Because so many of you people have such a wide range of experience…
I’ve got a dear friend visiting the Boston area during the week after Columbus Day. She’d like to see tourist things — the Lexington/Concord historical sites, Cape Cod, lighthouses, foliage, etc. — but she uses a motorized scooter. (And I’m not all that physically able these days my own self, to be honest.)
I’d like to sign us up for a couple of day tours by bus or train, let the professionals cope with the maniac Boston drivers, while we sit back and admire the scenery.
There’s certainly plenty of options on the web, but it’s hard to sort out the hype from the honest reviews. Any of you have experiences with particular companies or services that you can share? Must-see venues or events in that time frame? (If you’d prefer not to share in public, you can email me — click on my name in the right-hand column, or use annelaurie at verizon dot net.)
Joel
Peabody Essex museum is underrated in my book. Unfortunately the Decordova is probably inaccessible for a scooter, which is too bad. It’s a nice side venture from Concord/Walden Pond.
karen marie
Whatever else you decide to do, a visit to the Fenway Victory Gardens is a must, even in mid October. It is wheelchair accessible, having paved main paths. It is the oldest continuously used WWII era victory garden in the US. I had three contiguous plots there from 1987 to 2000, growing flowers (mostly perennials) and vegetables. It is one of the hidden gems of The Emerald Necklace. Do be sure to visit the Museum of Fine Arts if only to see the roomful of John Singer Sargent portraits. When you are in the North End, be sure to stop in to Modern Pastry for fresh-made torrone. Everyone goes to Mike’s Pastry, which is great, but Modern’s torrone is not to be missed.
In re bus tours, I would recommend figuring out something more custom, involving cabs. Bus tours will show you little, with less time to enjoy even the little. Avoid Quincy Market unless you want a real tourist ripoff experience.
dmsilev
I second the Peabody Essex recommendation, with the caveat that Salem gets a bit weird and crowded in the run-up towards Halloween.
JPL
If there are tours available that are handicapped accessible in Salem, you should include that. October is a perfect month to visit, imo.
dmsilev .. beat me to it and said it was to busy that time of year.
NotMax
Going out on a limb a little here (tamping down the natural impulses of a hermit), but any folks interested in a NYC area/LI meet-up?
Shall be on North Shore of Nassau County Sept. 1 – 10. Possible places closest to there are in either Kings Point (for the straight women and gay men, eye candy of Merchant Marine Academy cadets on weekends) or New Hyde Park, but wouldn’t rule out a NYC meet-up.
Mike J
Most of my Boston knowledge is what a college kid would do in the 80s. The Rat, the Channel, the Orson Welles theatre,
WaterGirl
My favorite place was on the Freedom Trail. In this crowd, I will open myself up to public shame by admitting that I am not all that interested in history. But we were in one place on the Freedom Trail that absolutely fascinated me. I think it must have been the Old State House, but I’m not sure of that (it was 2006) maybe someone here can correct me.
Everything in the room was related to the revolutionary war, with quotes from famous people saying things – for love of country – that would be considered treasonous now. It really had a big impact on me. If I went to Boston again and could go to only one touristy place besides the Boston Common, that would be it.
Feathers
@Mike J: All of which are gone. Sigh.
NotMax
History is fascinating. All too often it is the presentation of history on which to lay the blame.
smintheus
Showed an Italian friend around southern New England for a week back in the ’80s. The things she liked the most were walking around Beacon Hill and visiting Salem.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: I loved the “We Were There…” books when I was growing up. I loved history told through the eyes of a person instead of the dry history in the history books.
I googled just now and I see that there were 36 We Were There books.
I would love to read them again!
Mike J
@Feathers: I’ll bet that section of waterfront where the Channel was still smells like clove cigarettes.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Yeah, all too often the presentation is drier than Melba toast in Death Valley in August.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Growing up (physically, anyway) enjoyed 1066 and All That.
