Marlborough/Boston trip advice

Children's Museum - Located maybe 3 blocks from Trillium.

Swan Boats in the Public Garden?

Newbury Street for shopping and people watching.

 

Lawn on D is a decent place to hang out. Beer garden there, beer is not the greatest. But you can knock a couple back while being outside and its kid freindly. Also if you like seafood Yankee Lobster Co is good. Also has a decent craft selection.

 

Not aware of any BYOB in Boston. Maybe some city people will chime in.

 

Boston had a BYOB ban that didn't get lifted until a few weeks ago. I don't think the change has been implemented yet.

 

One in Fort Point would be perfect.

 

you have Marlboro/Boston so I am assume you will have a car-one place that my 2 year old loves is Davis Farmland-it is 25 min drive north west of Marlboro. Other posters are right, Boston is not a big BYOB destination. If you find anything it is likely to be a small ethnic restaurant. On the flip side, many breweries are Bring your own Food, and in Marlboro you are pretty close to Medusa. Great restaurant down the street-Rail Trail-brick oven pizzas is one of the specialties.

 

Unfortunately there seems to be some strict rules and BYOB licenses will probably only be available in Boston's outlying neighborhoods for now. Not quite sure if Fort Point fits their criteria but it would be nice

 

maybe I'm a jaded New Englander, but IMO the Aquarium is the worst. Take your kid to see the seals that are out front, spend 10 minutes, and save yourself fifty bucks. A 17 month old won't notice. There's a good playground a few blocks over...Christopher Columbus park I think.

There's no BYOB in downtown Boston. Maybe JP or Cambridge?

 

There is a decent sized mall in Berlin which is right near Marlborough and a few minutes from downtown Hudson which has a brewery (Medusa), a nice restaurant (Rail Trail), and an ice cream shop (New City Microcreamery)

 

Take a whale watching tour out of the Aquarium. Whale season is April-October, so you should be good... I took my folks a few years ago (out of Hyannis) and we saw a pod of them, it was glorious.

Also, if the weather is good, get some bikes from the Hubway bike rental (much like Citibike in NYC) and ride along the Charles.

 

Yup skip Aquarium. Children's Museum might not even be worth it with a 17th month old. That playground might be a better option. Also there's a carousel on the Kennedy Greenway with food trucks. Faneuil Hall always has street performers or something going on.

 

Here are some shopping areas and bars within those areas:
Faneuil Hall: Gingerman, Tap Trailhouse, Saus
Newbury Street: Rattlesnake is at one end, Bukowski Tavern at other. Bauer is a good beer store
Copley Place: Salty Pig and Coda
Charles Street: Charles Street Liquors is a good store
South End Open Market(sundays)- Picco has great beer selection and makes some of the best pizza and ice cream around
Harvard Square: Russel House Tavern, Park

 

Dude, yes, listen to @kinopio and go to Saus. Those friks are amazing, and their fries are amazing, and their sauce is amazing, and their beer selection is great.

 

I'm not from Boston so take my advice for what it is, but I visited Boston 2 weeks ago and my 4 year old loved the museum of science and the Duck tours (amphibious vehicle tour of the city).

 

Duck tours are great, would you as the parent of a 4-year-old think that a 17-month-old would stay entertained in it? I don't have kids, so I'd be concerned that a kid in an enclosed vehicle for over an hour would get antsy.

 

That's an excellent point and IMO it just depends on the kid. It is about 80 mins or so and on the tour we took, some younger kids were sort of over it before the end, and some were not.

 

Definitely the Children's Museum while you visit Trillium. That is a no-brainer. I agree with many of the other suggestions too. I'm not a local, but I would add Arnold Arboretum for a nice safe place your toddler can run around. My wife and I took our daughter their last year when she was about 16 months. Also, on Sundays they have the SoWa Public Market which we've liked to check out in the past.

 

Mentioned before, but worth another, Rail Trail in Hudson.