Boston in the mornings

That, of course, depends entirely on what you like to do and what your interests are. If you're into history, you can walk the Freedom Trail which starts at the Park Street subway station at the Boston Common and will take you past such sites as the scene of the so-called Boston Massacre, the Paul Revere house and dozens of other spots connected with the American Revolution. If you like museums, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts has one of the finest collections of French Impressionists, along with an extensive collection of Egyptology (yes, mummies!!) and much other fine art works. If you want to do some shopping, the Quincy Marketplace (which, coincidentally, is on the Freedom Trail), in the shadow of historic Faneuill Hall has some very upscale shops. If the weather's good and you just want to bask in the sun for a while, you can walk down to the banks of the Charles River and stretch out on a plot of grass on the Esplanade.

Where will you be staying? What I've suggested so far is all fairly centrally located in the heart of the city. There may be other local attractions wherever you are.

I really liked what I did in Boston in the morning recently: doing a combined bus tour (to Lexington and Concord, usually Cabridge as well, but that was cancelled due to the graduation ceremonies), than a harbour cruise and the tram tour.
In my opinion worth the money.

... and what Walter also did, hang around in front of South Station at about 7:30 AM and I might rush by while going to work.

Seriously, there's the waterfront for beauty and then I'm not sure if museums are open that early but it's a very walkable city.

Well, ehem, I really didn't want to give away my really secret insider tips.

But since you mentioned it: yes, this is the best to do in Boston in the morning :wink:

Newbury Street even better for upscale shopping - and awesome for people watching.

Go to the top of the Pru for a birds eye view of the city.

Go for a walk to Charlestown and tour the Consititution - walk through the North end - great for history and lots of good italien restaurants and cafes (and an easy walk from Fanueil Hall.

If you like fish (as well as enjoy eating them) go to the Aquarium. And depending how much time you have in the morning - take in a whale watch (leaves near the aquarium).

Contemporary Art - check out the new art museum on Fan Pier.

Well, Pantalones, when is "in the mornings" for you? :wink:

(A lot suggestd can only be done past 10am.)

For readers not from the US - I take it the Pru is the Prudential Building, and that the Constitution is a ship...

Yes and yes (the USS Constitution) - the advantage of visiting the USS Constitution is it is FREE.

Thanks for the ideas, keep 'em coming.

Merry Andrew, you made me realize I have no clue where I'll be staying. It's very probable I'll be near or maybe inside the Boston University campus.

Walter, "in the mornings" is the time between sunrise and whatever time they stop selling breakfast in the fastfood places, but to give a number I'll say 1pm, even though it's officially afternoon it still feels like morning to me, so my mornings are not "early bird" exclusive.

So far people watching, bird-eye viewing, river walking, tour taking and Fine Art Museum visiting are in top of my list.

People watching really is great in Boston ... and free as well!

If you're on or near the B.U. campus you'll be near Kenmore Aquare. Good subway and bus connections from there. The campus is right on the banks of the Charles River so it's not much of a walk to go get some sun. If you enjoy walking, the Fine Arts Museum is actually within walking distance. It's a nice, longish walk past Fenway Park and through a garden/park area known as The Fens. Get a map. If I remember correctly (geez! I once actually worked there!) the museum opens at 10 a.m. A lot of fast food places these days serve breakfast all day long. The neighborhood has changed quite a bit since I was an undergrad at B.U. What with new stores and restaurants, I can't give you a specific recomendation. I can recommend, however, the Dugout Cafe on Commonwealth Ave., right across the street from the main B.U. classroom buildings, if you're in the mood for a frosty one later in the day. They don't serve breakfast, though, nor much else besides adult beverages.

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If you've got access to a car, Walden Pond (as in Henry David Thoreau) is in Concord, a half hour from downtown (maybe more if you hit rush hour traffic, but it's not as bad outbound) is lovely to walk around. It is also a state park, or maybe a federal park, but anyway some sort of public park, and a great place to swim, tho a LOT of people go there to swim later in the day. But it's my favorite place to go even if it's crowded.

