Wonderful free, one-hour museum staffed by friendly students. A different exhibition each semester…read moreand a very small permanent collection. Unfortunately it's closed between exhibitions so check that it will be open. And free parking! Also a short walk from the BC stop on the Green Line.

An oft-neglected little free gem of BC. I believe they have one exhibition per semester. It's…read morelocated behind the admissions office in Devlin Hall If you go during the week, during the day, don't be put off by the mobs of prospective students/families and current students flooding in/out of class. Once you get past the crowds, you're free to retreat in the quiet, intimate, two floor displays. The guards are very sweet and knowledgeable and will often talk to you about what they know. You can probably leisurely soak in the entire exhibit in a hour or two, which makes for a lovely weekend afternoon outing (or fantastic break from outrageous thesis researching). There have never been more than a handful of people in there when I've visited during the week, and I doubt the weekends are any busier. Last semester there was a Jackson Pollock/Herbert Matter exhibit, and currently the exhibit is Jewish mosaics from the Roman Empire.

Fun little free museum and you can learn a little bit about the history of Bostons water supply!…read more The educational videos and demos about the engines powering the aqueducts were really interesting. The engines themselves are also very cool and quite a bit larger than i expected. I was surprised as well that there was a little section on the second floor which allows you to see the top view of the engines as well as the steeple. Fair warning that the museum isn't air conditioned except the top levels. You can also join a tour which I believe costs money, but this allows you to go into the engines and explore.

" Hours Wednesday- Sunday 11:am -4pm it's FREE"…read more "Waterworks Museum". Wow I live right near here and I didn't know this place existed . The y have a small parking lot . If this doesn't work out , they have street metered parking . It's very interesting. My husband and I had a great time . We learned something new , it was free . We even found non metered parking . So the parking was free .

A must visit for any tourist! This place reminded me of walking through Versailles. I love to walk…read morethrough rooms with interesting art and artifacts. You don't get too much of an explanation of all the many items within the space, but I enjoyed walking through the rooms. Try to get here in the opening hour. Some rooms are small and limit the capacity. They will check your items for free if you want or have big items.

I got so many recommendations to visit this museum, and I can definitely see why. This is a gem of…read morea building, and one of the most interesting collections of art and antiques you are likely to view. When you get here, it is worth reading over some of the history of Isabella Gardner, and how she came to organize and curate the museum. This is maybe one of the best examples of seeing a collection based on one person's tastes and interpretations, as the items are not broken out by time period, art style, or medium type, except in very broad strokes. Rather, they are assembled in the way that Ms. Gardner felt worked the best, and you are left to wander, gander, and enjoy the exhibits however you like. This is one of the best things about the musem, as the building is GORGEOUS, with a stunningly beautiful atrium garden, and the exhibit halls wrapped around it. The only dings I had on this visit were that one big room is currently under renovation, so unfortunately got to miss one exhibit hall. Also, I felt there were a lack of places to sit to either rest your feet or take a longer look at the art, so be aware of that if you need to find a bench or something. On the whole, however, I am wholly won over, and will say if you want to do an attraction in Boston that is a little unorthodox, this is it. Definitely should be on top of everyone's list of places to see if they come to visit, especially as something to get you out of the central core of downtown. Well worth the visit.

This was a small, but enjoyable and FREE museum on Brandeis's beautiful campus…read more It had three exhibits as of our visit on 1/26 - all three were surrealist and we got to see a Kahlo and a Magritte in addition to other wonderful works of art. They would liked you register before you go, but I didn't get the sense that we'd have been turned away if we hadn't. There is very limited parking near the Museum - we parked down by the admissions building and walked up.

Established in 1961, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University is a hidden gem housing one of the…read morelargest collections of modern and contemporary art in New England. It's a relatively intimate museum, with only 13,000 square feet of exhibition space in its three galleries, but the curators make good use of the space with a rotating selection of the 9,000 pieces in the permanent collection - including works by Matisse, de Kooning, Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg, Yoko Ono, Gauguin, Picasso, and Warhol - as well as 9 to 12 temporary exhibitions a year - featuring groundbreaking pieces from emerging artists like Pakistani painter Salman Toor or less commonly-known pieces from more established artists like Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The Rose Art Museum also hosts programs that are open to the public including artist talks, performances, and discussions led by museum staff. My favorite part of the permanent collection at the Rose Art Museum is 'The Undisciplined Collector', an interactive re-creation of an early-1960s wood-paneled den installed by conceptual artist Mark Dion in 2015. It's intended to represent the mid-century modern era in which the museum was founded. The installation features retro-designed furniture (that you can sit on to enjoy the installation!) as well as authentic period artifacts including vintage record albums, magazines, and a cocktail bar. I haven't tried putting on a record or mixing a cocktail. PRO TIP: Admission to the museum and parking outside the main entrance is FREE but you should register for your visit on the museum website (https://slate.brandeis.edu/portal/rose_visitor_admission).