Doug R
All my experience of Boston comes from watching PBS, but the Ducks tour looked like fun, at least on Zoom.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Never heard of it, but it looks interesting.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Many to choose from, but for accessible history recommend Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. Triple-dog dare anyone to be able to put it down.
ultraviolet thunder
I was in Mass again Thursday and Friday. I avoid Boston Logan airport like… like a thing I don’t like at all… and fly into Manchester NH. Seriously, unless the city of Boston is your final destination avoid Logan.
The weather is nice this time of year but expect humid days and possibly chilly mornings.
Hope you have a good time!
WaterGirl
This feels kind of like an open thread, even if it isn’t, so speaking of PBS…
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Iowa Old Lady
I really liked Adam Goodheart’s 1861.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: I added it to my list to check out with a free sample on my iPad. thanks
PurpleGirl
@NotMax: I would be interested in a NYC meet-up. I don’t drive so traveling on the Island gets iffy for me.
Warren Terra
The duck tours are always popular. Their FAQ says they can make room for up to two wheelchairs per tour (prior arrangement is necessary!) and can assist passengers with getting on and off the vehicle – but as they talk only about “wheelchairs” I fear a motorized scooter might be beyond them. Still, I’m sure it’s an increasingly common question, you might email them and ask.
pluky
@Mike J: sadly, all gone now. another 80’s college kid.
raven
They are restoring Old Ironsides to I’d say go there.
raven
@Mike J: I saw the Allman Brothers on Boston Common for free on August 17, 1971!
Jmklees
I second a Duck tour and I love the Boston Aquarium is great. Farther afield is Plymouth Plantation. The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is interesting for the courtyard garden and the art heist
Ruckus
@raven:
Agreed.
It is an amazing thing to see and walk around on. Wonder though how much you can see if they are restoring?
ETA Talk about a living museum.
raven
@Ruckus: She’s dry docked right now. If you look at the webcam you can see the USS Cassin Young birthed behind her. I toured both a couple of years back. I just wish there was one of the old WIckes Class DD/APD’s left but, alas.
Pete Mack
Old Ironsides is definitely not wheelchair accessible. But a restoration is a great show even from outside. And the adjoining museum is excellent.
raven
@Pete Mack: Man, the webcam shots are great!
Schlemazel
Not much help with guided tours but if you can walk any part of the freedom trail through the town it would be good. I found every bit of it had interesting stuff. As for the limited mobility thing you might consider emailing tour operators and asking specifically about what they have to offer and what experience they have with assisting people.
After I fractured my pelvis I was in a wheelchair for a few weeks & got trapped in a “handicapped accessible” bathroom because the door opened the wrong way & there was not enough room to get the chair past the door to open it. Had to wait until the kids came looking for me a LONG time later & they helped me out. I learned that many things that claim to be accessible are not really.
Capri
@Warren Terra: I second the Duck Tour. I was all eye-rolly when I went, thinking it would be cheesy, but I really enjoyed it and found it extremely informative. It’s a great way to see a lot of Boston\;s sites.
Cervantes
Great suggestions above.
I’ll add a few: Outdoors your friend might enjoy Harvard Yard; or indoors in Brookline the Larz Anderson Auto Museum; or in Boston the Parker House; or Tremont Temple.
Nothing is “must-see” for everyone and I presume your friend has her particular interests — but the items mentioned are, respectively, the nation’s oldest university; the oldest car collection; the oldest still-operating hotel and always a site of political intrigue; and the home of the first integrated congregation in America.
Ruckus
@raven:
Toured the Constitution a few years ago. Having lived on a couple of different navy ships (just a few
yearsdecades newer) I can state that the living and working conditions are better today, WWII subs being the exception. Helped give tours on a WWII sub in 1970. Not positive but I think duty on the Constitution would have been better.Iowa Old Lady
OT: The Guardian reports that Scott Walker says a wall along the Canadian border is a legitimate matter for discussion.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/30/scott-walker-canada-border-wall-immigration-terrorists?CMP=share_btn_fb
Cervantes
@Iowa Old Lady:
I’m in favor of a wall myself.
