Re: Best road trip in The ACC. Enjoy it! ******

tmac9wr

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Re: Boston College

Aug 6, 2016, 1:36 AM

As a local, here's my advice:

If it's your first time, you should be able to fill up on the good "touristy" stuff, and then use later trips to really dig into some of the "deeper" aspects of the city. A forewarning: Boston is called "America's Walking City" for good reason. It's very compact, and part of the experience there is walking between numerous great places for long amounts of time. Everything is close to one another, so there isn't a lot of lull, but you're going to end up walking a lot. Just be prepared.

I'd highly recommend the Freedom Trail. Yes, it's cliché, but it's very good and you'll see tons of very cool historical locations. This will bring you through the North End: DO NOT BE AFRAID TO STRAY FROM THE TRAIL. Boston's North End is arguably the best urban neighborhood in the United States. Other cities like NYC have good Little Italy's, but none can match the old-world charm of Boston's. It's characterized by 1 lane streets where side walks & roads become one (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3652144,-71.0554817,3a,75y,159.09h,94.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWGAbHjujhgbGZysCdq2Mrg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656). If you visit Boston, the North End is a must-see.

Of course, visit Boston Common, Beacon Hill & Boston Public Gardens. They're all gorgeous and must-sees.

If you're looking for a good, popular place to eat, the North End never disappoints. It's very expensive, but you're going to likely find some random hole-in-the-wall restaurant which serves delicious Italian food. Bite the bullet, spend the money, and enjoy. If not the North End, go to Union Oyster House down by Faneuil Hall and dig in on some raw oysters. The food is good, but the history is better. Before it was home to America's oldest restaurant, the building housed the Massachusetts Spy, a revolutionist newspaper. Later on it would become a favorite of Daniel Webster and the Kennedys. It's very touristy, but it's kind of cool to sit in the preferred restaurant of America's most royal/cursed family. Heck, a French king even hid out above the restaurant in the 1800s after being exiled! It's a cool place.

If you're a real foodie though, go onto Thrillist.com and find the hottest new places opening up in the city. Generally, they aren't in downtown, but in the South End (one of America's first predominantly gay neighborhoods--though it's very mixed now), Cambridge or Somerville. If you're feeling even more daring, or with someone familiar with the area, go get some authentic Brasilian food. While Boston's image in popular culture is predominantly Irish & Italian, it quietly has the largest foreign Lusophone (Portuguese speaking) population in the world. There is a significant historic & immigrant population of Portuguese, Brasilians, Cape Verdeans, Azoreans, and even Angolans. Not interested in those cultures? That's fine. But at least have the food, because it's incredible. There should be many options you can find with a Google search, but my personal advice is to take the Orange Line to Sullivan Square and walk West on Broadway until you get to Gauchão Brazilian Cuisine. It's pay-by-the-pound Brazilian barbecue. Get the picanha ("pee-kahn-ya"), linguiça ("lin-gwee-sa") and maminha ("mah-mee-nya"). You're welcome.

On gameday, if you want to watch games before/after our game, go to Tavern in the Square in Allston. If you're taking the T, it's at the Harvard St stop on the B-Train of the Green Line (look at the subway map before you go; the lines are colored, but then also lettered on the Green Line). It's got very good food and a million TVs. There are multiple Tavern in the Square locations throughout the city, but this is the closest one to Alumni Stadium.

FOR ALL BEER LOVERS, DO NOT GO TO SAM ADAMS OR HARPOON. Go to Trillium Brewery in Fort Point. They're making the best beer in the nation right now. There's no fancy tour, just beer. If you like beer, go there and buy a growler or some bombers. Everything they have is insanely good, but the Fort Point Pale Ale is their flagship, and it's amazing.

Best of luck!

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The stadium is about 2 miles away from the nearest bar / train back to Boston FYI. For whatever reason, people think these two locations are close (Boston and Chesnut Hill), but they aren't. It's about 35min drive with traffic and 50min via rail, keep that in mind before / after the game. Tailgating is nonexistent outside of the fraternity quad (which you'll have to walk through with your Clemson gear on to enter the stadium, always fun).

Your best best is to hang out around the Cleveland Circle area before / after the game. You'll inevitably end up at Cityside, (everyone does).

As far as nightlife is concerned in Newton / Chestnut Hill, post-game is a zoo. The bars are a menagerie of drunken BC idiots with their heads down after an inevitable defeat. I will say that they were all very complimentary on the way out of the stadium the last 2 games I've attended there but at the college bars after the game, it can go left if you stick around late (and we beat them by more than 2 touchdowns).

Boston, on the other hand, is an entirely different city and vibe. Great food, tons of nightlife options, etc. Just don't think of Boston and Chestnut Hill / Newton as one and the same - they are most certainly not.

Have fun!

Boston College

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+1 on The Union Oyster House ... and walking Freedom Trail***

Yes do not go to................

Best road trip in The ACC. Enjoy it! ******

Re: Best road trip in The ACC. Enjoy it! ******

Re: Boston College

Boston is a tremendous city. I've stayed in downtown at

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