The Waltham Museum is such a gem tucked away in a historic neighborhood. My entrance was free as I…read morewas enrolled in a watchmaking class held by the New York horological society. You can tell that the museum organizers really care to make this area a family, friendly experience. There is naturally a lot of history and museum artifacts surrounding the Waltham watch company, which made amazing pocket watches in the 19th and 20th century. Definitely recommend this museum if you're in the area.

If enthusiasm counts for anything, this museum is tops! The docent was helpful and loved the…read moremuseum. She had so much to share. Her voice was full of love for Waltham. She moved there at a young age, so she has the personal touch. The Museum itself is overflowing with information from the Native American days to almost current events. Waltham has contributed so many inventions - did you know chalk sticks were created in Waltham? Or a ten-seat bicycle was built there by the Metz Car Co. (also from Waltham that sold car kits that the customer put together himself). So many more unique bits of knowledge await the curious, the proud Waltham citizen or the amateur history buff. Maybe you are all three? Go and enjoy yourself!

Calling all the cool nerds we recently visited the Natural History Museum, and it was a great…read moreplace to spend a rainy afternoon! There's a ton to see and learn! Some of our favorite areas were the dinosaur (of course), the glass flower exhibit, the rocks... who knew the earth could produce such beautiful ROCKS ?!? We also loved walking through and seeing the various life size animals- giraffes are REALLY TALL, people This museum is the perfect size to walk through and take your time, and still be able to cover everything in 2-3 hours. It's perfect for kids and adults, and easy to get to by taking the red line. We got our tickets on Groupon for a great price, so we highly recommend checking for discount tickets if you're interested in visiting. Lentz_explore CLANDESTINO montreal, canada Love tequila? Looking for a speakeasy while in Montreal? We've got you covered! Clandestino is a tequila bar hidden beneath the hopping restaurant upstairs. Head through the hidden door, into a hallway and down some very dark stairs and you'll find yourself an intimate spot for some tequila cocktails. We both loved our drinks. CL got a couple but his favorite was the Ocho which had cacao and mole, to make for a "damn good" cocktail. I had the Passion Amarga, which was also delicious. We loved the vibe, it felt like being in a friends living room, with the furniture and the music was at a perfect level. The service was wonderful. The staff really helped us with picking out the perfect cocktails. Stop in here if you are in the area, you won't be disappointed! Lentz_explore

I visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History with my husband two weeks ago, and we had a really…read moregood time. To be honest, natural history museums aren't my favorite. Between a natural history museum and an art museum, I'll take an art museum every time. But I'd had the Harvard Museum of Natural History for a while! When my husband and I decided to visit Boston for his birthday, visiting the museum was at the top of the itinerary. So why was this non-natural history museum girl so thrilled to check out this museum? For one specific reason! The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants - otherwise known as the Glass Flowers. The Glass Flowers is a collection of high realistic glass botanical models made by father and son Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka from 1887 through 1936 at their studio in Dresden, Germany, for the Harvard museum. The collection includes 847 life-size models (representing 780 species and varieties of plants in 164 families and 3,000 detail models of plant parts and anatomical sections. The Glass Flowers blew me away. I'm not even sure how long we spent in that one room, but I know I said, "Wait. That's glass?! That can't be glass!" about 100 times. I can't believe the Blaschkas were able to ship these incredibly detailed and delicate models to Boston from Dresden much less make them!!! This collection alone makes the Harvard Museum of Natural History worth visiting. The flowers are incredible, like nothing else I've seen. Unlike me, my husband does love natural history museums, because he's a nerd for rocks and geology. So we did spend some time in the rest of the museum, particularly the Earth & Planetary Sciences Gallery (which contains thousands of rare rock and mineral specimens), the Rockefeller Beetles, and the marine life galleries. General admission costs $20, but it also gets you admission to the connected Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, so be sure to explore that for at least a few minutes, too. If you love natural history museums, this one is worth a visit. If you're not into natural history museums, but I sold you on a visit to the Glass Flowers, make sure the Harvard Museum of Natural History is on your itinerary for your next trip to Boston!