One that closely surrounds the seventeen Republican candidates for President.
Snarkworth
@Iowa Old Lady: Too late. Ted Cruz already got in.
FlyingToaster
I’d recommend the usual Museum run: MFA, MoS, NEAq, PeabodyEssex.
Prudential Skywalk. Arboretum. If she likes birds, Mount Auburn Cemetery (not totally accessible, alas, but enough is to be enjoyable).
Someone mentioned Harvard Yard; the only problem with Harvard Square at the moment is that most of the on-street parking is verklempt due to road/sidewalk reconstruction. We have had a devil of a time finding parking on Monday afternoons all summer for WarriorGirl’s swim class. Fall, even without the roadwork, will only make parking crazier.
NECN will start having the foliage maps up in September; I suspect the colors will be pretty good up by you in early October.
Salem during weekdays up to about October 20th is doable. October weekends and late October gets very crowded.
Cervantes
@FlyingToaster:
Driving to Harvard Square is … well, let’s just say it’s inadvisable.
Take the Red Line.
raven
@Ruckus: When my old man and I visited the Alabama in 96 he pointed out that the USS Drum was about the same size as his craft, 100 yards long and 10 yards wide. Actually my step mom and half-sis are in the Solomon’s right now on a tour that traces his steps up “the Slot” on this boat.
currants
@Schlemazel: Sorry you had that experience, but you’re exactly right. The first college I went to (community branch of Penn State) had a handicap accessible bathroom…on the second floor of an old farm house, and no, no elevator to that floor. I’ve been in others that had coat racks out of reach, and even worse, sinks out of reach. Sizes and door-openings are frequently a mess, as you experienced.
And think about it, y’all: how many drive-through ATMs have you been to that have BRAILLE? I haven’t checked recently but for a good long while, THEY ALL DID.
dmsilev
@Ruckus: If you think US WWII subs were cramped, you should take a look at a German Uboat from the same era (U-505 at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, for instance). Makes the US boats look luxurious in comparison.
JPL
@currants: The ATM’s I can understand because they are located different places, some of which might be accessible to the blind. It’s just less expensive to make one type. Handicap bathrooms on a second floor without an elevator, is harder to explain.
RedDirtGirl
I’d de-lurk for a NYC meet-up! And thanks to all who gave me solid advice on my cat pee problem!
Brad
Peabody Essex is fantastic like previously said, but there is also a guided tour of the Salem National Maritime Historic Site which is nice and wheelchair accessible (and free!). Check in is at the Salem visitor’s center and includes a tour of the custom house and replica merchant ship the Friendship (also wheelchair accessible). Not sure about accessibility but there’s also a trolley that does historic tours of Salem for a small fee.
currants
@JPL:
Yes, absolutely. Which doesn’t explain why the one without Braille was in the lobby of the bank. (Then again, this was rural PA in the 90s, and even today, I meet an awful lot of people who take kind of a long time to realize why Braille makes no sense at a drive-up ATM and instead argue that even blind people might need to use an ATM, not a point I disagree with….)
ETA: I see I didn’t put this: “the one without Braille was in the lobby of the bank” in the original comment–sorry.
cynthia ackerman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapparium
You’re welcome.
Ruckus
@dmsilev:
Yes a little better. But better is a relative term. The most fun was had after the group managed to climb down the ladder. To a person they said, “It looks a lot roomier than I expected.” That was because everything had been removed from that compartment to make room for the tourists. After they set foot in the next compartment all you heard was a sharp intake of breath, OK that and a few Holy Shit comments. I’m 5’11” and at the time weighed 150 and there wasn’t a lot of room to move about. If you are subject to claustrophobia in any way shape or form, it is like being stuffed in a very, very small closet and having the door locked shut.
