Your link for Caffe Vittoria would look like this:
Caffe Vittoria
The code required would be:
Another Boston native here. I agree with so much that bucketlist posted! On the Tauck Facebook page I recently replied to a similar question and mentioned L'Osteria (along with Monica's, another great North End Restaurant) and The Modern as well as Mike's for cannolis. (They're basically across the street from each other. You should try both and decide for yourself.) I don't know when you're going, but check out the Red Sox schedule. [Wait till next year!] You can walk or take the T from Copley Square (2 stops) to Fenway Park (Kenmore Station [on the B,C and D lines] is closer than Fenway Station). If the Sox aren't home, maybe you can take a tour of Fenway. Right in Copley Square, you can tour Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library.
We enjoyed the Boston Public Market on Hanover Street for a quick and informal lunch. If adding days either before or after your tour, taking the train to NYC is always fun and an easy day trip.
Boston is made for foodies. I was sorry to hear the unpretentious Maria's Pastry has closed; it seemed to serve only locals + me. Thankfully the North End has a number of Italian delis for sandwiches and arancini. And Julia Child's butcher shop, Savenor's Market, is still there on Charles St. Of course I time my visits for the Tues. and Fri. Copley Square Farmers Market; I have some favorite bakers there. And Omni Parker House has slices of their famous Boston Cream Pie to go! I haven't been to the new High St. Food Hall yet. MFA is only one of many Boston museums; also the Boston Public Library has an event-filled calendar.
maximgr - I have never been to Giacomos. Usually long lines with lots of young people. That supports a recommendation. I think it is very reasonable also.
John - Thank you for the info. Tauck really needs to upgrade this forum. I would think if they have the link in the tool bar the color and underline would be already programmed! Glad they worked. I am not a coder and don't want to spend the time coding. Don't even see advanced formatting tools.
kfnknfzk - The public market is still recovering from COVID. Many vendors left and there are empty stalls. The apple cider donuts are sill there though. One good thing about the garage attached (Parcel 7) is that you purchase anything at the market you get validated parking. $3 for 3 hours. anything over is the market rate. Some of the North End restaurants also validate, including L'Osteria. Not Bricco though.
I should have prefaced my remark as being pre-COVID. I'm glad to learn the apple cider donuts survived. They are so good!
I was going to mention the weekend chocolate brunch at the Langham Hotel but see that it apparently is no longer offered. Such a shame.
Bucketlist
MCD
Such great memories. I lived in Boston for a few years and absolutely loved walking around. It is such a walkable city. I had an opportunity to walk around downtown only once this year. I spent most of my time on Martha's Vineyard - which is also a very easy day trip.
On Hidden Gems of NE, Tauck took us to the Old North Church for a tour, then we walked part of the Freedom Trail, led us on a brief foodie tour (lunch) in the north end, walked and drove around part of Beacon Hill, and had a really excellent guided tour of Fenway Park to see the Green Monster and the famous 'red seat' where Ted Williams supposedly hit the furthest home run in the history of the ballpark. On another day we had lunch at Faneuil Hall Market Place near the waterfront- a cruise ship or two were in so it took forever to find a place with open seats, and to get seated and served- we didn't have time to finish before we had to be back at the the bus. I'm sure the itinerary is a bit different between tours and even maybe between departures of the same tour.
I would also recommend a trip to Harvard Square - easy to take the T (underground) from Copley Square. So great to walk through the "yard" among the old Harvard buildings. There used to be many funky shops - not sure what has survived Covid, but worth checking out. Shop at the Harvard "Coop" for logo merch. I'm sure some locals on this site have other good ideas about things to do in Cambridge.
Except for the second one to L'Osteria- get rid of the parens and it will work, your links are live!! They just aren't blue or underlined like a typical hyperlink. Put your cursor on one and click.
https://losteria.com/
Ah yes, we took a tour of Harvard with a student that was excellent.
I second (or third!) the recommendation for Harvard Square. I lived there for a few years. You can just walk around Harvard yard on your own if you like as well. But a tour would give you more of the history of Harvard....and let you know what you are actually looking at, and which buildings you can/should enter. The Square has changed a lot since i was there in the early 80s, but it is still a quirky place with wonderful shops and food.
I was born in Boston, and lived in Gloucester and Rockport. Going to Boston for Italian food is like going to Italy and ordering nachos. The best fried clams are from Ipswich. You might not be able to track those down, but they do a good job on ‘other’ fried clams. If you don’t like lobster, why are you going there? Personally, I would go to restaurants where they ‘boil’ the lobster, not steam it. There’s a reason they call it a New England ‘boiled’ dinner. If I did this trip you would see nothing on my plate but lobsters and fried clams … maybe a filet one night. (;-). Oh … forgot the chowder. Our home in Gloucester now has red, white, and blue bunting around it … I told my Dad not to sell it. The original title said it cost twenty- five hundred dollars when new.
I'm not a fan of fried food, but a platter of fried Ipswich clams with lemons and homemade tartar sauce is how I treat myself whenever in New England. And whenever I'm back on Long Island, New York, Bigelow's is the place to go for clam chowder. It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall diner that I have been to many times since I was a teenager, including my very first date (with my big brother as a chaperone).
Woodman's in Essex for fried clams! (And onion rings. Skip the fries. You can get fries anywhere.) Unfortunately, you'd need a car to get to Woodman's from Boston.
My husband went to Harvard in the late 70’s. He didn’t know how to shop for winter clothes coming from Florida!
We are on the Grand New England tour this year. Am going to stay a few days following the tour in order to go to Acadia National Park. Anyone have any recommendations for things to see (in and out of the park) and especially lodging recommendations (not the $400/night places), I would appreciate reading about them. TIA.
You might want to pull up the national park website and read about the park and signts. Lots of beautiful sights, hiking trails, etc. We visited there on our own about 5 years ago staying in a B&B in nearby Bar Harbor. We had a rental car and could drive around the park. Bar Harbor is very walkable quaint town but of course touristy.
Check to see if you need reservations for park entrance. If you golf, Kebo is a great old course. You can see it on a clear day from Cadillac Mountain.
Cadillac Mountain in Acadia and whale watching out of Bar Harbor (seasonal) are worthwhile excursions.
You are going to be going near Rockport, MA and Bearskin Neck. I lived there in my early years. It is of course touristy now like most other interesting places. You might want to take a look at it. When I lived there it was mostly lobsters and artists. My parents ran a charter sail boat business there. Funny, but Tauck’s river boats are run by a company called Scylla. Our sailboat’s name was the “Scylla”.
A must is Schoodic point. The entrance is at Winter harbor a great small community. The drive is breathtaking.
Scylla - A sea monster in Homer's 'Odyssey', one of my favorites from high school.