Thursday
12pm: Head to South Station (Red Line on the T). Grab lunch along the Greenway (the park built where the old elevated I-93 highway was- aka The Big Dig’s payoff) and find out what Boston paid $10 billion for. There are some great food trucks across from South Station and at Rowes Wharf (schedule listed here: http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/visit/food/) or visit James Hook + Co (http://www.yelp.com/map/james-hook-and-co-boston) for all things lobster.
Walk down the Greenway and continue on to the Harborwalk- make sure to wander over to the Aquarium and see the harbor seals (for free!) in the little exhibit in front. For those of you staying at the Long Wharf, this is across from your hotel. If the weather’s bad, the Aquarium or the IMAX theatre is a fun thing to do. Also nearby is the Tea Party Museum (which I haven’t been to.)
If you make it all the way up into the North End, grab a pregame snack (pretty much anywhere) of which my fave is the cannoli at Bova’s or Modern Pastry. Mike’s Pastry is also great. If you want something more substantial, get the lobster roll from Neptune’s Oyster.
3pm: Head over to the Garden and grab a pregame drink and check out the sports memorabilia at The Four’s.
5pm: Semifinals begin at TD Garden.
Friday
9am: Let’s pretend your team is not North Dakota and you’re a in a good mood and want to get out and do some more exploring!
Head to Back Bay station (Orange line/Commuter rail) or Copley (Green Line) and get breakfast at Flour on Dartmouth Street. Walk north down Dartmouth into the heart of Copley Square and check out HH Richardson’s Trinity Church. Head in to the Boston Public Library (America’s first) and do a quick walk around or do the whole Art & Architecture tour. Go check out the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon (taking place on April 20th) and buy something from Marathon Sports or City Sports on Boylston Street. If you have a boutique retail-oriented travel companion, Newbury Street is one block away. Then choose to go East or West...
West: The Fens Tour/Brookline
Head down to Commonwealth Ave and walk west (or take the Green Line if you’re getting leggy) to Kenmore Square. The big Citgo sign you see over the wall of the Green Monster at Fenway sits on top of the BU Barnes & Noble and is the Eastern-most (pretty much) edge of BU. Lots of BU and Boston-related merchandise on the bottom floor. Walk up Brookline Ave to Fenway Park and buy tickets to a tour at Gate D (about $20). The tour lasts for a few hours and you get to go all over Fenway (including into the press box and visitor’s dugout sometimes!) and there’s a cool little Red Sox museum at the end with a lot of MVP/Cy Young Awards.
Get a coffee/crepe from Neighborhoods on Peterborough, or if it’s lunchtime, the El Guapo burrito from El Pelon taqueria next-door. (When El Pelon burned down, I had to force myself to trek up Comm Ave to BC territory to get my fix occasionally.)
Wander over to the Fens- part of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace linking all of Boston’s parks. If you’re into art at all, the humongous Museum of Fine Arts with it’s new American art wing as well as the excellent Isabella Stewart Gardner museum (has Titian’s Europa and a very cool courtyard- can see a lot of it in just a couple hours) are both located here.
Downside: you’ve gotten closer to Northeastern.
Dinner/Bars in Kenmore: Eastern Standard is one of the best all-around restaurants in Boston with an awesome mint julep. Island Creek Oyster Bar is amazing seafood. The Hawthorne is a great mixology/cocktail bar with good small bites. If you’re looking for more of a dive, The Lower Depths has a great tap selection right in Kenmore.
If you want to head up Comm Ave along BU’s campus, the Dugout is the diviest of dives (LOL at the 4 stars on Yelp- but you may catch an ex-Terrier in there) and keep heading up until you get to St. Paul St and go to Sunset Cantina right across from Agganis. The food is better than average for the price (Boston ain’t cheap) and tons of tequila and beers.
Alternatively, take the C line from Kenmore (or a pretty short cab ride) to Washington Square in Brookline. The Publick House has the largest selection of beers in Boston/Brookline and specializes in Belgian beers and moules frites (that’s mussels and fries for you uncultured folk- for you there’s the delicious mac & cheese.) The Fireplace is another very good restaurant and I’ve heard great things about Ribelle as well as Barcelona Bar (a little more on the more expensive/fancy side.)
A few stops closer on the C Line is Coolidge Corner, kind of the main square of Brookline. Get ice cream at JP Licks, Thai food at Dok Bua, burritos at Anna’s Taqueria, or if you’re there for lunch, the Rachel (corned beef and coleslaw) from Michael’s Deli or the New Jewish cuisine of Zaftig’s Deli. Good bars are Hops N Scotch right on Brookline Ave, or walk down Harvard St into Brookline Village and go to Matt Murphy’s for a taste of Ireland (and frequently live music.)
East: The Freedom Trail
This little tour is easy- head east down Boylston (if you’re ready for lunch, get a sandwich from Parish Cafe- trust me.) Walk into the Public Garden towards the North. If you have kids, this is where the Make Way for Ducklings statues live, and are right across from Cheers. Walk across the suspension bridge and check out the swan boats, cross the street into America’s first public park- Boston Common. Walk towards the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House (on the site of John Hancock’s old estate) and pick up the Freedom Trail from here. Literally a 2+ mile trail of red bricks, this path will take you along many of Boston’s historic sites- including the Granary Burial Ground to see the graves of Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and John Hancock. Follow the Trail to the original State House and see the site of the Boston Massacre. Look up to see the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was read to the citizens of Boston in July 1776. Keep walking down to Faneuil Hall (go to the top floor) and wander around Quincy Market. Grab a drink at the Green Dragon (favorite bar of the Sons of Liberty) or food at the Union Oyster House (America’s oldest restaurant.) If you end up in this area at night, watch out for the bros. You can continue into the North End to see the Old North Church (“one if by land, two if by sea”) and even to the Bunker Hill Memorial and the USS Constitution of Charlestown (hometown of Captain Matt Grzelcyk.)
Alternatively, a lot of these sites can also be enjoyed via Duck Tour if you’re not quite up to walking for several hours. These can be picked up if you walk into the Prudential Center mall, and have the added fun of ‘sailing’ on the Charles! These are kind of pricey ($30ish) and touristy, but hey we’re being tourists here, and this is a nice way of seeing Boston if you’re not familiar.
Saturday
Check out Cambridge! The ‘People’s Republic’ of the North Bank of the Charles River and home to MIT and Harvard. Cool things to check out are the MIT Museum as well as the area around Harvard Square. Good things to eat can be found at the famous old Mr. Bartley’s Burger, Pinnochio’s pizza, and Russell House Tavern. If you want to get off the beaten path a bit and find some of the best restaurants in Boston, go to Inman Square. If it’s breakfast/brunch, go to The Friendly Toast. If it’s lunchtime, get Indian at Punjabi Dhaba or baja tacos at Olecito. If it’s pregame dinner/drinks get the fish and chips at The Druid, chicken and waffles from Trina’s Starlite Lounge, or beer and snacks at Lord Hobo.
Then take a taxi or the Red Line to Charles St/MGH and walk over to the...
8pm- Championship game at TD Garden
