Boston Fun Beyond the Marathon: Our Insider’s Travel Guide

Have You Made Your Travel Plans for Boston Marathon Weekend (April 15-17 in 2023)?

Marathoning is a mental sport, and so is maximizing your time in Boston during springtime’s busiest weekend. To give you an advantage, Yankee’s editors have selected some of their favorite stops in Boston and beyond. These hotels, attractions, and restaurants go the extra mile for runners and their supporters. As you plan your Boston Marathon Weekend adventures, or perhaps a future visit to this runner-friendly Massachusetts city, here are a variety of winning experiences to book or build into your travel itinerary.

What to Do

Boston Duck Tours

So, you want to see the sights but you’re saving all your energy for running (or barhopping)? Then hop aboard the only kind of tour bus that rumbles its way along city streets before plunging into the Charles River. You may have seen these World War II–era amphibious DUKW vehicles ferrying championship sports teams through Boston during celebratory parades. “ConDUCKtors” are licensed captains … and experts at salty commentary.

The Anchor at Charlestown Navy Yard

A dynamic waterfront entertainment venue with community and inclusivity at its heart, The Anchor honors Boston’s resiliency with interactive programming all weekend long. Snap a Polaroid and help spell out “Boston Strong.” Support survivor-founded charities like One World Strong during a Glow & Give party with photo ops galore. Or sip local at the open-air wine and beer garden, where a new mural and plantings are lasting tributes to the city’s strength.

The Sports Museum

The half-mile-plus of exhibits on levels 5 and 6 of the TD Garden proves Boston is America’s best sports city. On a walk-in tour, available daily, you’ll learn about the museum’s bigger mission: to prevent and stop bullying, with the help of Boston’s beloved professional athletes.

Boston Children’s Museum

When you spy the 40-foot-tall Hood milk bottle, you’ll know you’ve found Boston’s most joyful place for playing and learning. Explore immersive environments like KidsStage, Art Lab, and a Japanese silk merchant’s home, transported here from Kyoto. Not visiting Boston with kids? Consider supporting the museum’s own Marathon team, running and fundraising to ensure continual education through wonderment.

Celebrity Series of Boston

Three shows by New York’s Paul Taylor Dance Company are the cultural hot ticket this Marathon Weekend. Modern dance, like jazz, is a uniquely American art form. As you sit back in your seat at the 1910 Shubert Theatre to watch the ensemble perform classic Taylor works and newly commissioned pieces by contemporary choreographers of color, you’ll admire the dancers’ athleticism as much as their artistry.

Where to Eat

Flour Bakery + Cafe

Led by beloved pastry chef Joanne Chang, the bakers at Flour’s nine Boston and Cambridge locations turn out top-notch sticky buns and other baked treats. And don’t fret if you miss out on a chance to try Chang’s take on Boston cream pie (composed of thin layers of sponge cake and vanilla cream, a subtle soaking of coffee syrup, and chocolate ganache): You can order this 2022 Yankee Food Awards winner for delivery anytime, nationwide.

High Street Place

This is not your parents’ food court. Boston’s newest food hall curates some of the city’s most beloved tastes under one roof, from Mike & Patty’s inventive breakfast sandwiches to celeb chef Tiffani Faison’s brown-butter lobster rolls to double-patty Wheelhouse burgers like the “Chuck Norris” that’ll smash your appetite.

Bistro du Midi

A destination for refined French fare and Boston Public Garden views—just as 25,000 tulips begin their annual color carnival—Bistro du Midi is also a weekend brunch gathering spot. Dive into a Grand Plateau of seafood ($135 for four) or other tempting options such as bavette steak and eggs, prosciutto Benedict, and apple-topped ricotta pancakes.

Mida Boston and Mida Newton

Yankee food editor Amy Traverso calls chef-owner Douglass Williams “Boston’s pasta prodigy.” Nominated once again this year for Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, he’s acclaimed for remastering Italian classics like gnocchi cacio e pepe and rock shrimp carbonara. This is first-class carbo-loading.

Burro Bar Brookline

You’re up against a different kind of time clock here: There’s a 90-minute limit when bottomless brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays. Not running 26.2? Make this neighborhood Mexican eatery, located right at Mile 23 on the Marathon course, your finish line. You can toast your favorite competitors with neon margaritas and get a workout hoisting forkfuls of enchilada.

Where to Stay

Encore Boston Harbor

This sparkling casino hotel is a sure bet for runners. Carbo-load at Fratelli, one of 10 restaurants on-site, and make the spa your prep and recovery partner. A pre-race myofascial release massage lengthens limbs and improves range of motion; a specially designed post-Marathon massage soothes both muscle and mental fatigue; and hot and icy cold plunge pools offer game-changing aquatherapy.

Fairmont Copley Plaza

Home base for the media on Marathon Day, Copley Square’s landmark 1912 grand dame is steps from the finish line, yet a comfortably elegant retreat from the hubbub. Where else can you go for a walk or jog with a loaner canine? Step out with the hotel’s resident black Lab, Cori Copley, and you’ll turn heads like you’re with a celeb.

The Newbury

Oh, the vagaries of springtime weather in Boston. Nights can still be quite chilly, so do yourself a favor and book one of 42 fireplace suites at the city’s swankiest address. Hypnotic and calming, a real wood-burning fireplace is a rare amenity. Make advance reservations for exquisite rooftop dining at Contessa, a garden-like sanctuary glassed in from the elements.

Hotel Commonwealth

Catch the race and a Red Sox game. Tech-forward, dog-friendly Hotel Commonwealth has Fenway Park in its backyard, and its Kenmore Square location is ideal for spectators who want to cheer marathoners approaching the final mile. Bonus: The weekend-long Boston Marathon Expo at the Hynes Convention Center is a 15-minute walk away.

Looking Back

On the tenth anniversary of the tragic Boston Marathon bombing, here are three personal accounts from that event:

Ten Years After the Boston Marathon Bombing: An Epilogue
Boston Marathon Bombing: A Personal Account of Being at the Finish Line
Boston Marathon Bombing: The Memories We Choose

SEE MORE:
Striding Into Boston Marathon History with Kathrine Switzer
Up Close: The Boston Marathon Wreath