Great staff and there so much to see. Being able to see some of these innovations in real life,…read morethat I had only previous seen in history books or documentaries was pretty neat. My favorite part was to see some of the belt driven machinery actually work. We had visited the day after a person had come and replaced some of the belts. We were able to see a belt driven (automated) saw cut through a chunk of metal. It was an impromptu demo as we were walking around the the staff member saw us examining this particular piece of equipment (with our eyes of course). And he started it up for us. Again...staff is really enthusiastic and engaging. We also got to see where they do hands on workshops, where kids can design and print things in 3D, which is pretty cool. They had a nice even space as well for smaller weddings/events. Easy parking (pay) in a nearby garage and a easy walk across the bridge/walkway to get to the museum. If this type of history interests you, I would definitely recommend you stopping by. We were there for a couple of hours and throughly enjoyed the staff showing us around. Cute gift shop as well.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've worked over a decade in this area of Waltham and have never…read morerealized this hidden gem of a historical museum existed. The guys working the front desk are super knowledgeable, funny, helpful and nice. One of them was kind enough to give us a brief intro when we first arrived. They can totally geek out on all sorts of interesting facts, which I live to absorb. Still, I wish I had planned it in advance so we could have a formal tour because there's so much to see. Before coming here I had no idea that Massachusetts held such a rich industrial heritage. We spent two hours exploring the two story museum. There were plenty of interactive exhibits (great for the kiddos and adults) and each time we looped around the museum we found something else we missed the first time going through. This place is a haven especially for those who are interested in history and engineering. They had antique bikes, wooden cars, steam fire engines, watchmaking tools, belt driven machines, typography machines, horse drawn fire truck, and even a phone booth! They also do a great job of mixing in some modern and new exhibits (e.g., we saw whimsical puppetry paintings by Tanya Harsch). The second floor also has a beautiful and grand ballroom space (perfect for corporate events or weddings). I can't wait to come back here. Whether you are local or from out of town I'd highly recommend a visit.

During a recent weekend trip to Boston, I reserved an entire day for the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA)…read moreand it was the best decision I could have made. If I lived in Boston, I would become a member so that I could visit at will, even if only for few hours at a time. I am particularly interested in the impressionists, and John Singer Sargent, so I kept mostly to the 2nd floor. The museum is well organized, and there are staff floating around to answer any questions (one staffer even offered some tips to reduce the glare when taking a photo of a certain painting). I had checked out of my hotel so I had baggage with me (don't we all)...MFA has a convenient bag check. I also purchased a sizeable book from the bookshop and the staff put it in a box for me to keep it from being damaged during travel. I saw one temporary exhibit that was a nicely curated mix of multimedia art, and I also enjoyed seeing some of the rooms presented in a gallery style so that I could truly appreciate modern display methods. Six hours here went by in a flash, and I will definitely be back to see more of the MFA's vast collection. p.s. The equestrian sport of polo came from Persia?? Loved this fact! I also really enjoyed the time put into the object labels and the stories they told. "The most outrageous series of ferocious daubs that any slanderer of Venice could possibly imagine," a quote from a critic describing Renoir's Grand Canal, Venice, made me snort laugh out loud!

My son's love for art museums brought us here when we were visiting Boston & we had a wonderful…read moreexperience despite the unnecessary incident with security that occured to us, which I'm not going to mention. The museum itself was beautifully organized, spacious & had plenty to see. They had a huge selection of galleries and exhibits depicting art spanning thousands of years & many global cultures- from ancient civilization to modern contemporary art with lots of impressive collections too. My son esp. love European art & I like Renaissance art. Definitely a must-visit for anyone who appreciates art & culture. Fyi, don't forget to grab a map after you walk up those stairs. There's a lower ground level, ground level 1, level 2 & 3. Expect to spend atleast 2-3 hours.

Had never heard of this artist. What a nice small museum highlighting his work and life! Amazing…read moresculptures. Loved the story of how he never gave up on creating the Paul Revere sculpture . Spoke with two nice ladies working there. Would recommend stopping in to see it if on the area. Now I know about Cyrus Dallin!

Stopped here at the end of a biking trip and thoroughly enjoyed the free tour. I'd never heard of…read moreDallin or this museum before, and after the visit, I found that fact somewhat appalling. I went in not expecting much and left absolutely amazed. There is so much movement and expressivity in his sculptures. They remind me of early Rodin. In short, this guy created the Paul Revere statue in the North End, the Native American Statue in front of the MFA, and the trumpeting angel of the Mormon church, among others. He could easily be the best American sculptor of the 20th century but, due to political conflict and possibly his own obstinacy/arrogance, he has virtually no legacy. Poor guy, it took him 60 years to erect the Paul Revere statue in the North End and his name isn't even engraved on the pedestal! Boston politicians apparently didn't care for him much at all. He died penniless and all he gets is four rooms in a tiny house in Arlington to showcase his masterpieces. It's a nice little museum though, and the curators are very knowledgeable and dedicated. You can walk through the place on your own, but it's small enough that having a docent guide you through a detailed tour wouldn't take more than 40 minutes. As I said before, everything is free, though donations are greatly appreciated. If you are hosting visitors or just have an hour to kill on a weekend afternoon, this local treasure is well worth the trip.

My kids and I enjoyed the MIT museum! Lots of cool history and innovation! The museum is kept clean…read moreand staff is friendly and helpful throughout our trip. Be sure to check out the gift shop on your way out!

If you are a science nerd, then you will love this museum. If you're not much into museums, you're…read morenot going to like it a whole lot cuz there's a whole bunch of history and the evolution of science women in science, the space, race, advancement of photographic lenses all kinds of things that the MIT community has contributed to the advancement of our human kind. I loved it cuz I was geeking out. My husband not so much.