Plan a weekend visit to Cambridge, Mass., three ways: on a budget, spending a bit more, or when the getaway calls for a splurge.
BUDGET
Outside of sale periods, two-week advance purchase rates for round-trip tickets, requiring a Saturday night stay, start from $448; all carriers.
Getting there: Frequent one-way sale rates to Boston start from $99 midweek; nonstop AirTran and Delta.
Stay: Frost House offers an ideal location within a 10-minute walk to Harvard Square and a shorter walk to numerous restaurants and boutiques (and two minutes to Porter Street Red Line "T" metro system). Queen rooms with private bath from $100-$115; Frost and Roseland streets, 781-449-5302, www.bnbboston.com.
Eat: Considered one of the best pubs in greater Boston, the Druid is a perfect spot for a chilly autumn day. Warm up with shepherd's pie, fish and chips, hearty beef stew and fish chowder. Starters, burgers and sandwiches, $6-$10; entrees, $14-$22. Visit at 4 p.m. Saturdays for live Irish music sessions; 1357 Cambridge St., 617-497-0965, www.druidpub.com.
Experience: Built in 1759, the Longfellow House served as the headquarters of George Washington during the Siege of Boston and later became the family home of American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for five decades. Public tours Wednesday-Sunday (closed November-May); $3 adults; 105 Brattle St., 617-876-4491. Don't miss a stroll through the 175-acre Mount Auburn Cemetery, founded in 1831 and today recognized as one of the country's most significant cultural landscapes. A one-hour driving tour and two 75-minute walking tours are available for rent at the entrance. View the spectacular Boston skyline from the cemetery tower; 580 Mount Auburn St., 617-547-7105, www.mountauburn.org.
__________
MODERATE
Getting there: Delta offers a walk-up, round-trip economy class rate of $316.
Stay: Hotel Tria is one of the premier Best Western Plus properties in Boston and New England and located a mile from the Harvard Museum of Natural History. New guest rooms average $180 per night, including a hot buffet breakfast. On-site is a lobby bar and a Panini Kitchen; 220 Alewife Brook Parkway, 617-491-8000, www.bestwestern.com.
Eat: End the weekend on an up note with Sunday morning brunch and live music at Ryles Jazz Club. A la carte items are $7.95-$13.95; 212 Hampshire St., 617-876-9330, www.rylesjazz.com.
Experience: Cambridge, referred to as "Boston's Left Bank," is a village filled with more than 28,000 students from over 100 countries. Soak up the atmosphere on Harvard Square, famous for its eclectic boutiques, the world's largest concentration of bookstores and more than 100 restaurants; www.harvardsquare.com. Adjacent to the square is the Harvard Museum of Natural History with its two-story Great Mammal Hall, the oldest and most dramatic gallery in the museum. Adult admission $9; $6 children 3-18; 26 Oxford St., 617-495-3045, www.hmnh.harvard.edu.
__________
SPLURGE
Getting there: One-way, walk-up business class rates from $475; nonstop AirTran or Delta.
Stay: Considered the finest digs in Cambridge, Hotel Marlowe sits along the Charles River. Accommodations feature Frette linens, floor-to-ceiling windows, bathrobes and more. Nightly rates through early November range from $239-$275 including evening wine reception; $180-$215 starting mid-November. Add $1 to rates for a choice of a daily cocktail or continental breakfast for two; 25 Edwin H. Land Blvd., 617-868-8000, www.hotelmarlowe.com.
Eat: Patrons rate Bondir, an American/European establishment, as one of the best dining experiences in the greater Boston area -- and even this side of Paris. This charming, farmhouse-style restaurant has just 28 seats and a fireplace salon. Menus change daily (vegetarian and half portion dishes available). Entrees average $30; 279 Broadway, 617-661-0009, www.bondircambridge.com.
Experience: Take an upbeat "Hahvahd Tour," a student-led tour of Harvard University and Harvard Square through Harvard Yard and the surrounding campus. The 10-stop tour has four themes: history, culture, architecture and the Harvard-Cambridge rivalry. Five tours offered on weekend days through Nov. 21. Suggested cost is $10 each; $20 per family; www.harvardtour.com. Visit the stunning Sanders Theatre, a 180-degree, 1,166-seat theater famous for its acoustics and a design inspired by Christopher Wren's Oxford, England theater. Public performances range from the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Chamber Music Society, to international dance. General admission tickets from $15-$40; 45 Quincy St., 617-496-2222, www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/sanders.html.
__________
Clara Bosonetto is a retired travel consultant.
About the Author