Also harbor swimming in South Boston--never been there for the swimming but it's convenient. Castle Island is a nice walk with a good fast food seafood stand, in Southie.

The Harbor Islands are also a state park, Civil War fort to tour, beaches and swimming, picnicing. Water taxis leave from one of the wharfs on the waterfront, exactly which one escapes me at the moment, with fairly frequent departures and returns all day.

If you're a baseball fan, you can take a tour of Fenway Park, just a few blocks from B.U.

if you're a biker, you can also bike to the Walden Pond (about 35 miles round trip... or less depending on which way you go). You can also explore Mystic Lakes (just off of Arlington) by bike, and all the farms around Boston in that direction. The Minuteman bike trail is a good start towards many nice destinations. You can rent a bike, and every bigger bikestore here has good local maps with bike trails marked on it.

Eek, Pantalones, I went to BU (MA, I didn't know you were a feller grad; we should go to Homecoming some time). You have the green line trolley right there. While it's kind of a slow line, it will get you to any other trolley line you like (change at Park Street for the red line, Haymarket for the orange line and I think getting to the blue line is slightly more involved but not awful, plus unless you're going to the airport or the dog or horse tracks you prolly don't want the blue line).

I recommend getting a day pass for the trolley if you can, or just get a Charlie card and load it up with some $$ so that you don't have to fish for change all the time.

Kenmore Sq. is considerably more upscale than when I was in school and the area is now pretty. Walk a few more blocks towards the city (away from the school, with West Campus and the towers at 700 Commonwealth Avenue behind you) and you'll get to either Newbury Street or the Back Bay alphabetical streets off Commonwealth. The alphabetical streets are Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester. As the alphabet winds down to A, the area gets more and more upscale. Lots of folks walking their dogs, etc. The whole thing ends at the Public Garden, which connects to the Common. The Common borders Chinatown. Now, keep in mind, I've just given you a walk of a few miles. If you don't want to walk, that's fine, just take the green line trolley (any line) inbound from Kenmore to Arlington. That will deposit you more or less at the Public Garden.

If you mess up and go outbound, don't worry (although there's less to do). Outbound on the green line (except for the E, Huntington Avenue, line) gets you eventually to Boston College, which is pretty but it's semi-isolated so you would probably just want to turn around and go back. But it's kind of a nice area and, if you're going to have a connection to BU (are you considering going there?) then knowing the Brighton-Allston-Back-Bay area isn't such a bad idea.

There's more, gotta run. PM me if you like.

Doesn't surprise me that we're both BU alumni, Jes. We both seem to have that borderline sardonic Weltanschauung. Must've picked it up on the banks of those muddy waters. (I used to have a tab at the Dugout, back when Jimmy O'Keefe, the erstwhile propietor, was still alive.)

Now I know for a fact I'll be staying at BU.

Biking in Boston, eh? sounds very interesting, though my current fitness level wouldn't allow me to do much else in the day after some hours of pedaling.

I hope that I'm able to get up fairly early to make the most out of my mornings, it'll prove a difficult task as we're sure to hit the bar on more than one occasion.

I think I may've been around during the final years of Mr. O'Keefe.

And .. Walter ..

Downtwon Boston is mostly pretty flat (you know, seaport, sealevel, filled land on ex-tidal-flats), so biking isn't strenuous. Go to the Public Garden (where Back Bay's streets run down to "A"--see above), and ride the swan boats, everybody does it and everybody takes pictures and it's sort of silly and sweet and very Victorian. Eat lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant--I LOVE Vietnamese food, and there are a bunch of them in Chinatown, a few blocks from the Common and the Public Garden. Get a sandwich at New Saigon Sandwich on Washington Street near New England Medical Center and eat it on the grass on Boston Common. Then browse the outside book racks at the Brattle Bookstore, which bills itself as America's oldest antiquarian and used bookstore, $5, $3, and $1 racks (Ken Gloss of the store is one of the appraisers on Antiques Roadshow) a block from the Common on West St.