This is a work in progress so check back in later, but we wanted to give you an idea of some of the things you can do while you’re in the Boston area for our wedding.

Museums:

• Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) – A solid art museum with a considerable collection. There’s an exhibit this summer with the Magna Carta, drafts of the Declaration of Independence and other historical documents.
• Isabella Stewart Gardner – A unique museum that was an art collector’s house and became a museum after she died with strict instructions that it not be changed. Great collection.
• Harvard Museum of Natural History – It’s worth a trip just for the Glass Flower Collection.
• Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) – One of our favorites for new art.
• MIT Museum – Adrian loves this museum at his alma mater, especially the Doc Edgerton and Arthur Ganson exhibits.
• Peabody Essex Museum – A little ways out of the city in Salem it has roots back to items brought back by shipping companies and to donations from many of the Boston Brahmin families.

History:

• Freedom Trail The famous trail takes you to historic cemeteries (with Sam Adams and John Hancock), locations (the site of the Boston Massacre), buildings (Paul Revere’s House, the Old North Church) and establishments (the “oldest bar” in America).

Music:

• Classical: the well known Tanglewood Festival runs throughout the summer in Western Massachusetts.
• Rock: Check out clubs like the Sinclair and Brighton Music Hall. Promoters Bowery Boston and Crossroads book most of the best shows in Boston.
• Jazz: Margaret likes Wally’s for jazz. Many national acts go through Scullers.

Sports:

• Red Sox. They’re playing both the Friday night and Sunday afternoon of the wedding weekend at the historic Fenway Park. Go here for schedule and tickets.

Other fun tours:

• Duck Tours – These amphibious vehicles are a fun way to see Boston from land and sea.
• University tours. Cambridge has two of the world’s most famous universities. Both offer tours.
  • MIT tours
  • Harvard tours

Beaches:

• Revere Beach is the easiest to get to on the T (on the Blue Line) but can get crowded in the summer.
• Singing Beach in Manchester is quite nice and is accessible via the Commuter Rail.
• Beaches on Cape Cod are accessible via the ferry or train.

Shopping:

• Newbury Street – Known for many years as the heart of shopping in Boston with establishments from high end clothing outlets to comic book stores.

Unconventional activities:

• A user on the website reddit put together a great list: “35 Unconventional Activities Things to Do in Boston”. Click for parts 1, 2, and 3 of the list.

Day or overnight trips:

• Cape Cod. Visit Provincetown via the Fast Ferry (about 1.5 hr) or the Hyannis area via the CapeFlyer train (about 2 hours).
• Portland, Maine (and other areas in Maine) are accessible via the Downeaster train.
• Western Massachusetts. This requires a car, but the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA), and the Berkshire mountains, along with the towns of Northhampton, Amherst and North Adams and the aforementioned Tanglewood Music Festival are all in the western part of the state.