Another Holocene Human
Let me pour some water on that Ducks thing. They became infamous in Boston for a couple of horrible accidents in which tourists drowned. Duck at your own risk.
Ruckus
@ultraviolet thunder:
Used to have to travel to NH for a week, every year for work. I’ve tried all the airports around Logan for the same reason. I also once got caught out timing/full flights wise for Manchester so had to fly into Logan and drive up. That was fun. I’ve been in 46 states, driven in 45 of them and a few other countries as well (even driving on the wrong side of the road) and driving in Mass is different than anywhere else I’ve been.
Ruckus
@Iowa Old Lady:
Now Canada might just pay for that, if it would keep us out.
FlyingToaster
@Cervantes: can’t take the Red Line with a scooter; because the scooter won’t fit in the tiny elevators. Plus try riding around on the un-restored bricks in Harvard Square right now… They should be done by the end of the week.
The only reason we were driving was because we lost our slot at Blodgett, so PITA parking on Plympton for MAC pool time is doable for 3 weeks.
We relocate off campus for her fall lessons, thank goodness.
Cervantes
@FlyingToaster:
Does The Ride not work with the scooter?
Snarkworth
I check Tripadvisor.com for reviews of tours and activities. We’ve found some excellent guides that way. You have to read between the lines a bit, however.
mai naem mobile
I haven’t been but family members have – the JFK library,Fenway and the Boston Pops. I’m asssuming all three are accessible.
Tomtofa
Here are some resources:
http://www.massvacation.com/explore/accessible-travel/
I’m wondering if it might be better for your friend to rent a wheelchair for the visit – maybe more accessibility options? Actually, maybe you could both use them, to keep you at the same level.
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Wheelchair+Rental&find_loc=Boston%2C+MA
StevetheWeave
As a 30+ years resident of Boston, I definitely recommend the Duck Tours and the MFA.
The new American wing of the MFA can be seen via elevator and is a history of art of the Americas from Mexico/South America (basement) to Colonial (1st floor) to 18th-19th Century (2nd floor) to modern art (3rd) floor. Wonderful collection. And the rest of the museum is pretty spectacular.
Someplace not often recommended is the Maparium at the Christian Science Center (I am not one!). It is a 3-story world globe made of stained glass. Very cool.
The Freedom Trail is a definite. as is the JFK Museum. Harvard Square is crowded and commerical and walking Harvard Yard is a walk thru a college campus. Meh.
The Peabody Museum and Salem are nice, but for a first-timer to Boston, there are so many other things to see.
bystander
I was showing a friend around Boston one Labor Day weekend..actually the weekend Diana bought the farm…and we stumbled on a giglio for St. Anthony’s feast. So much fun…everybody attaching money to the shrine as they carried it thru the North End, confetti streaming out the windows. Easier to deal with than its NYC counterpart.
Ohio Mom
I’d try calling the local offices of disability organizations and see if they can provide any insights. Maybe AARP as well. Good Luck, you are doing a good deed.
the Conster
The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a scooter rider’s dream, and it’s a quick street crossing to the Harborwalk, a lot of which would be scooter friendly. The narrow streets and sidewalks of the North End would be very tricky. The Public Gardens are always impressive, and at that time of year, Fruitlands out in Harvard would be stunning.
Cervantes
@StevetheWeave:
Spectacular and accessible.
And seen from the inside, as it were.
Depends on the person. It’s not something I’d recommend for someone with no interest in intellectual history.
p.a.
Not applicable to your request, but wondering if anyone runs tours to Whitey Bulger crime sites?
FlyingToaster
@Another Holocene Human: Not in Boston.
Arkansas and Philadelphia have had DUKW drownings. Boston has only had wrecks on land.
Where the Boston Duck Tours go (Pru to MoS, and around the bend to North Point and into Back Bay), it would be difficult to capsize them.
FlyingToaster
@Cervantes: You may be waiting for a couple hours for a van from The Ride. Most of their vehicles (at least in MetroWest) seem to be ex-taxis.
