Hi there fellow Celtics fans,
On February 6 me and my brother will fly from the Netherlands (Europe) to Boston to see the Celtics play against the Lakers, Bulls and Nuggets.
A dream of me is to see the Celtics win against the Lakers.
I was wondering if you guys have some advice for thinks to do in Boston? Freedom Trail, New England Aquarium, Fenway Park Tour, Sports Museum (TD Garden) are already planned.
Also do you guys have some advice for good affordable places to eat?
I'm also looking for a sports store with Air Jordans and a lot of Boston sport teams clothing. Also what's a great shopping mall?
I'll be very grateful if any one could give me some advice/tips!
First, you're in luck. The weather will be somewhat warm (around 0 C, unlike the -10 C we've been getting consistently in January). In any case, Boston winters are not quite like Benelux ones, so if you're going to do the Freedom Trail (involving a bunch of walking) come prepared
A quick note about the Aquarium: they were recently working on their large tank that runs three floors up in the middle of the building. While they were offering ticket discount at that point, I still find the whole thing pretty pricey and probably not worth the money in this case. Haven't checked whether they're done with this yet, though.
One thing to consider is a day trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield is pretty close, 1 1/2 hrs in a car).
You can also hope on the T (the local metro
) and head across the river to Cambridge to take a look at Harvard and MIT if you're into that type of stuff.
You can get great view from the top of the Prudential with an audio tour if the weather is good.
Sports paraphernalia you can probably find in a lot of places. Sports Authority stores are probably as good choice as any.
For a decent mall you probably need to drive. Burlington Mall (a little north of Boston) and Natick Mall (a little west of Boston) are probably the two best choices. There are some shopping options in downtown Boston, too -- although some of them may be pricey.
There are plenty of reasonably priced sports bars and other food options around town -- for example try Boylston St. between Copley Sq and the turnpike. I also like Remingtion's in downtown Boston across from the Common Garden, which is generally quiet (rare quality for a sports bar), and has decent chowder (among other things).
A somewhat touristy, but still excellent (and cheap) place to eat is Quincy Market, which is right next to the Garden. It opens right into the Italian quarters (the North End), but stuff there is pricier (and somewhat hit-or-miss); in any case, I see no reason recommending Italian food to anyone visiting from Europe).
Food to try: lobster is out of season, so even if you find any, I don't recommend it; the clam chowder and fried seafood type of stuff will probably be good though. Decent Irish breakfast and/or other type of bar food (bangers, mash, etc.) may be nice, but someone else has to recommend a place to go to downtown, my hunting grounds are north of the river