What to see and do when you have a long layover in Boston


Flights

All you really want is a plan.

A birds-eye view of the Rose Kennedy Fitzgerald Greenway. Wendy Maeda/Globe Employees

Do you’ve a number of hours to kill whereas ready on your connecting flight at Boston’s Logan Worldwide Airport? You possibly can dangle across the airport and seize a meal, or you can enterprise out into Boston, armed with a positive plan and a aware eye on the time.

Straight from Logan, you may take the MBTA’s Blue Line subway or Silver Line bus to a number of downtown spots. Listed here are 5 Boston layover excursions you may plan when your itinerary permits it.

One thing very ‘Boston’ to do: Go to the Freedom Path

The Outdated State Home is a staple of Boston tour teams alongside The Freedom Path. – John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe

When you’re a Boston vacationer, strolling the Freedom Path — a group of historic websites that inform the story of the American Revolution and extra — is about as Boston vacationer because it will get. Chances are you’ll not have time to stroll all 2.5 miles of the path throughout your layover, however taking the Blue Line to State Road will put you proper in the course of the motion — the practice station is beneath the Outdated State Home, considered one of 16 websites featured on the path. You’ll be able to wander by means of the 1713 constructing the place the Declaration of Independence was first learn from the balcony in 1776. You’ll go to interval rooms and look at objects equivalent to John Hancock’s pink velvet coat, ammunition from Revolutionary Warfare battles, and tea from the Boston Tea Occasion. Different close by path websites embody Faneuil Corridor and the Outdated South Assembly Home.

When starvation strikes, you may stroll throughout the road to the enduring Faneuil Corridor Market, which is filled with eating places, retail shops, and the huge Quincy Market meals colonnade with dozens of consuming choices that vary from seafood to Indian to Greek. For extra of a neighborhood’s expertise, although, stroll an additional couple of minutes to the Boston Public Market, stuffed with contemporary, locally-sourced meals.

One thing to do with the youngsters: Mingle with sea life on the aquarium

Myrtle the turtle on the New England Aquarium. – New England Aquarium

One other family-friendly possibility is to wile away your layover hours by peering into the faces of 1000’s of sea creatures on the New England Aquarium. Simply take the Blue Line to the Aquarium cease, which drops you solely 100 yards from the place. As soon as there, you’ll spend time at a four-story, 200,000 gallon Large Ocean Tank, filled with lots of of Caribbean reef animals equivalent to sea turtles, stingrays, and eels. The aquarium additionally boasts the biggest shark and ray contact tank on the East Coast and is house to seals, sea lions, and penguins.

In case your brood is hungry, it’s a five-minute stroll to Granary Tavern on Milk Road, housed in a former grain mill and with a youngsters’s menu that provides pizza, macaroni and cheese, and a grilled hamburger on a brioche bun. When you’re touring on the weekend and revel in brunch with the household, this spot serves it till 3 p.m.

One thing artsy to do: Go to the Institute of Modern Artwork

The Institute of Modern Artwork (ICA). – Robert S. Davis / The Boston Globe

Fill your restricted time in Boston by brushing up on trendy artwork. Take the Silver Line to both the Courthouse or World Commerce Middle stops, each round a 10-minute stroll from the Institute of Modern Artwork on the Boston Harbor within the Seaport. The museum, based in 1936, options modern artwork, performances, and academic packages. The museum’s Barbara Lee Assortment of Artwork by Girls presently contains 68 main works of Twentieth- and Twenty first-century artwork. In case your layover is on a Thursday evening, you’re in luck: Museum admission is free between 5 and 9 p.m.

If time permits, there are numerous close by eating places, together with The Barking Crab and Yankee Lobster Co., the place you may fulfill your post-museum starvation with a New England seafood staple.

One thing outdoorsy to do: Absorb Boston from a scenic park

Individuals benefit from the sunshine laying on the grass at Christopher Columbus Park on the waterfront in 2021. – John Tlumacki/Globe Employees

When you’re looking for contemporary air following hours of recycled airplane air, take the Blue Line to the Aquarium cease, which can drop you off close to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and the Instagram-friendly Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. The previous is a mile-and-a-half stretch of latest parks situated within the coronary heart of Boston the place you may seize a meal from a meals truck, experience a carousel, and cease by a beer backyard. When you maintain strolling north, simply previous the Boston Marriott Lengthy Wharf, you’ll discover Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, the place you may take photographs beneath the park’s iconic trellis (which lights up at evening), watch the boats coming and moving into Boston Harbor, and scent the roses on the Rose Kennedy Rose Backyard.

When starvation strikes, it’s a brief stroll to Boston’s North Finish, which is stuffed with historic appeal, eating places equivalent to The Day by day Catch and Neptune Oyster, and fast and well-known pizza locations like the unique Regina Pizzeria, Ernesto’s Pizza, and Galleria Umberto. Don’t neglect to seize a cannoli from Bova’s Bakery, Mike’s Pastry, or Trendy Pastry.

One thing just like the locals do: Seize a beer at Trillium Brewing Co.

Trillium
A beer at Trillium Brewing Co. (JC Tetreault/Trillium) – JC Tetreault/Trillium

If you wish to go to one of many top-rated breweries in Massachusetts, head to Trillium Brewing Co. in Fort Level. You may get there by taking the Silver Line to the Courthouse cease, then spend time within the first-floor taproom, the second-floor eating space that includes New England farmhouse-inspired meals, or on the third-floor roof terrace. The corporate’s Twitter account retains observe of each day beer availability.

When you’d quite seize your beer right here and your grub some place else, you may head to the close by Flour Bakery + Cafe in Fort Level, one of many native spot’s a number of outposts. Strive one thing candy — proprietor Joanne Chang received a James Beard Award for Excellent Baker.