Boston Travel

Southie Parade provides a map of the St. Patrick’s Day parade route, a 3.2-mile trek from the Broadway T station to Andrews Square.

Boston Irish Tourism Association posts event listings in Boston and other Massachusetts locations, including various happenings on and around St. Patrick’s Day. Each listing includes time, place and ticket information. Consult the list of St. Patrick’s Day parades in Massachusetts, including the famous city of Boston celebration.

The Phoenix is an alternative weekly newspaper in Boston that provides a comprehensive events calendar in addition to great news, arts and entertainment articles. Search for things to do by date or topic, such as readings/poetry, comedy and theater, or check out the “Editor’s Picks” posted every day. Use this to find alternative options for entertainment on St. Patrick’s Day.

Boston.com’s calendar is also a useful resource with comprehensive entertainment and event listings. The numbers get quite high; many categories have more than a thousand event listings, so you’ll want to narrow your choices by entering dates and locations at the top of the page. More St. Patrick’s Day events will be posted the Wednesday before the holiday.

The Irish Emigrant is a weekly newsletter based in Galway, Ireland. In addition to Irish news, the site has fun extras like this pub calendar. You’ll see some pubs and restaurants listed throughout Massachusetts (in Salem and Amherst, for example), but most are in and around Boston. Learn where to find live bands and other pub events in the city every night of the week, particularly helpful if you’re looking for Irish pubs to head to after the parade.

The Boston Athletic Association hosts the official site of the Boston Marathon. Look for news and updates regarding the Boston Marathon and half marathon, especially of interest for those planning to run the races.

ESPN.com’s “Idiot’s Guide to the Boston” features a series of questions and answers about the race, including a bit of history and lore, a rundown of what happens at different stages of the event, the best and worst places from which to watch, and even the author’s top five marathon moments. The sarcastic humor of this piece makes it especially fun to read, even when the author addresses the issue of athletes relieving themselves during the race.

Cool Running is an online running resource with information on upcoming events, tips for runners and insightful articles, including this one on watching the Boston Marathon. The author reveals his favorite and least favorite places from which to watch the big race, and also explains how to catch the pack more than once. Despite irritating ads at the top and on the right sidebar of each page, the information is relevant and helpful.

Runner’s World provides a map of miles 15–21 of the Boston Marathon, where competitors encounter “Heartbreak Hill,” a 200-foot hill near Boston College at mile 20. Other portions of the race can be viewed in separate Boston Marathon maps. 

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile walking trail along 16 important sites in American Revolutionary War history, such as the Boston Common and Paul Revere’s House. Learn when Freedom Trail tours are offered, get background on the 16 sites and view maps of the red brick trail before you go. Note that the “Visitors” section pull-down menu does not work.

The official site of Faneuil Hall has an excellent section for visitors of all ages and personalities, with suggested itineraries and a list of attractions at the market and around Boston. Download and print the Visitor Coupon Pass, worth more than $200 in savings at Faneuil Hall and other Boston attractions, and take a virtual tour of the market’s eye-catching architecture. 

The Swan Boats of Boston provides information on the Swan Boats and the Boston Public Garden. Make reservations for rides, which begin again on April 19, and learn about the history and construction of the paddle-powered watercrafts that cruise through a lagoon in the Public Garden. View a short video of the Boston Public Garden and Swan Boats on Travelistic, whose friendly hosts also recommend a nearby restaurant.

Samuel Adams Brewery tours are offered by the Boston Beer Company. Learn tour times (held Tuesday through Saturday) and get directions to the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Tours include insight into Samuel Adams’s life as “brewer and patriot.”

Travelistic lets travelers post video diaries of their journeys for the enjoyment and education of others. This video shows Newbury Street, a beautiful Boston shopping, dining and people-watching thoroughfare.

Boston Online explains how the city got the nickname “Beantown.” During Colonial times, baked beans were a favorite dish among Bostonians due to an abundance of molasses from the triangular trade.

Kayak consolidates flight information and fares from hundreds of individual airlines and online travel agents (like CheapTickets and Orbitz). Enter your flight preferences to get a list of possibilities. To learn exactly which airlines and agents Kayak covers, visit the "Providers" page.

JetBlue is a low-cost carrier to destinations in the United States and the Caribbean. JetBlue often advertises further reduced rates in the “Featured web fares” box on the homepage. Consult the map of JetBlue destinations with service to and from Boston and sign up to receive TrueBlue points when you book a flight; 100 points earns you a free roundtrip flight.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority heads Boston’s subway and bus systems. View schedules and maps of each mode of transportation by clicking on the icons in the blue box at the top of the homepage. There’s information for each specific subway line and bus route, as well as a special guide to “Riding the T” and a “Plan a Trip” tool (on the homepage) that supplies travel routes based on your start and end points.

The Official Web site of the City of Boston has a great downloadable walking map of Boston. The map shows the time in minutes between stops on the T and clearly shows attractions like the aquarium, Boston Common and the South Boston Seaport. There’s also a section on bicycling in Boston with information on bike paths, road rules, bike parking and taking bikes on public transportation.

Frommer’s has a guide to Boston that includes a section on walking tours of the city with two recommended and thoroughly explained routes: The Back Bay, a two-hour walk from the Public Garden to Copley Square; and Harvard Square, a two- to four-hour jaunt from Harvard Square to John F. Kennedy Park. What’s great about these guides is the attention to detail in the summaries of each attraction, as well as the insider advice for the best and worst times to go.

The Massachusetts Port Authority site has a section on getting to and from Logan Airport, including bus and subway lines and boat service, as well as driving directions to the airport and traffic updates for the area.

CityView Trolley Tours offers hour-long trolley tours of eight of Boston’s historic and scenic sites, including a few stops on the Freedom Trail. Board and exit the trolley at any stop during the tour. Book your tickets online to save money (kids under 12 are free when you book online), get a tour map and schedule, and learn about group trolley charters. A virtual tour is also available.