“Visit Boston and enjoy the many sightseeing day tours and attractions that Boston has to offer. Take advantage of your time in Boston and enjoy excursions from Boston to Cape Cod, Newport, the New England Seacoast, Plymouth, or Salem.”
“You’ve never toured Boston in anything that comes close to Boston Duck Tours. The fun begins as soon as you board your “DUCK”, a W.W.II style amphibious landing vehicle… And just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s more. It’s time for “Splashdown” as your DUCK splashes right into the Charles River for a breathtaking view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines.”
- Points of Departure are: the Prudential Center, the Museum of Science, or the New England Aquarium
- $28.00 a ticket plus 5% BSTS (10% gratuity included); If tour is cancelled due to severe weather, guests will get full refund
- 80-minute tour
- Open daily; Tours leave on the hour from 9am until 1hr before sunset
These are only a few of the many different cruises offered:
Whale Watching:
- 3-hour tour with a high-speed catamaran
- Most comfortable way to view the ocean’s most fascinating and magnificent creatures
- Catamarans feature 3 outside decks for optimum viewing capability
- Professional researchers from the Whale Center of New England, the region’s foremost authority on whale populations, are onboard for every trip to provide narration
- Departs: Visitor Information Center, Boston Common
- Daily Walk Into History Tour: Leaves at a time of choosing since it is a private tour
- 90 minutes long, led by an 18th Century Costumed Guide
- Private tours start at $125 for up to 12 people. With 13 or more the cost is $10/person up to 20 and $9/person after that.
- Reservations must be made at least 1 month in advance
“A Walk Into History walking tour is the best way for a small or large group to experience the Freedom Trail. Led by an 18th Century Costumed Guide, the 90-minute tour mixes humor, history and fun. Be transported back in time to the days of the American Revolution and have a hands-on revolutionary experience. The tour can be tailored to your group or you can take the standard walking tour. Standard tour does not include entrance to Freedom Trail sites, which charge admission (Old South Meeting House, Old State House and Paul Revere House.) Dates, times and departure points can be customized for your group.”
The Red Sox are in town the week of WCNH 2011! “The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in 1901 as one of the American League’s eight charter franchises, the Red Sox’s home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The “Red Sox” name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor, around 1908, following previous Boston teams that had been known as the “Red Stockings”. Please visit the website for game schedule, seating, pricing, and tickets.”
“Visit the park where the Babe pitched, The Kid hit, Yaz dazzled and today’s stars still thrill Red Sox Nation. Fenway Park Tours provide a 50 minute historic walking tour of the ballpark, guided by an official Fenway Park Tour Guide.”
Tour Schedule
- NON-GAME DAYS: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily; tours run every hour on the hour until 4 p.m.
- GAME DAYS: 9 a.m. – three and a half hours prior to game time; tours run every hour on the hour until three and a half hours prior to game time
Tour Pricing
- Adults: $12.00
- Seniors: $11.00
- Children (3-15): $10.00
Tour Ticket Information
- Fenway Park Tour tickets are sold at the Red Sox Ticket Office on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability. Fenway Park Tour tickets are sold at the Team Store on Yawkey Way when the Ticket Office is closed.
- Please allow adequate time to purchase tour tickets as sales conclude 15 minutes prior to tour time.
- All tours and areas are subject to availability
- Tours are handicap accessible
Game Day Tour Options
- Batting Practice Tour: Begins three and a half hours prior to game time; an extended tour
- Group rates available Monday-Friday for 20 or more (must make single payment of cash or check)
- No reservations to guarantee a specific time can be made but groups can enter a request a time 1 week in advance
- Rates for 20 or more = $2.50/person
- Often events in the park and is walking distance from Newbury Street and short distance to Government Center
FANEUIL HALL AND THE NORTH END
Faneuil Hall and the North End are both popular tourist places to visit. Most people who visit Boston spend at least a few hours here. The Freedom Trail Tour will bring you briefly to these places, but you might like to take more time and explore these sites on your own.
- Located in downtown Boston, walking distance from Government Center Haymarket, the Holocaust Memorial, and the North End and across the street from Boston’s waterfront
- Has 49 shops, 44 pushcarts, 18 full service restaurants including outdoor cafes, and 35 food stalls
- Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass: “Enter a world of wonder and light. In the course of his long career, Dale Chihuly has revolutionized the art of blown glass, moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture and establishing the use of glass—inherently a fragile but also magical material—as a vehicle for installation and environmental art. This exhibition of new and archival works represents the breadth and scope of the artist’s creative vision over the last four decades.”
