I’m sure city folks reading this post will roll their eyes, but a city day is one of the most exciting outings that we do as a family. In quick succession, we get to see police cars, construction cranes, big trucks, tunnels, trains, buses, skyscrapers, and lights. (And let’s be real, I’m almost always stopping at either Flour, Tatte, or Levain Bakery when we get into Boston so there’s the pastry element as well. I am allllll about a little treat!)
The Harborwalk is always a good idea.
I worked downtown in my ‘20s and so going into the city is fun for me, too. This may be the most millennial thing ever but like: I miss popping out of the office to pick up Sweetgreen and sit in the sunshine on the Greenway. I miss Classpass, where I’d take super hard classes at Barry’s Bootcamp and Everybody Fights and SoulCycle. I miss most of all the Cookie Monstah food truck, which I used to track via Twitter updates and would walk up to 20 minutes during my lunch break just to get an ice cream sandwich. (It was always worth it, even in heels.)
This is the first in a series of guides to different Boston neighborhoods. I’m starting with the Seaport because to me, it’s the most toddler-friendly of the bunch. It’s a designated tourist neighborhood (to be honest, it’s like an outdoor mall), so there’s so much to do. It’s a solid choice to base your trip around if you’re going to visit, because it’s also where most of the hotels in the city are, so you’re close to where you’re staying.
The Seaport is full of fun things for toddlers to do!
Truly, you have so many options here:
- We usually skip the Boston Children’s Museum because of the general mayhem (I get overstimulated pretty easily) but it’s one of the best Children’s Museums in the country, honestly. It’s just too much of a “kid space” for me.
- Right next to the Children’s Museum is Martin’s Playground which is the best playground I’ve ever taken my toddler, and a great place to get the wiggles out.
- We loved The Museum of Ice Cream though!1 This is absolutely a toddler-friendly experience with lots of buttons to push, things to touch, rooms to explore. A huge highlight was the Creamliner, which simulated a flight to “Frostingland” and ended in my favorite of the ice creams for the day, a creamsicle swirl. I asked my toddler their favorite room and they said the Fenway Park-inspired game room, and the cotton candy ice cream at the end.
- The Institute for Contemporary Art is more kid-friendly than other art museums in town—I think contemporary/modern art is accessible because it often invites interaction in ways that classical/antiquities don’t. It’s also super small so if they’re not ~feeling it~ it’s pretty easy to skedaddle or camp out and plane-spot. On a clear day you’ve got a great view of Logan Airport. Don’t sleep on the Inciardi Print machine located there either!
Plane spotting at the ICA.
- The Firefighting Museum only opens to the public on Saturdays, but it’s free and absolutely a must for any truck-loving kid. Lots of interesting Boston history and memorabilia, and of course, firefighters to meet.
- You can easily take a ferry to the Boston Harbor Islands from here, or just take a Boston Harbor Cruise. I haven’t done that with a toddler (I get pretty seasick) but if it’s nice and you want to get on the water, could be fun!
- TBH, there’s so much construction in the Seaport that last time we were there, we ended up sitting down on a park bench and watching some pretty intense construction going on for a new skyscraper going up. We did it as snack time last trip.
Things to wait on…
- I think my toddler is too little for all of these, but if you have older siblings or one of the adults wants to get away, there are some really fun adult playspaces, like Puttshack (golf simulator), F1 Arcade (driving simulator), Flight Club (darts), and King’s (bowling), and any store you’d find in a mall, you’ll find here.
- The Tea Party Museum is best for older kids, I think 6 would be the earliest age I’d try to do this. I love history and I honestly can’t wait for when my toddler is ready for this.
You’ve got almost every great fast-casual place in easy walking distance.
There are a million spots to eat down in the Seaport which makes it easy for my favorite vacation hack, which is: Each person orders what they want! There’s no need to negotiate if you’re all doing something fast. Mobile order and pick a park to picnic at. Voila!
For lunch, I’d do Flour Bakery, Shake Shack, Bon Me, Cosi, or Sweetgreen.
Lots of dinner options here, but hanging out at Trillium Brewery in the summer months is my favorite. Island Creek Oysters does a pop-up down there too that is so fun. There’s also Committee (Middle Eastern), Woods Hill Table (Farm to Table), Nowon (Upscale Korean), Pastoral (Pizza), and tons of iconic seafood options like Row 34 and Legal Seafoods are down here too.
And of course, sweet treats: Levain Bakery, Taiyaki NYC, and Tatte, but follow your nose! Lots of pop-ups happen in the Seaport, so you never know what you’ll find.
A sample Seaport-based itinerary.
Start your morning at one of the museums—if you had to pick one, go for the Children’s Museum. The Museum of Ice Cream is best after lunch because you eat ice cream in every room 🙂
Lunch at Flour Bakery, which I love because it’s allergy friendly so I can bring anyone. Sometimes we eat there and others we mobile order and bring our sandwiches down to Martin’s Playground right outside the Children’s Museum. It has a gigantic pirate ship right in the middle, and a splash pad in the warmer months, so bring a swimsuit.
Driving the ship at Martin’s Playground!
Stroller nap/long walk to get the wiggles out on the Boston Harborwalk. Note that it gets VERY chilly very quickly here, even in the summer with the wind on the water.
If you’re up for an afternoon outing, the Museum of Ice Cream would be a great afternoon snack experience. You get unlimited ice cream in every room! I had a VIP ticket which gave us flexibility to come whenever we wanted during the day (and come back). We spent a very long time in the sprinkle “pool” at the end of the experience, though note that most toddlers are too short to go down the big slide at the end. This did cause a sugar-induced meltdown, but honestly, it was v. relateable. I rode down the slide and it was pretty great.
VIP tickets get a free cocktail and milkshake and unlimited ice cream at their bubblegum pink ice cream parlor. My toddler picked cotton candy and I did chocolate.
My favorite hotel hack is ordering to-go and then eating in the lounge, lobby, or in our hotel room depending on what we’ve booked. The Seaport is great for that, with so many fast-casual places (see above.) In the summer, go hang out at Trillium Brewery. Otherwise, I think Bartaco hits the best of what you need for a toddler, which is kid-friendly food and that it comes out fast.
Thanks for being here.
This country mouse loves the city sometimes! Especially during golden hour.
I don’t consider myself a “seasoned” mom—I mean, my toddler is still very little—but it’s pretty amazing to see how pushing myself out of my comfort zone with travel has paid off over time. This guide was the result of deciding to go to the city for a day, my toddler and me and my friend and her toddler, even though I had to wrestle with an hour plus of traffic and parking and do we have enough snacks?
But we had the BEST time together in the city. The Museum of Ice Cream made us all squeal with delight—me, after ringing a bell and a chipwich appeared from a swivel in the wall; my toddler after turning a corner and seeing a room full of just plastic bananas of different colors. I mean, I walked in and S Club 7 was blasting on the speakers. This place is engineered for dopamine and it delivered. A great reminder to do the things YOU want to do when you travel with little ones, because turns out, motherhood is a lot more fun when you’re having fun.
You scream, I scream, we all scream,
Kayla
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This post was originally published on Travel with Toddlers. Subscribe for more real-talk travel advice, toddler-friendly itineraries, and tried-and-true gear recommendations.
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1 I was invited to visit the Museum as a member of the press. I’ll always disclose comped stays and experiences in this column, and I only share what is actually toddler-friendly. I went in thinking it was just an Instagram museum but we actually learned a lot, and it was definitely great for little ones as long as you’re okay with the sugar rush and subsequent meltdown (which was totally worth it, imo!)
