(Geoff Glave) wrote in message om...
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for hotels in Boston
that are within walking distance of the Freedom Trail.

I stayed at the Long Wharf Marriott for a symposium last May. This
was my first time in Boston and I thought it was an ideal location for
seeing the city by foot. It's located next to the New England
Aquarium and a T station is located on the hotel corner. The Freedom
Trail is only three blocks away. Walking the Freedom Trail was one of
my trip goals.

On the first night of the conference, the banquet ended at 8:45PM and
I decided to walk over to Quincy Market to look around. By the time I
got there, everything was closing. But I saw a sign for the Freedom
Trail and realized I was almost standing right on it. A map indicated
that the U.S.S. Constitution was only 20 minutes away (actually much
farther) and I figured that if I did the walk that night, I would have
more free time the next day to visit MIT & Harvard. So I started
north on the trail which was a little hard to follow at night I got
to the "Old North Church" and proceeded onto some pretty dark
neighborhood streets. Not knowing what the "danger factor" was I
figured the Freedom Trail HAD to be safe (it was, but "your mileage
may vary"). A few blocks from the church, the trail passes what I
thought was a park but it was really an old cemetary. I had to stop
and peer through the gate. It was a classic "Ichabod Crane" scene.
It had rained earlier and the moonlight and the mist made it look
absolutely spooky! So I proceeded across the bridge to Bunker Hill
(actually Breeds Hill) and down to "Old Ironsides". This was my only
regret about walking at night because the vistor center and ship were
closed (it was 10:00PM by this time). So I backtracked and saw a sign
near the "Old North Church" pointing to Paul Revere's house and
realized I had totally missed it. So I made a point to stop and look
at it on the return trip. After returning to Quincy Market I decided
I might as well do the whole trail that night so off I went toward
Boston Commons. On the way I passed a building courtyard with a
cemetary. In it were buried a number of (near) famous people
including Samuel Adams himself. I finally made it back to the hotel
at 12:30AM. There is so much history in Boston and the Freedom Trail
was a major highlight of my trip. Doing it a night made it really
special for me.

To summarize, I highly recommend the Marriott Long Wharf if you can
afford it. It's a great facility located right on the water with
great local access.

Martin