Continental Airlines Flights from London, Great Britain (LHR) to Boston (BOS)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Continental Airlines, which operates a daily non-stop flight from London, Great Britain (LHR) to Boston (BOS) regularly scheduled to depart at 2:40pm and arrive at 5:05pm. Usually an Airbus A340-600 is flown for this route. The average travel time from London, Great Britain to Boston, MA is 7 hours and 25 minutes.
During your Boston vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Museum of Fine Arts
One of the world's great art museums, the MFA works nonstop to become even more accessible and interesting. You're sure to find something entrancing in these magnificent collections. Every installation reflects a curatorial attitude that makes even those who go in with a feeling of obligation leave with a sense of discovery and wonder. That includes children, who can participate in a scavenger hunt, admire the mummies, or participate in family-friendly programs scheduled year-round (there are extra offerings during school vacations). The MFA is especially famous for its Impressionist paintings (including 43 Monets -- one of the largest collections outside of Paris), Asian and Old Kingdom Egyptian collections, classical art, Buddhist temple, and medieval sculpture and tapestries. There are also magnificent holdings of prints, photographs, furnishings, and decorative arts, including the finest collection of Paul Revere silver in the world. The museum is currently expanding its modern and contemporary art collections and rearranging some galleries in engaging groupings that display paintings and sculpture along with related decorative objects and furniture.The works that you might find most familiar are paintings and sculpture by Americans and Europeans. Some favorites: Renoir's Dance at Bougival, van Gogh's Postman Joseph Roulin, Childe Hassam's Boston Common at Twilight, Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portrait of George Washington, John Singleton Copley's 1768 portrait of Paul Revere, a bronze casting of Edgar Degas's sculpture Little Dancer, John Singer Sargent's The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, and Fitz Hugh Lane's Luminist masterpieces.None of this comes cheap: The MFA's adult admission fee (which covers two visits within 30 days) is among the highest in the country. A Boston CityPass is a great deal if you plan to visit enough of the other included attractions.To begin your visit at the museum, pick up a floor plan at the information desk, or take a free guided tour (weekdays except Mon holidays at 10:30am and 1:30pm, with an additional tour on Wed at 6:15pm, and Sat at 10:30am and 1pm). The I. M. Pei-designed West Wing (1981) contains the main entrance, an auditorium, and an atrium with a tree-lined "sidewalk" cafe. There is also a restaurant and a cafeteria. The excellent Museum Shop carries abundant souvenirs and a huge book selection.Special exhibitions during the lifespan of this book include Art Deco 1910-1939 (Aug 22, 2004-Jan 9, 2005); Speed, Style and Beauty: Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection (Mar 6-July 3, 2005); The Quilts of Gee's Bend (June 1-Aug 21, 2005); and Tiffany Jewels (Sept 18-Dec 31, 2005).The museum is currently expanding: construction of the new East Wing, designed by Norman Foster, began in early 2004. While work proceeds, the museum is rearranging some collections and closing some exhibition spaces, so check ahead before visiting if you have your heart set on seeing a particular piece of art.MFA FYI--The Huntington Avenue entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts is usually much less busy than the West Wing lobby. Walk back along Huntington Avenue when you leave the T, enter from the curved driveway, and stop to take in the John Singer Sargent murals.
Museum of Afro-American History
The final stop on the Black Heritage Trail, this museum offers a comprehensive look at the history and contributions of blacks in Boston and Massachusetts. It occupies the recently restored Abiel Smith School (1834), the first American public grammar school for African-American children, and the African Meeting House, 8 Smith Court. Changing and permanent exhibits use art, artifacts, documents, historic photographs, and other objects -- including many family heirlooms -- to explore an important era that often takes a back seat in Revolutionary War-obsessed New England. Children enjoy the interactive touch-screen displays and multimedia presentations, and the patient, enthusiastic staff helps them put the exhibits in context. The oldest standing black church in the United States, the meeting house opened in 1806. William Lloyd Garrison founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in this building, where Frederick Douglass made some of his great abolitionist speeches. Once known as the "Black Faneuil Hall," it also schedules lectures, concerts, and church meetings.
