DH and I go to Boston every other year for a week long conference in early October. I love it - he's in classes all day and I get to roam the city. We always stay at the Fairmont Copley Place - it's a grand old fashioned, historic buildings and conveniently located.

I always buy a 2 day ticket on the open air trolley that travels around the city - it's a hop on - hop off deal and conveniently covers most of the historic sites. The Duck Tours are fun too.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a one of a kind and not to be missed. The Glass Flowers Collection at the Harvard Museum of Natural History is stunning.

How old is your DD?

Can you give a hint of the types of things you like to do while traveling? Do you like museums, shopping, theater, tours, walk, history, etc.? And how long do you expect to be in the area?

Oh, by the way, both Filene's Basement and Jordan Marsh are gone now, so don't count on reliving that experience! HA.

There is a lot to see and do in Boston; you won't get to do everything so it'd help to know what you're interested in in order to maximize your time.

And when are you planning to be in Boston? Soon, such as this summer?

Public transportation can be either commuter rail (train) or subway, and there are many different "lines" - routes. It's hard to give you suggestions about where to stay outside the city and how long the trip takes without knowing more about what you would like to do. But I would wager a guess that, if you stay within a few towns of the city you could get into Boston in 1/2 hour or much less.

Keep in mind that the subway runs much more frequently (shorter than every 10 minutes, I think) than the commuter rail. Both are very crowded at rush hour time (say 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM, about).

We went last fall and had a great time. Stayed in a hotel on Copley Square which was pricey but convenient. Copley Square is an active, lively place.

On Copley Square you can see the Boston public library with the wonderful art and science statues in front, the tortoise and hare statues which signify the end of the Boston Marathon. Firehouse subs is there, a fun place to get something to eat. Trinity Church is also on the square, really beautiful (might be a fee for a tour).

You could go to the Kennedy Museum. We took the subway there (first time in our lives on a subway).

Try to pick up a tour or two which will be worth doing if your visit is short. The historic tours are interesting. You can also walk all or part of the Freedom Trail. Central Park has the duckling statues which are from the book "Make Way for Ducklings." Maybe your children read that one.

Have fun.

There is a discussion on Tripadvisor about hotels/motels in the suburbs which are near the T (MBTA) and/or the commuter lines. If you google "hotels near T in Boston Tripadvisor" you should be able to find it.

Good luck. We spent a week in Boston last summer and loved the beautiful area along the waterfront near the North End. Be sure to sample some of the Italian restaurants in the North End.

Thanks Marie-Cate, Susieque, Socks12345 and Dawn2dusk.

I didn't express our area of interest as it is very broad; we will want to do some shopping and eating, visiting galleries and/or museums, walking and some history. I doubt we will do any tours, but we might. Love theatre, but doubt that will come into play this trip. We really only expect to be there three or four days.

I will check out the Tripadvisor forum as suggested dawn2dusk.

Jane

Ok, I concur with the suggestions of the Copley area (although you won't find any shopping bargains there), and certainly the North End for Italian dining at its best. Restaurants are typically very small (not many tables) and long waits in the summer, but if you're into waiting outside while enjoying a "beverage", the wait and socializing can be fun and part of the whole experience.

The North End is right next to the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area, which is fun, too.

A Duck Tour is fun; it ends up plunging into the water (no, you don't get wet). It's also informative and a nice way to see Boston and learn more.

You may be interested in The Freedom Trail; google it to find out more. If it's a decent day, the walk is very nice and plenty of history/interesting information. Among other things, you'll see Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, etc. That is over near the North End.

Not sure if, by museums, you might be interested in MFA - Museum of Fine Arts. Many people are. To tell the truth, I guess I'm "culturally challenged", as I'm not all that taken by museums.

Walking around (actually up and down) Beacon Hill is nice.

You won't have enough time to do all there is to do. So, you'll just have to come back!

If you can afford it, stay right in Boston. Boston is such a walkable city, and it would be a shame to lose that aspect. If you have to stay outside Boston, see if you can find something in Brookline or Cambridge, which have direct routes into Boston on the T and are still quite urban.

Copley Square is nice (Copley Square Hotel, Lennox, Bullfinch, etc.), lots of shopping, old churches, gorgeous old public library (enter for a few minutes just to see the interior courtyard, which is a real treat). I love the Boston Harbor area (Marriott Long Wharf - gorgeous indoor pool overlooking the harbor) - you're within 10 minutes walking distance of the harbor, Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, and the North End.

