What is a weekend … in New England? Best Sights and Experiences Guide When Visiting Boston

By: Lou Maningas Cabalona

 

“What is a weekend?” Ever since the Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Maggie Smith) first questioned the concept of having “work days” to take a break from, hit TV series Downton Abbey‘s propriety gripped matriarch easily became my favorite character in one of my most favorite TV shows. So when I learned a travelling exhibit dedicated to the show was in Boston, I indulged myself a bit booking last minute tickets for a long weekend before it closed mid-September.

As expected, the Abbey exhibit, intricately and thoughtfully put together, perfectly balanced aesthetics with historical authenticity which is what enticed me to the show in the first place. Interestingly too, its host city in New England have just as rich a past and beauty, even a little bit of scandal to offer!

As one of the oldest cities in the US, Boston has no shortage of significant places to visit and experience starting with the Freedom Trail which covers a 2.5 mile red brick lined path passing by 16 historical sites significant to the history of the United States.

With so many sights to see, here are my favorites during our short stay.

For a highly engaging and interactive introduction to the city, check out the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum. The “tour through time” starts with a meeting with a few of the Sons of Liberty recounting the turn of events on the night of December 16, 1773 known as the Boston Tea Party. They guide visitors to explore a replica of the Eleanor, one of the three ships that was forcibly unloaded the night Boston Harbor became a teapot and encourage a few guests to heave crates of tea reenacting the act of rebellion that sparked the American Revolution that won us our independence. Finally, the last stop, the museum offers 3-D holograms, talking portraits and artifacts about the revolution including the Robinson Half Tea Chest, one of two original tea crates that still exist.

After dinner Saturday night, the Ghost and Gravestones Trolley Tour was a spooky fun alternative to watching a show or clubbing. Our tour guide, a murderous butler character brought a comedic twist to the darker side of the City’s history including stories of unfortunate executed victims of the Salem Witch Trials, John White Webster, a Harvard Chemistry Teacher who was hanged for butchering wealthy landlord George Parkman in his lab at the Harvard Medical College when the latter tried collecting on his debt, and Massachusetts General Hospital Nurse Jane “Jolly Jane” Toppan who took care of her helpless and elderly patients literally till their death – by opiate poisoning. The hour and a half combined trolley and walking tour made it easy for our feet but note that you will be walking cobblestone and uneven brick pathways of hundreds old cemeteries like the King’s Chapel Burying Ground and Granary Burying Ground where these haunting characters and other notable figures such as founding father Samuel Adams and revolutionary war patriot, Paul Revere are buried.

Open to diners since 1826, Ye Olde Union Oyster House, claims to be the oldest continuously operated restaurant in the USA. Located at 41-43 Union Street in downtown, the building was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 2003. Once inside, your eyes will wander at the antique museum like walls as you order their Clam Chowder and Boston Crème Pie – the best I have ever tasted!

Whether you have 2 hours or the whole day to spend, the Old Town Hop On Hop Off Tour is your most comprehensive guide to downtown Boston and nearby towns. It will take you through must see sights such as the Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market, the USS Constitution ship, the original Cheers Bar made famous by the TV show with the same name, prestigious universities – Harvard, MIT and Cambridge, and even one of Boston’s “ugliest” buildings, the Government Service Center. The best part is, as the trolley makes its way through the city, you can get off to explore and back on when you like since the next trolley is always only minutes away.

When planning your trip, check ahead for schedules and availability. Some, like the Ghost Tour do not allow kids under 6 years of age. The good news is that you can find details and tickets to most of these attractions on HistoricTours.com

Also, if you have one day to spare, a visit to the Newport Mansions in Rhode Island is well worth the hour and a half drive. Opting to be unlimited by the schedules of the tour buses, we followed a map to the most beautifully architected and opulently decorated summer homes of prominent American families of the late 19th century – the Rosecliff, The Elms and my personal favorites, the Breakers and the Marble House originally owned by the Vanderbilt brothers, Cornelius II and William, respectively. Through narration and personal stories, the self-guided audio tours gave us a unique perspective of how the families and the household staff who cared for them lived and worked within the palatial estate as we walked in and out of the different rooms inside. Outside, you could relax on the grass while admiring the picturesque garden landscapes against the stunning views of the ocean.

Amusingly, as if to bring our trip full circle, we learned that some of the Vanderbilt heirs eventually were married to indebted British nobility as a royal title for dowry exchange deal just as the fictional marriage between American Heiress Cora and Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham had saved the Downton Abbey estate from going bankrupt. Thankfully, unlike the hapless union of Consuelo Vanderbilt and Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (a cousin of Winston Churchill), the Crawleys also loved each other, otherwise, the Downton Abbey series might have a different story than what I’ve come to love.

Some of the most memorable costumes of the TV Seriesare displayed right at the beginning of the Downton Abbey
exhibit in Boston.

Louella, Baron, Baby Reign and grandma Genia Cabalona by the elegant dining room set where many interesting conversations in Downton Abbey have occurred.

The whole travelling family, Orlando, Genia, Louella, Baron and Baby Reign at Griffin’s Wharf by the Boston Harbor
right outside the Boston Tea Party Museum.

With our Gravedigger Guide outside the Ghosts and Gravestones Tour Trolley

Outside the National Historical Landmark, Ye Olde Union Oyster House; (right) Ready to have some stuffed fresh
Lobster!

Quincy Market at Night, one of the stops at the Boston Hop On Hop Off Trolley

Louella and son Reign by the gardens of the magnificent Marble House, one of the Newport Mansions restored by the Preservation Society of Newport County in Rhode Island.

Can’t help but take a selfie by gorgeous dining room of the Breakers Mansion in Newport previously owned by Cornelius Vanderbuilt II.