The San Francisco of the East: Historic Boston Never Disappoints

By Bill Malcolm

I visited Boston not once but twice on back to back trips for work recently. Boston is a walker's

paradise full of stories about the founding of our country. It’s a vibrant city with many universities, topnotch transit, interesting unique neighborhoods, and part of the entire New England charm. I stayed

in the Seaport District which is close to South Boston and filled with new walking trails, beaches, parks,

restaurants, and hotels. It reminded me of my former home, San Francisco: very walkable, interesting

unique neighborhoods, an international flair (lots of foreign visitors including Quebecers), and expensive ($2800 for a one bedroom apartment, $300+ a night for a hotel).

WHERE TO STAY

The Omni Boston at the Seaport (450 Summer Street) was outstanding. It featured a great outdoor pool and fitness center. Great food. Spacious rooms. Get a larger room in the Portrait Tower (avoid the Artist Tower with its smaller rooms). Just steps to the World Trade Center transit station with the free Silver Line bus. Walkable to the Harbor attractions, Ptown Ferry and more. For my second trip, I stayed at the Aloft Hotel in Seaport. A Marriott Hotel, it has a Brazilian steak house on the property and a Dunkin and liquor store nearby (and is across the street from the Convention Center).

Warning: You may pay an annoying $35 resort fee (aka amenity fee or destination fee) if you don't come in with a conference. Get a room facing the warehouse district (quieter) but you can still watch the planes land at Logan and have a view of the harbor and South Boston. Both hotels are in the Seaport District (a revitalized industrial area along the harbor where the convention center is located) and are just north of South Boston and the extremely cute Broadway Avenue District filled with independent shops and restaurants and the only CVS in the area. While the Seaport area is a bit touristy if not plastic, you can easily escape just walk a half-mile to South Boston where you can explore

the area or even take the #9 bus to the Club Café.

WHAT TO DO

Tour the USS Constitution and Museum at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston National Historic Park

highlights the story of “Old Ironside”) and was built in 1794. Nearby are the historic Bunker Hill and Bunker Hill Museum. From there you can walk the historic Freedom Trail back to the city through the historic North End/Italian Village. Don’t miss the Paul Revere House. The Boston Tea Party Ships and

Museum (306 Congress) highlights that the sons of Liberty pitched tea from three British ships into Boston Harbor to impose the British tea tax in 1773. You can even toss some fake tea into Boston Harbor.Explore the Seaport District including the Seaport Commons, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Boston Children’s Museum, and Fan Pier Park. Enjoy an outdoor concert at the Leader Bank Amphitheatre.

NIGHTLIFE

I loved the Club Café (209 Columbus Avenue). They have free cabaret shows. Lots of singers in the

audience also performed the night I was there. You can order dinner, but the food is so-so. They also have a dance area, video bar, and a theater. It's my favorite bar in Boston (and there are only a few – amazing for a big city). I hear the gay life is over in Provincetown, a short 60+ minute ferry ride away. In fairness, Dani’s just opened. It is a new women’s bar.

GETTING THERE

I took American Airlines for my two trips. One trip went through (awful) Philadelphia Airport where

overpriced restaurants have replaced much of the seating to wait for your flight. The corridors are

extremely crowded, and you have to stand to wait for your flight. AVOID PHL. I have transferred to American and Delta in defiance of my once favorite, Southwest, which has stabbed loyalists in the back with its plethora of new fees and anticonsumer policies.

WHERE TO EAT

Legal Seafoods overlooks the Harbor and is exceptionally good. Lots of Italian Food everywhere

as well as clam chowder and lobster rolls.

TRAVEL TIPS

Boston hotels are expensive and many tack on a resort or other junk fee of around $35 a night.

Take the free SL 1 bus from the airport to the World Trade Center station (if you are staying in Seaport)

or to the T (subway) station to connect to anywhere. Logan Airport also has a ferry service to the

mainland! It's so close to downtown you won't need (or want) a rental car, much less an UBER. Boston has excellent transportation. You can pay by just tapping your credit card at some stations. Otherwise it is $2.40. And everyone takes transit. Plan your trip to mbta.com.Boston Spirit is the LGBTQ magazine of New England. Bay Windows is still around but is down to just a few pages. Plan your trip at meetboston.com. Amtrak operates from both the South and North Stations. Boston has excellent Amtrak service as well as regional rail, subway, ferries, and buses. You cannot beat a trip to Boston to learn about the history of our country. I cannot wait to go back. You will be asking yourself (like

I did): How did I never live here? Such a great city!

Bill Malcolm is North America’s only syndicated LGBTQ value travel columnist who has written over 100

columns over the last 10 years which have run in LGBTQ publications, been posted on the IGLTA.org

website, and appeared in other forums.