Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FOR SHUTTERBUGS
The unusual offerings of
PhotoWalks
(
&
617/851-2273;
www.photowalks.com) combine narrated walking tours with photography tips. On a
2-hour stroll around Beacon Hill, the Public Garden, or the Freedom Trail, visitors
learn to look at Boston from (literally) a different angle—that of a creative photogra-
pher. Adults pay $30, students with ID $20, and youths 12 to 17 $15. Tours run sev-
eral times a week from April through October, and by appointment during the winter.
Call or surf ahead for reservations.
FOR MOVIE FANS Boston Movie Tours
(
&
866/MOVIE-45;
www.boston
movietours.net) boast that they offer “behind-the-scenes trivia and insider gossip”
about the city's incarnations on the silver and small screens—a busy undertaking now
that there's film production going on all over the state. Guides offer regularly updated
info about the local color in
The Departed, Good Will Hunting, Mystic River, Legally
Blonde,
and, of course,
Cheers,
among other projects. The 90-minute walking tours
($20 adults, $17 seniors and students, $10 children 6-12) and 2
1
⁄
2
-hour mini-coach
or “Theater-on-Wheels” tours ($35 adults, $32 seniors and students, $25 children)
operate Wednesday through Monday from April through October. Check start times
and locations when you make reservations, which are strongly recommended.
FOR HORROR-MOVIE FANS Ghosts & Gravestones
(
&
617/269-3626;
www.
ghostsandgravestones.com) covers burial grounds and other shiver-inducing areas in a
trolley and on foot, with a guide dressed as a gravedigger. The 2-hour tour starts at dusk
on weekends in April and May, nightly from Memorial Day weekend through Octo-
ber. It costs $34 for adults, $21 for children 3 to 12. Reservations are required.
FOR FOODIES
A cooking or wine-tasting class makes an excellent, if pricey, break
from shopping and sightseeing. Resources to check out before you leave home
include:
Boston University's
Seminars in the Arts and Culinary Arts (
&
617/353-
9852;
www.bu.edu/foodandwine); the
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
(
&
617/
354-2020;
www.cambridgeculinary.com); the
Boston Vegetarian Society
(
&
617/
424-8846;
www.bostonveg.org); the
Elephant Walk
restaurant (see p. 128;
&
617/285-
0410
or 617/285-1056; www.elephantwalk.com/Classes); and
Stir,
which is run by
Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park fame (
&
617/423-STIR;
www.stirboston.com). Winter
visitors can check ahead for classes during the
Boston Wine Festival
(see p. 26;
&
888/660-WINE;
bostonwinefestival.net).
A neighborhood resident offers
North End Market Tours
(
&
617/523-6032;
www.northendmarkettours.com), 3
1
⁄
2
-hour excursions that stop at many of the shops
in the legendary Italian-American stronghold. Tours include product tastings, shop-
ping and cooking tips, and plenty of local lore. They cost $50 (including tax) per per-
son. The same company offers a 3
1
⁄
2
-hour
Chinatown Market Tour;
the $60 fee
includes a dim sum lunch. Visit the website to register and pay in advance.
Old Town Trolley (
&
617/269-7010;
www.historictours.com) offers the 3-hour
Boston Chocolate Tour
on weekends from January through mid-April. The $75 tour
includes three restaurants noted for their chocolate desserts; reservations are required.
11 Outdoor Pursuits
The
Department of Conservation & Recreation,
or DCR (
&
617/626-1250;
www.
state.ma.us/dcr), oversees outdoor activities on public lands across the state through
its divisions of Urban Parks & Recreation and State Parks & Recreation. (The Divi-
sion of Urban Parks & Recreation replaced the Metropolitan District Commission, a