Cervantes
@FlyingToaster:
Thanks.
Not having any experience with them, I was curious.
Cervantes
@p.a.:
Yes, but I don’t know how … good? … they are.
2liberal
@Another Holocene Human:
got a link for drownings in boston? Not mentioned in wikipedia list ….
WIKI reference
I did find a reference to a land-based accident with 5 minor injuries…
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Duck-Boat-Crashes-in-Boston-5-Injured-98623299.html
Feathers
Harvard has just redone their art museum. Haven’t been but heard great things about it. It is brand spanking new, so I am guessing good on the accessibility.
Don’t know much about the Cape, but the National Park did have one of the first wheelchair accessible nature walks. It would need re-doing, but I’d check to make sure it is still open. On the outer cape the beaches are all on the other side of massive dunes, so unless they’ve built something special, hard to get to. Some of the town beaches have roads that deadend onto the beach. You couldn’t get the scooter onto the beach, but you could get up close.
The Mass Audubon Society center at Wellfleet is very nice. Went the Audubon website and they have a guide to accessibility at their sites, including a scooter policy brochure – Audubon accessibility. Not currently a member, used to go all the time with my grandparents. You are in Arlington, right? (me too) Looks like they have put in a half mile fully accessible walk at Belmont Habitat.
dfinberg
Plymouth Plantation is probably not that interesting from a scooter, you won’t be able to easily get into any of the houses. The Mill and the Ship would also be out.
You could do the first floor tour around Buckman tavern and also the Battle Green. That’s a pretty quick tour, so it depends on your appetite for history. You could head to Concord afterwards I suppose.
stinger
@WaterGirl: I still have a copy of We Were There on the Oregon Trail! We also had Pony Express and a third one, Mayflower Pilgrims, I think — one of my siblings must have them now!
redshirt
I’m not sure if it’s scooter friendly, but I really enjoyed the Harvard natural history museum.
If you’re baseball fans, a tour of Fenway Park is exquisite.
karen marie
@ultraviolet thunder: Providence is also a good option for avoiding Logan, especially if you’re going to the Cape. If you are, be sure to stop in to Sam’s Lebanese Bakery in Fall River. The best open and closed meat and spinach pies anywhere.
karen marie
The maparium is also interesting for its acoustics. If you stand in one spot and whisper, you can be heard at a different location.
redshirt
Another vote for the mapparium. It’s awesome.
The whole Christian Science Church is an amazing space, regardless of their kooky beliefs.
Pensive
I live in the Boston ‘burbs and I’m late to the party, but would like to say that while the North End is a really interesting place to visit (and eat!) I’m not sure how scooter friendly it would be since the sidewalks are skinny, crowds can be thick, and uneven pavement and cobblestones are plentiful. I’m not sure how expensive it would be, but Boston By Foot runs walking tours, and could do a private tour for you of any of the touristy places downtown. And while I’m not sure how much you could see in Lexington and Concord on the scooter, the visitor’s center at Lexington is definitely scooter friendly and has a great multimedia exhibit telling the story of Paul Revere’s ride and the “Shot heard round the world”. Have a great visit!
dirge
JFK museum: it’s an amazing piece of propaganda and a testament to the power of methamphetamines. The man never stopped.
Tenar Darell
i have no tours to recommend, too local to be able to assist. But the DeCordova is an indoor museum and a sculpture park. There are paced paths in the park,and the museum is, IIRC, accessible.
The Gardner is the most beautiful indoor place in Boston, (rain or shine) and you can get reasonable chamber music or jazz concert tickets in the jewel box of the hall, which is accessible in two different floors. I recommend the lowest floor for the scooter.
redshirt
@Tenar Darell: The Gardner is the best in winter, as it’s like an indoor summer in there year round. So refreshing to just sit in the central garden and soak up the humidity when it’s 10 degrees outside.