Suggestions for celebrating anniversary in Boston

shanpren

Hi all,

We're looking for some ideas for how to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.  We'll be staying overnight in Boston so suggestions for a good place to stay, good place to eat dinner, and maybe some fun things to do would be really appreciated. 

You guys obviously don't know what we like to do so just make suggestions that you'd like.   We're totally not picky and are just excited for a chance to be together while our 2 1/2 year old hangs with grammy!

 Thanks!!

Ginger Le Coeur

NineZero or Fifteen Beacon are lovely boutique hotels.

Le Espalier 

Menton

No. 9 Park

Hamersley's Bistro

Troquet

all high end, fancy pants restaurants that would make a lovely, romantic evening out. 

Slightly less expensive options but still yummy:

Petit Robert

Hamersley's but eat on the patio and do appetizers etc. 

Sel de la Terre

 

I can think of a lot of other places, but they tend to be louder and more crowed. Not perfect for a "kids are at grammy's" romantic dinner. I tried to think of places where you and DH could still have a conversation, with out yelling. I love places like Franklin Cafe, Stella, Toro, B&G Oyster, Butcher Shop etc, but all of those places can be a bit loud.

Have a wonderful anniversary!

 

Rock-n-Voll

Any place in the Back Bay/Copley area will be nice and convenient.  I also second the Nine Zero (a Kimpton hotel) by the Commons, or the Omni Parker House also in that area.

Here's my usual list of suggestions for tourists:

Duck Tour - http://www.bostonducktours.com.  Fun tour that provides a good overview of the city and its history via an amphibious vehicle.  Book tix in advance via the web site

Freedom Trail - This walking tour will take you through most of the historic sites of Boston.  You can do a guided tour or I've heard there's a downloadable iPod tour so you can do a self-guided thing.

Public Gardens/Boston Common ? Not such a great visit in the winter, but otherwise nice.  There's a Make Way for Ducklings bronze statue here that the kiddies might like if you have them.

Beacon Hill/Charles St. ? Quintessential old New England neighborhood with great architecture and quaint little boutiques to shop in.  Just a few minutes walk from the Common.

Newbury Street (shopping) ? Just across the street from the Commons.  Shopping (chain & boutique stores), people watching, eating (Trident Bookstore cafe and Stephanie's are often recommended).

Sam Adams or Harpoon Brewery tours

Faneuil Hall ? Historic area now full of shopping and restaurants.  Definitely touristy and not my top suggestion for where to eat, but can be fun to walk around nonetheless.  Just make sure to go in sensible shoes as the cobblestones can be killer.

North End ? our Little Italy. Pretty much any restaurant here will be good.  Mike's Pastry's cannolis are famous but be prepared for a huge crowd. Modern is another local bakery favorite and will be more manageable.

Fenway Park - See a game or take a tour.

Museum of Science - great exhibits and a domed IMAX theater that's amazing and shows lots of great documentary-style films.

JFK Museum - you can get there via the Red Line on the T (subway).

Art museums ? We have top-notch art museums: Museum of Fine Arts (currently hosting a Chihuly exhibit), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art

Whale Watch Tour ? You can leave from the Aquarium downtown or, if you have a car or are willing to take the commuter rail, go up to the one in Gloucester and check out the neighboring Rockport area (very quaint seaside town). 

Harvard ? Campus is pretty and Harvard Square is fun to walk around.  There are some cute shops and good eats (chocolate at Burdick's, pizza at Pinocchio's)

A little farther out:

Salem Witch Museum ? a history of the infamous Salem witch trials.  It's been a long time since I went there though so it could be kind cheesy.

House of Seven Gables ? also located in Salem

Walden Pond ? site where Thoreau penned Walden.  You can see the site of his cabin as well as a recreation of the building. 

As for restaurant recs:

* Some of my splurge-y favorites are No. 9 Park (Boston), O Ya Sushi (Boston), Salts (Cambridge), and Blue Ginger (Wellesley).  I don't like Top of the Hub as I've had horrible service there on more than one occasion and refuse to go back. 

* Stella in the South End is great for brunch--large portions and reasonable prices (also you can walk over to the SOWA Open Market from there). 

* In Chinatown, East Ocean City is great for dinner and Hong Kong Eatery is wonderful for Chinese comfort food (their wonton noodle soup is awesome).  Also check out the bakeries in Chinatown; I recommend Ho Yuen or Hing Shing, though the best egg tarts are at Crown Royal. 

* For chowder, go to Legal Seafoods but the rest of the food there is nothing special.

Magdala9

I live here so cannot recommend hotels.  But for restaurants, here are my favorites in no particular order.  :

Mexican

http://olegrill.com/

http://www.tuyyo2.com/
http://www.josesmex.com/dnn08/

Italian

http://www.grangustocambridge.com/

http://www.florentinecafeboston.com/menu.html

French-Cambodian

http://elephantwalk.com/

Indian

Haveli is the restaurant's name http://www.royalbharatinc.com/royalbharatincwebsite_016.htm

http://divabistro.com/

Aghani

http://www.helmandrestaurant.com/

 Fusion

http://gargoylesrestaurant.com/old%20site/test%20site/maindining_.htm

http://www.craigieonmain.com/?page_id=50  Their chef, Tony Maws, just won the James Beard Foundation award for best chef in the North East.

http://www.lespalier.com/menu/

http://www.ming.com/blueginger.htm

Sushi

http://bluefin-restaurant.com/

http://www.oyarestaurantboston.com/menu.html

http://www.thegingerexchange.com/ 

Vietnamese

http://lescambridge.com/

Other things to try:

http://annastaqueria.com/

Burdicks'  Hot or Iced Chocolate  http://www.burdickchocolate.com/stores-and-cafes-cambridge.asp

http://chocoleechocolates.com/ Any of Lee's chocolates are amazing

http://www.finaledesserts.com/

http://www.mikespastry.com/

Another useful link is www.mbta.com This has the subway and bus maps.  Driviing in metro Boston is a challenge because most of the roads were laid out by cows in the 17th century then made worse by 300 years of political infighting.

Pretty much the whole metro area is online and many restaurants accept on line reservations.   This list includes a mix of high end and local places.    Yelp should have listings on all of them

ead1975

If you can finagle it, I highly recommend the Liberty Hotel. But it's spend.y.  We stayed there the night after our wedding (got married on a Friday, left for the honeymoon on Monday), and it was a total splurge.  But it was so worth it.

Otherwise, I recommend pricelining a hotel in the Copley/Back Bay area. I stayed at the Sheraton over by Copley a few years ago, and it was really nice. We got a ridiculously good rate on priceline, something like $150 for a Saturday night.  I also stayed at the Park Plaza once, and it was nice, too. Though the Sheraton was nicer - the room at the Plaza was kind of tiny.

You've gotten some good restaurant suggestions already, but I'll add Upstairs on the Square in Harvard Square, which is funky but not twee. And also Mamma Maria in the North End, where we had a to-die-for meal a couple of years ago.

shanpren

These are awesome suggestions!  Thanks so much!

clearj3

Bricco is great - in the north end.  A little more trendy/loud but we love grabbing dinner, then getting a cannoli at mikes and then there is a beautiful place to get drinks at the boston harbor hotel outside.  very romantic! 

 

You could also stay at the liberty hotel which is walking distance from newbury street and charles street and has some fabulous places for dinner and breakfast (alabi, scampo)

MrsT2008

I recommend staying near the North End (but mostly because the restaurants I love are in the North End).  There's a Marriott on the water over there (Marriott Long Wharf).

my go-to restaurant in the city is Trattoria Il Panino on Parmenter Street.  It's fantastic, authentic Italian food