Here are some of the things I plan for guests when they're here for a few days:

- Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. Wander through the Haymarket open air market. Watch the street performers. Have a drink at an outdoor cafe. Go up the back of Faneuil Hall and take the Parks Service tour. It's interesting, short, and air conditioned - and there are clean bathrooms. Have lunch at Durgin Park, which is the oldest continuously-operating restaurant in the country.

- North End (you can do this on the same day as Faneuil Hall, if you're not tired). You get to the North End through the back side of Quincy Market - it's close. See the Old North Church ("one if by land, two if by sea") and the Paul Revere House. Wander around the streets. Have dinner at almost any restaurant, preferably on a side street. (Ida's, in a tiny alley off Hanover Street, is a favorite of mine.) Get pastries from Mike's or another pastry shop, walk over to the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and sit and watch the kids playing in the water.

By the way, if you're worried that this is too much walking, you could walk the entire route straight through in about 15 minutes!

- Do the Freedom Trail, but only part of it. Start at the State Street stop on the T (orange and blue lines), and catch the Parks Services talk on the Boston Massacre (or, as my British friend calls it, the Boston Incident:). Follow the red line of the Freedom trail past the Old South Church (the Parker House Hotel, which is nearby, has nice public bathrooms on the second floor!), through the Boston Common (you can see the Statehouse from there), and on to the Public Garden. Take a swan boat and see the Make Way for Ducklings statues. Buy the book as a souvenir.

- From the Public Garden, you can go up Beacon Hill (not my favorite, but very pretty), or you can head into the Back Bay. Walk down Newbury Steet and shop or eat in the pretty outdoor cafes.

- Walk the Esplanade. See where they do the famous Boston Pops 4th of July concert. Watch the boaters on the Charles River.

- Take the T (red line) to Harvard Square and explore Harvard. If you like to walk, take the T to Porter Square instead, and walk back to Harvard Square. It's about a 1.5 mile walk filled with shops and restaurants.

- From Boston, take the T (blue line) outbound to Wonderland, which is the end of the line. You'll be at Revere Beach, which is the oldest public beach in the U.S. Eat at Kelly's Roast Beef, an institution! From downtown Boston, it takes about 20 minutes each way, so you could easily go to Revere Beach, walk the beach, get something to eat, and be back within two hours. (Btw, I know you can also reach Castle Island Beach in South Boston by T, and it's interesting, but I don't know it as well, except that I know that Sullivan's is the recommended place to eat there.)

Hope you have a great time. Boston is a wonderful city!

Thanks again all. You all spent time working on this for me, I appreciate it.

Joan23456, you spent forever on this and I didn't thank you in my last post, so thank you so much. Great suggestions.

My daughter and I spent some time here on the computer last night looking at all sorts of variations. We had been thinking of coming in October, but it looks like now it may be August (she has a line on hotel deals). We would like to stay downtown and are currently thinking of taking the train down from Portland, Maine, and leaving our car there for a couple of days. Still a work in progress, but we are both looking forward to it.

Thanks again everyone.

Jane

Thanks again all. You all spent time working on this for me, I appreciate it.

Joan23456, you spent forever on this and I didn't thank you in my last post, so thank you so much. Great suggestions.

My daughter and I spent some time here on the computer last night looking at all sorts of variations. We had been thinking of coming in October, but it looks like now it may be August (she has a line on hotel deals). We would like to stay downtown and are currently thinking of taking the train down from Portland, Maine, and leaving our car there for a couple of days. Still a work in progress, but we are both looking forward to it.

Thanks again everyone.

Jane

The Fanueil Hall Marketplace is a great place to shop. Another fun place is Newbury Street which is just a block away from Copley Square. It's pricey but window shopping is fun. There is also Copley Place which is a large mall including Neiman Marcus as well as the regular stores. Lord & Taylor has a store right on Boylston Street, a short walk from Copley Square.

When I was in Boston many years ago, we took a Grayline Tour for a couple of hours to get an overview of places to to come back to.

Last year we stayed at a wonderful and less expensive B&B in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. I don't recall how close it was to the T, but I think we may have taken the bus first. Do check TripAdvisor forums for Boston--they are soo useful!

Don't be shy of tours. It's really an effective way to see a lot in a little time.