Fodor's Boston

by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc.

Expanded Fodor’s Boston 27th Edition features new restaurants and hotels from Cambridge to Beacon Hill.

Illustrated Gorgeous full-color features on Boston’s Freedom Trail and New England’s Whales and Whaling History help travelers make the most of the city’s attractions. Cultural illustrated spotlights on Fenway Park, Museum of Fine Arts, New England Aquarium, other museums, and neighborhood cuisine and shopping bring Boston’s landscape to life.

Indispensable Trip Planning   Top Attractions, Great Itineraries, and Family Favorites features make it easy to plan a vacation. Best bets charts for restaurants and hotels; Two Ways to Explore boxes on neighborhoods; easy-to-read color regional maps; and tips traveling with kids and frugal fun give useful at-a-glance travel resources.   

Discerning  Fodor’s  Boston offers savvy advice and recommendations from local writers to help travelers make the most of their time. Fodor’s Choice designates our best picks, from hotels to nightlife. “Word of Mouth” quotes from fellow travelers provide valuable insights.    

TripAdvisor Our experts’ hotel selections are reinforced by the latest customer feedback from TripAdvisor. Travelers can book their Boston stay with confidence, as only the best properties make the cut.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Guidebook

380 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1983

About the author

Fodor's Travel Publications is a United States-based producer of English-language travel guides and online tourism information. It was founded by Hungarian Eugene Fodor in 1936.
Fodor’s was acquired by Random House in 1986 and sold to Internet Brands in 2016.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the guide book we chose as our travel companion for our trip to Boston. Can't wait!

[Michael Stonecipher · Rating 5 out of 5]

lots of info. could use some QR codes with links to learn more.

[LPR]

I'm farming for side quests.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay guidebook. Felt it was a little light on background information and didn't provide much in the way of travel tips. It's mostly a listing of attractions, hotels, and restaurants. Was hoping for more context and practical information.

[Sebrena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great guidebook! Read it on the plane headed to Boston!

[T P Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly serviceable guide to Boston. It provides the basics in terms of things to see and some decent recommendations. However, it's a little pedestrian and has none of the odd quirks that one finds in Frommers. Still, it does the job!

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This guide brings Boston alive through images, history, and vivid, realistic descriptions of the "feel". My sister has lived in Boston for several years and has visits from her in-laws from England as well. Her in-laws brought the Lonely Planet guide (the "do it cheap and here are some insider tips" guide) and it didn't resonate with them or with her.

In this Boston 2012 Fodor's guide, the writers really have a feel for the town. It was a huge hit with her in-laws, who went to town with it (hah!). It was great for me to find new places to visit during my frequent trips there. Additionally, they not only hit on all of my sister's favorite spots and restaurants, but also provided her with a lot of new places to try. It covers places that she and/or her family (with two young children) have done in the last year and loved, and important tips that they learned.

- Crane beach (parking is expensive, instead take the $5 shuttle from Ipswich, mentions the pesky flies that ruin your trip and when they are there)
- Whale watching (which group to book with, pricing, duration, and tips about how to prepare and what to bring)
- Eldo cake house (special mention for a place with excellent dim sum!)
- The New England Aquarium (buy tickets ahead (link provided) or you could face 30+ minutes in line on summer weekends)
- Museum of Science (includes all the additional activities such as planetarium and Mugar Omni theater, hints about how to save money on tickets)
- Children's Museum of Boston (great short description of the impressive features for children)
- Freedom Trail (great overview of Boston's "must do" activity that anyone can follow)
- Sam Adams brewery tour (sis takes ALL visitors on this tour, the guides are amusing and you get a LOT of free beer!)
- Harvard (has a section on things you can do for free and includes the free tour led by students)
- Rendezvous (sis just ate at this Cambridge restaurant after her husband "discovered" the exceptional prix fixe 3 course menu for 38 dollars each with locally sourced ingredients - it took him years to find out some important insider info that is already in this guide!)

THE GREAT

- Very balanced - not too much and not too little information. Great for someone visiting for a week or two and even handy for sis, who lives there, to find new treasures!
- Just the right amount of history, covers things like the ride of Paul Revere and the Boston Massacre so you understand the significance of what you're seeing
- Beautiful color photos of the most important Boston landmarks and where to find them
- Good detail on places of architectural significance
- Has repeats of important things to do in different sections (such as the Sam Adams brewery which appears under "Boston Outskirts" as well as "Nightlife and the Arts" sections) so that if you only visit one section of the book, you'll still get all the important details
- Divides info by area, then by category (Where to Eat, Where to Stay, Sports and Outdoors, etc)
- Good money saving suggestions
- Tear out, plastic-protected map that is perfect, includes the MBTA map

THE NOT SO GREAT

- Published in mid 2011 but mentions that a shark and ray touch exhibit will open in 2011 at the aquarium. It opened in April of 2011 to members and then opened to non-members and it's wonderful. But it's one of the problems of printed guides - they can often be out of date when printed. There were only a couple of items like this.
- Doesn't mention some areas that sis said not to go to and goes easy on descriptions of other areas (for example, my sister's friends don't like to go to the Franklin zoo because of the not so great areas they have to travel through to get there and Plymouth is a bit run down)
- I think it could have had a more extensive description of weather to really convey what it's like to walk downtown streets in January or sweat through muggy summer days.
- I didn't think it covered enough of the "side trips". It hit some of our favorites like Rockland but could have been better. Then again, it's about BOSTON, not Massachusetts. They picked a radius and stuck to areas just inside that radius.

It is a bit heavy to carry around...but what guide isn't? You'll want this with you wherever you go and you will get the most out of your Boston visit because of it.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent travel guide to a great city in the East Coast, Boston, Massachusetts. Fodor's guides are professional, well organized, and useful to travelers. Boston contains information on the city that not only helps the visitor while they are there, but builds understanding and knowledge of the city's past and present. It contains must see attractions, hotels, restaurants, color photographs and maps. The personal touch and the ability to engage a reader is valuable in getting a buyer to peruse a travel guide and Fodor's accomplishes this goal.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

User friendly guidebook with informative blurbs about everything from travel sites to hotels and restaurants. Good maps, as well. We used it a lot on our trip. It helped us to sort out what to do and when, though prices were a little higher than listed for the historical sites, museums, etc.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fodor’s is my go-to travel guide company, and they did not disappoint with a comprehensive review of all of the city’s attractions. Thank you for once again pointing out highlights that I would not have known about alone!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished this book in preparation for our trip to Boston this week. It seems like the guide offers many great suggestions, but it remains to be seen whether they will be worthwhile. I look forward to exploring this city!

[Laurie Bower Lupin · Rating 5 out of 5]

By page 63, I had fully formulated a week’s itinerary to see all that was Boston. This is a complete and thorough guide to see the sites in Boston. I had planned to taking it along with me in my suitcase. I think it’s a must-read guide for all there is do in Boston.

[Kara Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took this book along when I went to Boston in August and it was wonderful. Very informative and even the map was helpful with the little subways. Oh and Boston was fabulous!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read the 2009 issue and found it most helpful for our upcoming trip.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read a more current version, but Fodor's is always a good reference prior to a trip.

[Saima · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a Fodor's guide. It's good.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful!