|
During your Boston vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
New England Aquarium
This complex is home to more than 15,000 fish and aquatic mammals, and at busy times, it seems to contain at least that many people -- in July and August, try to make this your first stop of the morning, especially on weekends. You'll want to spend at least half a day here, and huge afternoon crowds can make getting around painfully slow. Also consider investing in a Boston CityPass; it allows you to skip the ticket line, which can be uncomfortably long, and may represent a savings on the steep admission charge. The Simons IMAX Theatre, which has its own building, hours, and admission fees, is worth planning ahead for too. Its 85-foot-by-65-foot screen shows 3-D films with digital sound that concentrate on the natural world. It's a dizzying experience.The focal point of the main building is the four-story, 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank. A four-story spiral ramp encircles the tank, which contains a replica of a Caribbean coral reef and an assortment of sea creatures that seem to coexist amazingly well. Part of the reason for the peace might be that scuba divers feed the sharks twice a day. Other exhibits show off freshwater and tropical specimens, a wide variety of jellyfish, denizens of the Amazon, and the ecology of Boston Harbor. The floating marine mammal pavilion, Discovery, is home to performing sea lions. At the Edge of the Sea exhibit, visitors can touch the sea stars, sea urchins, and horseshoe crabs in the tide pool. The Aquarium Medical Center is especially involving -- it's a working veterinary hospital.Naturalist-led harbor tours that teach "Science at Sea" run daily in the spring, summer, and fall. Discounts are available when you combine a visit to the aquarium with an IMAX film, harbor tour, or whale watch.
Museum of Science
For the ultimate pain-free educational experience, head to the Museum of Science. The demonstrations, experiments, and interactive displays introduce facts and concepts so effortlessly that everyone winds up learning something. Take a couple of hours or a whole day to explore the permanent and temporary exhibits, most of them hands-on and all of them great fun.Among the 500-plus exhibits, you might meet an iguana or a dinosaur, find out how much you'd weigh on the moon, battle urban traffic in a computer model, and climb into a space module. Some activities and exhibits focus on specific fields of interest -- natural history (with live animals), computers, the human body, while others take an interdisciplinary approaches. Investigate! teaches visitors to think like scientists, formulating questions, finding evidence, and drawing conclusions through activities such as strapping on a skin sensor to measure reactions to stimuli, or sifting through an archaeological site. In the Seeing Is Deceiving section, auditory and visual illusions challenge your belief in what is "real." The Science in the Park exhibit introduces the concepts of Newtonian physics through familiar recreational tools such as playground equipment and skateboards.The separate-admission theaters are worth planning for. Even if you're skipping the exhibits, try to see a show. If you're making a day of it, buy all your tickets at once -- shows sometimes sell out. Tickets are for sale in person and, subject to a service charge, over the phone and on the Web (www.tickets.mos.org). The Mugar Omni Theater, which shows IMAX movies, is an intense experience, bombarding you with images on a five-story domed screen and digital sound. The engulfing sensations and steep pitch of the seating area will have you hanging on for dear life, whether the film is about Mount Everest, Bengal tigers, or wild chimpanzees. Features change every 4 to 6 months. The Charles Hayden Planetarium takes visitors into space with daily star shows and shows on special topics that change several times a year. On weekends, rock-music laser shows take over. At the entrance is a hands-on astronomy exhibit called Welcome to the Universe.The museum has a terrific gift shop, with toys and games that promote learning without lecturing. The ground-floor Galaxy Cafés have spectacular views of the skyline and river. There's a parking garage on the premises, but it's on a busy street, and entering and exiting can be harrowing; take the T.Gone Fishing--Many fascinating interactive exhibits from the defunct Computer Museum now delight patrons of the Museum of Science. The most popular is the Virtual FishTank, which uses 3-D computer graphics and character-animation software that allows visitors to design their own virtual fish. You can even "build" fish on your home computer (visit www.virtualfishtank.com) and launch them at the museum.
King's Chapel and Burying Ground
Architect Peter Harrison sent the plans for this Georgian-style building from Newport, Rhode Island, in 1749. Rather than replacing the existing wooden chapel, the granite edifice was constructed around it. Completed in 1754, it was the first Anglican church in Boston. George III sent gifts, as did Queen Anne and William and Mary, who presented the communion table and chancel tablets (still in use today) before the church was even built. The Puritan colonists had little use for the royal religion; after the Revolution, this became the first Unitarian church in the new nation. Today, the church conducts Unitarian Universalist services using the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.The burying ground, on Tremont Street, is the oldest in the city, dating to 1630. Among the scary colonial headstones (winged skulls were a popular decoration) are the graves of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; William Dawes, who rode with Paul Revere; Elizabeth Pain, the model for Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter; and Mary Chilton, the first female colonist to step ashore on Plymouth Rock.To continue on the Freedom Trail: Follow the trail back along Tremont Street and turn left onto School Street.
Doubletree Guest Suites' Boston
Located on the Charles River minutes from downtown Boston and Harvard Square, minutes from the local attractions, easily accessible by the major roads. W.Fenway Park 4 MI, NW. Hynes Convention Center 2 MI, NW. Logan Airport 8 MI, E. Subway 1 ...
Colonnade Hotel
As you relax with a Martini at Boston's best brasserie, or sip a Colonnade Cooler by the city's only rooftop pool, you can congratulate yourself. You have discovered one of Boston's finest hotels. Located in historic Back Bay, The Colonnade Hotel is a luxury hotel styled in the European tradition. Close attention to detail has been paid to every room, from sophisticated amenities to breathtaking views of the city. Dine in Boston's authentic French brasserie-Brasserie Jo.In the heart of ...
|
|
