things to do in november

Hi

My husband is very dissappointed at missing out on the whale watching as we will be in boston from the 4th - 11th.

Can anyone give me tips on other interests.

We are going to salem and doing the usual touristy shopping and sight seeing .

But we don`t want to miss a thing as it will be our 1st visit to boston from the u.k.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

things to do in november

Hi,

There are lots of things to do, besides the whale watching.

The New England Aquarium is fun, the Museum of Fine Arts has one of the best collections of Impressionist paintings in the world. The Museum of Science is a lot of fun.

I also like to recommend the Harvard museums in Cambridge also. The Harvard Museum of Natural History has an exhibit of glass flowers that is just spellbinding.

鈥arvard.edu/exhibitions/glassflowers.html

They are exact (and I mean exact) replicas of over 800 species of flowers, done in blown glass. It%26#39;s something that you can%26#39;t see anywhere else in the world.

As for Boston tours, walk the Freedom Trail, it%26#39;s a self-guided walking tour of all the historic sites and it starts at the Visitor%26#39;s center on Boston Common, near Park St. Station.

For shopping, people watching and good dining, make sure to walk down Newbury St. and make sure to walk in the North End (the Freedom Trail will take you there). Stop in at Mike%26#39;s Pastry for decadent Italian Pastry.

If you have any specific interests, I might be able to suggest some other things. Meanwhile, check out these websites for more information:

http://boston.citysearch.com

http://www.boston.com

http://www.bostonphoenix.com

If you want to see any live theater/concerts while you are here, Boston is a great theater city. Check out this web site for listings and discount ticket sales:

http://www.artsboston.org

Have a great trip!

things to do in november

Depending on your mobility (Salem is easily accessible by car OR train), if the weather is nice, a drive north to Portsmouth, NH would be a nice day trip. It%26#39;s about 50 miles to this restored seaport, and it%26#39;s got loads of shops and restaurants, as well as a restored village setting called ';Strawbery Banke';.

Also within a day-trip distance is Olde Sturbridge Village... another reconstructed 18th century village, but a ';agricultural';, rather than ';seafaring'; setting. It%26#39;s quite a bit larger than Stawbery Banke and involves more walking.

Another day-trip (in the same direction as Salem, but further out on Cape Ann) are the art colonies of Bearskin Neck in Rockport, and Rocky Neck in Gloucester. On the way to Gloucester, you might consider a stop at Hammond%26#39;s Castle... a beautiful medieval-style castle/museum built on a rocky cliff overlooking Gloucester harbor.

Here are a couple websites...

www.portsmouthnh.com/thingstodo/index.cfm鈥?/a>

http://www.osv.org/

http://www.hammondcastle.org/

There is also Plimoth Plantation, the working settlement replica for the first settlers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. You can get there via car or public transportation; see their website.

http://www.plimoth.org

Salem, Gloucester and Rockport are also great suggestions, all fun things to see. If you go to Salem, do make time to visit the Peabody-Essex Museum. It has gone through an extensive overhaul and is considered one of the best museums for New England maritime history.

http://www.pem.org

I love the JFK Museum, found it totally fascinating. Definitely either walk the Freedom Trail or if walking is a problem take a Trolley Tour. I also love the view from the top of the Prudential Centre and of course the shops there. As you%26#39;re from the UK, take a stroll up and around the Beacon Hill area, it%26#39;s very reminiscent of England. You can also walk the Black Freedom trail whilst you%26#39;re in that area too, very interesting.

Hi

Thanks for all your kind suggestions - I will be searching the relavent web sites now for more detailed info.

I can`t wait to visit boston - it sounds fantastic and the autumn foliage must be really something.

Whale watching tours are scheduled out of Gloucester, MA until the end of October.

Try this general Website for a list of several tour operators.

http://www.cape-ann.com/gloucester.html

Then, search down at the bottom right hand side for the list of links to the Websites of the various tour operators. I believe that there are four. You can contact them by email for exact schedules. Some may offer tours on weekends only.

Gloucester is located about an hour to one and one half hours North of Boston by car (Route 1 to Route 128 North).

The advantage to a whale watching trip from Gloucester is that it is much closer to the whale watching area at Stellwagon Bank. It is a shorter trip and you can stay at that location longer. Kee in mind that during October the weather can be colder and the seas rougher.

You can also travel to Gloucester by commuter rail from North Station in Boston but before planning to do so in your emails inquire about location and distance from the train station to the dock of each tour operator and whether they can pick you up and drop you off or recommend a taxi service both ways.

Commuter rail schedules are found at www.mbta.org