Boston is one of those places that everybody needs to visit. The city is like that person you meet that instantly becomes a good friend. It’s fun, easy, accessible, good looking, with a reassuring maturity and deep experience. Plus, as we’ve learned recently, it’s a lovely winter getaway.
Boston Frostival is a city-wide festival that packs in a plethora of events, activities, activations, installations, and experiences that make the city a winter wonderland. Boston has all the festive magic, shopping, and good times that you would find in NYC, but in a friendlier, easier to navigate package. This is in addition to the phenomenal food scene, excellent entertainment, profound history, cultural institutions, legacy sports teams, and overall good vibe that make Boston a Notable Destination year-round.
If you are looking for that urban adventure in the heart of winter, here are a few tips to get you started.
DO THIS
The aforementioned Frostival has a calendar that you should consult when planning your trip. There’s something for everyone, from a restorative IceFlow, Yoga on Ice, to the hectic Red Bull Heavy Metal where you can watch the world’s best snowboarders use the cityscape of City Hall Plaza to throw down insane tricks. An exciting new Frostival addition is the towering Ferris wheel that will be installed on the Rose Kennedy Greenway for February, allowing you to soar up over the city. We were early enough to catch the stunning holiday-themed drone show and the lighting of the Christmas tree in Boston Common. The Christmas tree lighting gave a warm fuzzy feeling to us Canadians in attendance as it as an example of the strong friendship that exists with our Southern neighbours. In 1917 a munitions ship exploded in Halifax Harbour, completely devastating the area, killing and injuring thousands of people. Boston was quick to respond with aid, disaster relief, and giving hope to the people of Halifax as they rebuilt their city and lives. Every year since 1971 Nova Scotia has sent a fifty-foot tree to stand in Boston Common as the city’s official Christmas Tree. The tree-lighting ceremony is a party. A stage is setup in The Common with performances from prominent Canadian and American artists. Bostonians fill the park to witness the tree come to life amidst a burst of fireworks and music. Along with the Christmas tree, the lights in trees all across the Common flicker on, filling the night with colour.
Boston is the birthplace of the American Revolution and has a deep and fascinating history. There are many museums and historical sites to visit; one we highly recommend is the Museum of African American History. This museum holds intriguing exhibits which delve into the black experience of shaping America, but the museum is also an historical site itself. The Abiel Smith School and African Meeting House provide the venue for MAAH, giving visitors a chance to stand in places that have been important centers of African American life for over two-hundred years. There is a magic feeling to stand in the same room in which Frederick Douglass gave speeches to inspire men to fight for their freedom with the Union Army.
In addition to History, there are fabulous galleries to titillate the art lovers. Our favourite was the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Gardner was an American aristocrat with a penchant for collecting important works of art, amassing an impressive and diverse collection. To share these works with the public she had the Museum constructed, then spent a year installing the art in her own evocative way. Her will stipulated that the exhibits must be kept as-is to preserve her aesthetic vision, so visitors today get the exact experience she intended when the museum opened in 1903. We could write a whole article on this museum alone, from the courtyard garden filled with flowers, to the unsolved art-heist, to the life of Gardner herself. The short version is, go visit here.
If contemporary art is your jam, you will want to visit the ICA. The building itself is a piece of art that will intrigue fans of architecture. A viewing gallery that stretches the entire length of the building gives a view that turns the Boston Waterfront into an exhibit. The ICA is accessible, fun, family friendly and has an excellently curated giftshop.
Boston is one of the most fun towns for sports, and the winter puts you right in the middle of the NHL and NBA seasons. Sports fans should definitely visit TD Garden to see the Celtics or the Bruins play.
Even if you don’t love classical music, you should go to the Boston Pops. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is dope, Symphony Hall is an acoustic marvel, and The Pops is a total vibe. The traditional seating is moved out in favour of cabaret style seating and friendly servers keep the food and beverages coming. The music is top-notch in every way, and the jovial, inventive delivery will delight even those who think they are allergic to classical. We were there for the Holiday Pops and were witness to a performance of what the conductor claimed was the “best ever version of Twelve Days of Christmas”. It really was. An old classic brought to life with so many layers and details that had the entire room smiling and laughing.