- Flowers and Festivals: Four Seasons in Japanese Prints: “Love of nature and awareness of the changing seasons, longstanding motifs in the literary and visual arts of Japan, often appear in the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that chronicle the life of the urban middle class during the Edo period (1615-1867). As Japan gradually developed the characteristics of an early modern society (just as Europe was doing at around the same time), gardening became a pleasure not merely limited to the aristocracy but enjoyed by commoners as well. Citizens of Edo (modern Tokyo) could raise potted plants and miniature gardens at home, and visit public gardens and commercial nurseries. Throughout the year, holidays were celebrated with floral decorations and traditional customs that have been handed down to the present day.”
- Hours: Tue and Wed: 10am-5pm; Thu and Fri: 10am-9pm; Sat and Sun: 10am-5pm
- Admission: $15/person
- Exhibitions (a sample):
-The Record: “Bringing together artists who have worked with records as their subject or medium, the exhibition examines vinyl’s transformative power, from the 1960s to the present.”
-Catherine Opie: “Opie’s photographs explore the intimate relations between community and politics, citizens and the landscape.”
-Francesca DiMattio: “The New York-based painter combines imagery from a wide range of architectural, decorative, and art historical sources. She laces together underlying patterns to construct these complicated compositions, lending a sense of logic to her seemingly chaotic assemblages. The artist has described her working practice as ‘getting into trouble and getting out of it.’”
3-D Cinema, Planetarium, and Omni Theater Hours: See show times
- Admission: Exhibit Halls $21/person
Omni $9/person
Planetarium $9/person
Add-on rates: Omni, Planetarium, Butterfly Garden, 3-D Digital Cinema +$5.00 *Add-on rates apply with purchase of a full-price ticket; Butterfly Garden and 3-D Digital Cinema require Exhibit Halls admission.
- Current Exhibits:
-Butterfly Garden: “Walk among the free-flying residents of this warm conservatory filled with exotic plants. Overlooking the Charles River, this tropical oasis offers a wonderful opportunity to get close to a variety of living butterflies from New England and across the globe.”
-Colossal Fossil: Triceratops Cliff: “Get an up-close view of this 65-million-year-old fossil, discovered in the Dakota Badlands in 2004. Named for the grandfather of its anonymous donor, Cliff is one of only four nearly complete Triceratops on public display anywhere in the world. At the time of its discovery, the 23-foot-long specimen was missing some feet, leg, rib, and vertebral bones. Model makers then cast replacement bones, so Museum visitors can see the Triceratops skeleton as it would have looked when the living creature roamed through the Midwest during the Late Cretaceous period.”
-How Your Life Began: “People of all cultures and traditions share the amazing experience of human reproduction and birth. In this exhibit, learn about one of the great miracles and mysteries of cell biology: how your life began from a single cell.”
-To the Moon: “Created in July 2009 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing, this exhibit features full-size models of the Apollo and Mercury capsules and a graphic timeline documenting the key era of human space exploration. Learn about the Apollo program that sent 20 people into space, including the first humans to set to foot on the Moon. Crawl into the “Apollo Command Module,” and watch the first Moon landing from the cockpit seats!”
- Stores: Aldo, Ann Taylor, Barnes and Noble, Chico’s, Express, Gucci, J.Jill, Oakley, Lord &Taylor, Papyrus, White House Black Market
- Restaurants: P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Legal Sea Foods, The Cheesecake Factory, Wagamama, Cold Stone Creamery
- Top of the Hub and Skywalk Observatory: Sky-high vantage point 360 degree view of Greater Boston. “On a clear day, you can see up to 100 miles away—a great way to get acquainted with this lovely city. Visitors gain a bird’s eye view of Boston’s Hancock Tower, Fenway Park, the Boston Common and Public Garden, the Esplanade and Hatch Shell, the Charles River, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, MIT, Harvard University, and countless other Boston landmarks.”
- Open Daily 10-10pm (may be closed for private events like weddings)
-Adults $12.00
The Shops at Copley Place (within walking distance from the Prudential Center)
- “Until the mid 1800s, the 2 mile long stretch of what is now Newbury Street was part of Boston Harbor. Beginning in 1857, the harbor was slowly filled in to become the Back Bay section of the city… Known as the “Rodeo Drive of the East,” it serves as Boston’s representative of fashion and style, on par with the most exclusive districts of San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. The street is home to an eclectic mix of independent shops and high-end fashion and dining establishments.”
- Stores: H&M, Marc Jacobs, AllSaints Spitalfields, J.Crew, Urban Outfitters, Chanel, A Pea in the Pod, Prada, Versace, Firefly Jewelry & Gifts, Tiffany & Co.