Old South Meeting House
Look for the clock tower that tops this religious and political gathering place, best known as the site of an important event leading to the Revolution. On December 16, 1773, a restive crowd of several thousand, too big to fit into Faneuil Hall, gathered here. They were waiting for word from the governor about whether three ships full of tea -- priced to undercut the cost of smuggled tea and force the colonists to trade with merchants approved by the Crown -- would be sent back to England from Boston. The ships were not, and revolutionaries poorly disguised as Mohawks cast the tea into the harbor. The meeting house commemorates that uprising, the Boston Tea Party. You can even see a vial of the tea. An interactive multimedia exhibit, Voices of Protest, tells the story of the events that took place here.Originally built in 1670 and replaced by the current structure in 1729, the building underwent extensive renovations in the 1990s. In 1872, the devastating fire that destroyed most of downtown stopped at Old South, a phenomenon considered evidence of the building's power.The meeting house frequently schedules speeches, readings, panel discussions, and children's activities, often with a colonial theme. Each December, it stages a reenactment of the debate that led to the tea party. Call ahead or check the website for schedules.Exit through the gift shop and look across Milk Street to see Benjamin Franklin's birthplace. Franklin, the 15th child of Josiah Franklin, was born in 1706 in a little house at 17 Milk St. The house is long gone, but look across at the second floor of what's now 1 Milk St. When the building went up after the fire of 1872, the architect guaranteed that the Founding Father wouldn't be forgotten: A bust and the words BIRTHPLACE OF FRANKLIN adorn the facade.To continue on the Freedom Trail: Backtrack on Washington Street (passing Spring Lane, one of the first streets in Boston and originally the site of a real spring) to State Street.
Howard Johnson Inn
This motel is as close to Fenway Park as you can get without buying a ticket. The outdoor pool makes it particularly attractive to vacationing families. The rooms are of a decent size, and some have microwaves and refrigerators (convenient if you plan to eat some meals in). The location, a busy street in a commercial-residential neighborhood, is convenient to the Back Bay, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, but not all that close to public transit -- a consideration when you're hauling kids through the summer heat. During baseball season, guests contend with crowded sidewalks and the raucous Red Sox fans who flood the area.
The Ritz-Carlton, Boston
This legendary hotel overlooking the Public Garden has attracted both the "proper Bostonian" and the celebrated visitor since 1927. A top-to-bottom $60 million restoration completed in 2002 upgraded the building throughout. One of the most traditional lodgings in town, it offers fewer amenities than its sister property in the Theater District and the archrival Four Seasons, but the original Ritz maintains the cachet accumulated during nearly 8 decades of doing everything in style.The elegantly appointed guest rooms have plush linens, feather duvets, crystal chandeliers, three phones (one in the bathroom), and windows that open. You'll pay more for a room with a view. The best units are the suites, which have wood-burning fireplaces; the "fireplace butler" can help you choose the right wood.Facilities: 2 restaurants; bar; lounge; exercise room; access to Sports Club/LA ($20; see Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common listing, above); concierge; courtesy car; airport shuttle; business center; 24-hr. room service; in-room massage; babysitting; laundry service; same-day dry cleaning; club-level rooms. Rooms for travelers with disabilities are available.
Marriott Residence Inn Boston Harbor
Combining the familiar suburban brand and a prime urban location, the Residence Inn opened in 2003. It's the only chain hotel in Charlestown, and easy access to water transportation (especially in warm weather, when the water taxi stops at the hotel dock) makes it competitive with far more expensive downtown properties. Adjacent to the Charlestown Navy Yard, the hotel (which accommodates many guests on extended stays) consists of studio and one- and two-bedroom suites with full kitchens; many have harbor views. Even the smallest units, the studio suites, are generous in size. The lobby pool and fitness room adjoin the hotel dock and offer water views. Views from higher floors of the eight-story building are spectacular; the few units that don't overlook the harbor face the Zakim-Bunker Hill Bridge, the Charles River, and what remains of the Big Dig. My favorites are the east-facing rooms on the second floor, with huge windows that allow just-close-enough views of the action on the water. Patrons tend to be business travelers on weeknights and (especially in the summer) families on weekends. Prices listed here are for 1 to 4 nights; longer stays mean ever-greater discounts.
