A great possibility for Wednesday evening.
Museum of Fine Arts
With approximately 450,000 objects in the collection, there's always something new on view. The MFA also offers an ongoing schedule of special exhibitions and daily activities including gallery talks, films, concerts, artist lectures, and family programs. Stay as long as you like and see just what you want—from an Impressionist painting to a 5,000 year-old mummy to a current film.
General Admission: $17 (NOTE: On Wednesday, from 4-9:45, admission is FREE )
Hours:
Monday–Tuesday, 10:00 am–4:45 pm
Wednesday–Friday, 10:00 am–9:45 pm
Saturday–Sunday, 10:00 am–5:45 pm
For more info and directions: www.mfa.org/visit/index.asp?key =3
The Thursday excursion will be the so-called "Duck tour," a unique way to see Boston and the Boston area.
From their Website: You've never toured Boston in anything that comes close to Boston Duck Tours. The fun begins as soon as you board your "DUCK", an authentic, renovated World War II amphibious landing vehicle. First, you'll be greeted by one of our legendary tour ConDUCKtors, who'll be narrating your tour. Then you're off on a journey like you've never had before. You'll cruise by all the places that make Boston the birthplace of freedom and a city of firsts, from the golden-domed State House to Bunker Hill and the TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Common and Copley Square to the Big Dig, Government Center to fashionable Newbury Street, Quincy Market to the Prudential Tower, and more. And, as the best of Boston unfolds before your eyes, your ConDUCKtor will be giving you lots of little known facts and interesting insights about our unique and wonderful city.
And just when you think you've seen it all, there's more. It's time for "Splashdown" as your ConDUCKtor splashes your DUCK right into the Charles River for a breathtaking view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines, the kind of view you just won't get anywhere else.
For more info and directions: www.bostonducktours.com/
Other possibilities you might want to explore on your own:
Fenway Park Tours
Visit the park where the Babe pitched, The Kid hit, Yaz dazzled and Manny and Ortiz still thrill young fans today. Soak up the rich history; hear the echoes of the past. Touch the Green Monster, imagine being one of the "Knights of the Keyboard" as you see the view from the Press Box, visit the State Street Pavilion Club before strolling around Fenway Park.
Tours now leave from the Souvenir Store across Yawkey Way hourly seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The tour lasts about 45 minutes and costs $12.
For more info and directions: boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/tour.jsp
Sam Adams Brewery Tours
During your visit to Boston, you’ll no doubt learn about Samuel Adams, and the role he played in the American Revolution. Of course, you should also know he was a brewer, and his namesake brewery put American craft brewing on the map in the 1980s. When you visit the Samuel Adams Brewery, you literally sample a taste of history.
Tours are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 3 pm, Fridays from noon to 5:30pm, and Saturdays between the hours of 11 am and 3 pm (All tours depart approximately every half hour. Suggested donation: $2.00. All donations to benefit local charities).
For more info and directions: www.samueladams.com/contact_tour.aspx
Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)
On December 10, the Institute of Contemporary Art unveiled its new home on Boston's waterfront. After seventy years at the leading edge of art in the city, we are opening a new, visionary building poised to capture the stimulation of contemporary culture and the excitement of a revitalized waterfront area.
Admission: $12 (NOTE: On Thursday, from 4-9pm, admission is FREE )
Hours:
Tuesday and Wednesday 10 am - 5 pm
Thursday and Friday 10 am - 9 pm
Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 5 pm
For more info and directions: www.icaboston.org/visit/directions-and-parking/
Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner first welcomed visitors to her museum on New Year's Day, 1903. On that evening guests listened to the music of Bach, Mozart, and Schumann, gazed in wonder at the courtyard full of flowers, and viewed one of the nation's finest collections of art. Today, visitors experience much the same thing. The Gardner Museum has remained essentially unchanged since its founder's death in 1924. Unchanged but certainly not stagnant. Three floors of galleries surround a garden courtyard blooming with life in all seasons. The galleries are filled with paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture, and decorative arts from cultures spanning thirty centuries.
Admission: $12
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 11am to 5pm
For more info and directions: www.gardnermuseum.org/information/visit.asp
Harvard Musuem of Natural History
The HMNH galleries present both permanent and changing exhibitions that draw from the collections of the parent museums. Exhibition highlights include the unique Glass Flowers collection, the historic Hall of Mammals, Romer Hall of Vertebrate Paleontology, and extraordinarily comprehensive displays of minerals, rocks, ores and meteorites.
Admission: $9
Hours: Open Daily from 9am -5pm
For more info and directions: www.hmnh.harvard.edu/information/index.html
Charles River Cruises
Charles Riverboat Company offers unique and exciting tours on the water. See and hear the unique sites and history featuring Harvard University, Beacon Hill, the State House, Esplande and Boston's Back Bay.
There is both a daytime and a sunset cruise (leaving at 7pm), which cost $12.
For more info and directions: charlesriverboat.com/sightseeing.htm
Boston Harbor Cruises
History, character, sites, stories and more – Boston has it all. And Boston Harbor Cruises can show you this captivating city like no one else can. Whether you're visiting Boston for the first time, or a long time resident looking for a quick and relaxing getaway close to home, our sightseeing cruises are not only fun, but you'll learn a few things too. And with four different sightseeing cruises to choose from, we are sure to have a tour that’s right for you.
These 90 minute tours cost around $20 each.
For more info (including departure times) and directions: www.bostonharborcruises.com/harbor_main.html
Freedom Trail
The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958, when the wrecking ball threatened, the Freedom Trail today is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond.
Guided Tours are available. For more info and directions: www.thefreedomtrail.org/index.html