- Restaurants: Sonsie Restaurant, Ciao Bella, Joe’s American Bar & Grill, Capital Grille, JP Licks Ice Cream Café, Stephanie’s on Newbury.
Boston
Tourist Information
“Visit Boston and enjoy the many sightseeing day tours and attractions that Boston has to offer. Take advantage of your time in Boston and enjoy excursions from Boston to Cape Cod, Newport, the New England Seacoast, Plymouth, or Salem.”
See www.bostontours.us for a complete list of activities.
Here is a sampling of the many possibilities in Boston:
Boston Duck Tours
Boston Harbor Cruises
Freedom Trail Tours
Boston Red Sox Games
Fenway Park Tour
Boston Common
Faneuil Hall and North End
Museums in Boston
Shopping in Boston
BOSTON DUCK TOURS
“You’ve never toured Boston in anything that comes close to Boston Duck Tours. The fun begins as soon as you board your “DUCK”, a W.W.II style amphibious landing vehicle… And just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s more. It’s time for “Splashdown” as your DUCK splashes right into the Charles River for a breathtaking view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines.”
- Points of Departure are: the Prudential Center, the Museum of Science, or the New England Aquarium
- $28.00 a ticket plus 5% BSTS (10% gratuity included); If tour is cancelled due to severe weather, guests will get full refund
- 80-minute tour
- Open daily; Tours leave on the hour from 9am until 1hr before sunset
BOSTON HARBOR CRUISES
These are only a few of the many different cruises offered:
Whale Watching:
- 3-hour tour with a high-speed catamaran
- Most comfortable way to view the ocean’s most fascinating and magnificent creatures
- Catamarans feature 3 outside decks for optimum viewing capability
- Professional researchers from the Whale Center of New England, the region’s foremost authority on whale populations, are onboard for every trip to provide narration
- Weekdays: 10:00am, 12:00pm; Saturdays: 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 5:30 pm; Sundays: 8:30am, 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30 pm
- Departs from Long Wharf in Boston College
- $39.95 a ticket plus 5% Boston Sightseeing Tour Surcharge
USS Constitution Cruise:
- 45-minute, fully narrated tour to Charlestown Navy Yard
- Up close to “Old Ironsides”; can disembark for tour of the ship and Naval Museum
- Also, Bunker Hill Monument, Boston Tea Party boat and Old North Church
- Daily, every hour on the half hour from 10:30am-4:30pm
- Departs from Long Wharf in Boston College
- $16.00 a ticket plus 5% Boston Sightseeing Tour Surcharge
Historic Boston Sightseeing Tour:
- 90-minute tour of Boston’s inner and outer harbor
- Oldest manned lighthouse, Harbor Islands National Park Area, Boston’s working port, waterfront living
- Daily: 11:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm
- $21.00 a ticket plus 5% Boston Sightseeing Tour Surcharge
Daily Luncheon Cruise:
- 2-hour tour plus lunch of inner and outer harbor (3 deck vessel)
- Also, USS Constitution, Old North Church, Boston Light and the Boston Harbor Islands
- Weekdays- 12:00-2:00pm (boarding begins at 11:30am)
- $37.50 a ticket plus 6.25% fee for MA Meals Tax and Boston Sightseeing Tour Surcharge
- Menu: see online
FREEDOM TRAIL TOURS
Walk Into History Tour:
- Boston Common to Faneuil Hall
- Departs: Visitor Information Center, Boston Common
- Daily Walk Into History Tour: Leaves at a time of choosing since it is a private tour
- 90 minutes long, led by an 18th Century Costumed Guide
- Private tours start at $125 for up to 12 people. With 13 or more the cost is $10/person up to 20 and $9/person after that.
- Reservations must be made at least 1 month in advance
“A Walk Into History walking tour is the best way for a small or large group to experience the Freedom Trail. Led by an 18th Century Costumed Guide, the 90-minute tour mixes humor, history and fun. Be transported back in time to the days of the American Revolution and have a hands-on revolutionary experience. The tour can be tailored to your group or you can take the standard walking tour. Standard tour does not include entrance to Freedom Trail sites, which charge admission (Old South Meeting House, Old State House and Paul Revere House.) Dates, times and departure points can be customized for your group.”
BOSTON RED SOX GAMES
The Red Sox are in town the week of WCNH 2011! “The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in 1901 as one of the American League’s eight charter franchises, the Red Sox’s home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The “Red Sox” name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor, around 1908, following previous Boston teams that had been known as the “Red Stockings”. Please visit the website for game schedule, seating, pricing, and tickets.”
FENWAY PARK TOUR
“Visit the park where the Babe pitched, The Kid hit, Yaz dazzled and today’s stars still thrill Red Sox Nation. Fenway Park Tours provide a 50 minute historic walking tour of the ballpark, guided by an official Fenway Park Tour Guide.”
Tour Schedule
- NON-GAME DAYS: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily; tours run every hour on the hour until 4 p.m.
- GAME DAYS: 9 a.m. – three and a half hours prior to game time; tours run every hour on the hour until three and a half hours prior to game time
Tour Pricing
- Adults: $12.00
- Seniors: $11.00
- Children (3-15): $10.00
Tour Ticket Information
- Fenway Park Tour tickets are sold at the Red Sox Ticket Office on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability. Fenway Park Tour tickets are sold at the Team Store on Yawkey Way when the Ticket Office is closed.
- Please allow adequate time to purchase tour tickets as sales conclude 15 minutes prior to tour time.
- All tours and areas are subject to availability
- Tours are handicap accessible
Game Day Tour Options
- Batting Practice Tour: Begins three and a half hours prior to game time; an extended tour
BOSTON COMMON
- The oldest park in the country.
- Bordered by Tremont, Beacon, Charles, Park, and Boylston Streets
- Starting point of the Freedom Trail Tour
- Across the street from the Bull and Finch Pub
- Inspiration to the TV sitcom Cheers
- Contains the Boston Public Garden
Swan Boat ride
- Open 7 days a week, weather permitting
- Group rates available Monday-Friday for 20 or more (must make single payment of cash or check)
- No reservations to guarantee a specific time can be made but groups can enter a request a time 1 week in advance
- Rates for 20 or more = $2.50/person
- Often events in the park and is walking distance from Newbury Street and short distance to Government Center
FANEUIL HALL AND THE NORTH END
Faneuil Hall and the North End are both popular tourist places to visit. Most people who visit Boston spend at least a few hours here. The Freedom Trail Tour will bring you briefly to these places, but you might like to take more time and explore these sites on your own.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Quincy Market
- Located in downtown Boston, walking distance from Government Center Haymarket, the Holocaust Memorial, and the North End and across the street from Boston’s waterfront
- Has 49 shops, 44 pushcarts, 18 full service restaurants including outdoor cafes, and 35 food stalls
- Outdoor entertainment: clowns, jugglers, acrobats, magicians, storytellers, musicians, artists
- Built in 1742 by Peter Faneuil, as a gift to the city of Boston
The North End
- “Little Italy” of Boston and is home to approximately 100 restaurants, cafes and bakeries
Holocaust Memorial
- The site is maintained by the Boston National Historic Park and is located in Carmen Park, along Congress and Union Streets, near Faneuil Hall.
- The memorial consists of 6 glass towers the visitor can walk under that symbolize a different major concentration camp
MUSEUMS IN BOSTON
Museum of Fine Arts
- Very close to the Conference Venue!
- Hours: Mon–Tue: 10am–4:45pm; Wed–Fri: 10am–9:45pm; Sat–Sun: 10am–4:45pm
- Admission: $20/person
Special Exhibits
- Art of the Americas Wing
- Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass: “Enter a world of wonder and light. In the course of his long career, Dale Chihuly has revolutionized the art of blown glass, moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture and establishing the use of glass—inherently a fragile but also magical material—as a vehicle for installation and environmental art. This exhibition of new and archival works represents the breadth and scope of the artist’s creative vision over the last four decades.”
- Flowers and Festivals: Four Seasons in Japanese Prints: “Love of nature and awareness of the changing seasons, longstanding motifs in the literary and visual arts of Japan, often appear in the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that chronicle the life of the urban middle class during the Edo period (1615-1867). As Japan gradually developed the characteristics of an early modern society (just as Europe was doing at around the same time), gardening became a pleasure not merely limited to the aristocracy but enjoyed by commoners as well. Citizens of Edo (modern Tokyo) could raise potted plants and miniature gardens at home, and visit public gardens and commercial nurseries. Throughout the year, holidays were celebrated with floral decorations and traditional customs that have been handed down to the present day.”
Institute of Contemporary Art
- Hours: Tue and Wed: 10am-5pm; Thu and Fri: 10am-9pm; Sat and Sun: 10am-5pm
- Admission: $15/person
- Exhibitions (a sample):
-The Record: “Bringing together artists who have worked with records as their subject or medium, the exhibition examines vinyl’s transformative power, from the 1960s to the present.”
-Catherine Opie: “Opie’s photographs explore the intimate relations between community and politics, citizens and the landscape.”