Noodle making! PAGU is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant that you should eat at. But if you are foodie looking for a fun experience, take a class with chef and owner Tracy Chang and learn to make delicious hand-pulled biang biang noodles. Tracy is fun and engaging, sharing her knowledge and techniques in a way that demystifies the whole process and makes you feel like a culinary genius. It’s extremely satisfying to eat a scrumptious bowl of noodles that you have hand-pulled yourself, paired with PAGU’s excellent cocktails and must-try sparkling teas.
EAT HERE
It’s easy to find amazing food in Boston, from classics like clam chowder and lobster rolls, to hole-in-the-wall noodle shops, to Michelin rated farm-to-table dining. Here are some of our favourites from this trip:
George Howell Coffee
Coffee lovers may know that George Howell is the OG of specialty coffee. He even invented the Frappuccino! In the nineties, Starbucks came to Boston and bought up his chain of The Coffee Connection shops (as well as the rights to Frappuccinos). As soon as the ten-year non-compete clause expired, George jumped back in the game and created George Howell Coffee with the mission of sourcing and roasting the best coffees in the world. There are several locations throughout the Boston area, but the flagship shop in The Godfrey is the one to visit.
Woods Hill Pier 4
We had Sunday Brunch at Woods Hill and everyone in our large party was overjoyed with their meal, starting with the patisserie basket which was so good we immediately ordered a second. Woods Hill sources ingredients locally, mostly from their own farm. The brunch menu was elevated comfort food. The dishes were imbued with enough sophistication to make the meal feel special, but not so much that it lost the essence of the dish. For example, good ol’ steak and eggs was a skirt steak served with a red chimichurri, and bone marrow aioli, plated on crisp fingerling potatoes, topped with the most perfectly cooked sunny-side eggs, greens, and chives. Vibrant, inviting, appetizing. The cocktail menu was fabulous.
Show Malatang
If you want a hot, hearty bowl of soup to combat the winter chill, find Show Malatang tucked below street level in Chinatown. There is nothing fancy here, just good, satisfying food and friendly service. The soup is loaded with veges and protein and, from bowls on the bar, you can ladle in extra toppings like chilli oil, garlic, sesame, coriander, and a selection of soy sauces and vinegars.
Beacon Hill Hotel
The restaurant in the Beacon Hill Hotel is an unexpected gem. The menu is eclectic, and each dish is thoughtfully constructed and perfectly executed. Despite the food being elevated, the experience still feels as though you have been invited into someone’s home for a relaxing meal.
The Banks Seafood & Steak
The Banks is everything you want in a modern steakhouse; a big, beautiful, bustling space filled with merriment, excellent service, solid wine and cocktail list, and a menu with all the greatest hits. The seafood is outstanding; a stocked raw bar, various towers, and ranging from classic clam chowder to halibut ceviche. The steaks are Prime and expertly grilled. The roasted Brussels sprouts were gobbled up so quickly we had to order another.
GET AROUND
Walk. You can pretty much walk anywhere in Boston in less than twenty minutes. Often, amongst our party, half would choose to walk from one location to the next instead of taking Uber. 95% of the time, the walkers arrived before the Uberers, and got to enjoy the lovely architecture, crisp winter air, aromas wafting from restaurants, musicians and lively chatter on the street. If you aren’t a walker, Uber is easily and readily available. Boston also has an outstanding public transit system, the MBTA. Our favourite way to explore the city was on the Blue Bikes, which seem to be available at every corner. Boston has excellent bike lanes along major routes. We rode all the way from The Harvard campus in Cambridge, to Boston Common in twenty minutes, at a chill pace. Even in the winter, these bicycles are a great way to get around.
Getting to Boston is also a breeze. We flew into Boston Logan International Airport and were a mere ten-minute Uber ride from our hotel in the heart of the city. If you are flying out of Toronto, Porter has frequent flights from Billy Bishop Airport that make the trip feel too easy.
STAY HERE
We stayed at XV Beacon and couldn’t imagine staying anywhere else. The location is perfect, tucked onto a quiet part of Beacon Street, steps from Boston Common. The rooms are lux, with luscious linens, cashmere throws, fancy faucets, richly stained wood, canopy beds, leather chairs. But the best feature is the fireplace, which fills the room with a warmth that goes right into your soul. There is also a Harmon Kardon audio system with in-ceiling speakers that provide full, lush sound far superior to any dinky blue-tooth speaker. After a long day exploring Boston, sitting by the fire with a book and glass of wine, listening to Coltrane, was a sublime moment. XV Beacon is a boutique hotel in the truest sense. It is still privately owned, and the staff all feel like part of the family that has invited you in.