-Francesca DiMattio: “The New York-based painter combines imagery from a wide range of architectural, decorative, and art historical sources. She laces together underlying patterns to construct these complicated compositions, lending a sense of logic to her seemingly chaotic assemblages. The artist has described her working practice as ‘getting into trouble and getting out of it.’”
Museum of Science
- Hours: Exhibit Halls Summer Hours: Sat-Thu: 9am-7pm; Fri: 9am-9pm
Butterfly Garden Hours: Sat-Thu: 10am-5pm; Fri 10am-7pm
3-D Cinema, Planetarium, and Omni Theater Hours: See show times
- Admission: Exhibit Halls $21/person
Omni $9/person
Planetarium $9/person
Add-on rates: Omni, Planetarium, Butterfly Garden, 3-D Digital Cinema +$5.00 *Add-on rates apply with purchase of a full-price ticket; Butterfly Garden and 3-D Digital Cinema require Exhibit Halls admission.
- Current Exhibits:
-Butterfly Garden: “Walk among the free-flying residents of this warm conservatory filled with exotic plants. Overlooking the Charles River, this tropical oasis offers a wonderful opportunity to get close to a variety of living butterflies from New England and across the globe.”
-Colossal Fossil: Triceratops Cliff: “Get an up-close view of this 65-million-year-old fossil, discovered in the Dakota Badlands in 2004. Named for the grandfather of its anonymous donor, Cliff is one of only four nearly complete Triceratops on public display anywhere in the world. At the time of its discovery, the 23-foot-long specimen was missing some feet, leg, rib, and vertebral bones. Model makers then cast replacement bones, so Museum visitors can see the Triceratops skeleton as it would have looked when the living creature roamed through the Midwest during the Late Cretaceous period.”
-How Your Life Began: “People of all cultures and traditions share the amazing experience of human reproduction and birth. In this exhibit, learn about one of the great miracles and mysteries of cell biology: how your life began from a single cell.”
-To the Moon: “Created in July 2009 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing, this exhibit features full-size models of the Apollo and Mercury capsules and a graphic timeline documenting the key era of human space exploration. Learn about the Apollo program that sent 20 people into space, including the first humans to set to foot on the Moon. Crawl into the “Apollo Command Module,” and watch the first Moon landing from the cockpit seats!”
For additional museums please visit MuseumofBoston.org.
SHOPPING
The Shops at Prudential Center
- Stores: Aldo, Ann Taylor, Barnes and Noble, Chico’s, Express, Gucci, J.Jill, Oakley, Lord &Taylor, Papyrus, White House Black Market
- Restaurants: P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Legal Sea Foods, The Cheesecake Factory, Wagamama, Cold Stone Creamery
- Top of the Hub and Skywalk Observatory: Sky-high vantage point 360 degree view of Greater Boston. “On a clear day, you can see up to 100 miles away—a great way to get acquainted with this lovely city. Visitors gain a bird’s eye view of Boston’s Hancock Tower, Fenway Park, the Boston Common and Public Garden, the Esplanade and Hatch Shell, the Charles River, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, MIT, Harvard University, and countless other Boston landmarks.”
- Open Daily 10-10pm (may be closed for private events like weddings)
-Adults $12.00
The Shops at Copley Place (within walking distance from the Prudential Center)
- All close by to the Boston Public Library, Copley Square, and Trinity Church are across Huntington Avenue. The Prudential Center, Prudential Skywalk attraction, and Hynes Convention Center are connected to the complex via the elevated walkways. Also, Newbury Street is located two blocks north on Dartmouth Street. Fenway Park, Kenmore Square, the Public Garden, Cheers Beacon Hill, and Boston Common are nearby.
- Stores: Ralph Lauren, Guess, Victoria’s Secret, Gap, Williams and Sonoma, Kenneth Cole, Lucky Brand Jeans, Michael Kors, Salvatore Ferragamo, Burberry
Newbury Street
- “Until the mid 1800s, the 2 mile long stretch of what is now Newbury Street was part of Boston Harbor. Beginning in 1857, the harbor was slowly filled in to become the Back Bay section of the city… Known as the “Rodeo Drive of the East,” it serves as Boston’s representative of fashion and style, on par with the most exclusive districts of San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. The street is home to an eclectic mix of independent shops and high-end fashion and dining establishments.”
- Stores: H&M, Marc Jacobs, AllSaints Spitalfields, J.Crew, Urban Outfitters, Chanel, A Pea in the Pod, Prada, Versace, Firefly Jewelry & Gifts, Tiffany & Co.
- Restaurants: Sonsie Restaurant, Ciao Bella, Joe’s American Bar & Grill, Capital Grille, JP Licks Ice Cream Café, Stephanie’s on Newbury.