We are excited to recommend some of our favorites to you, be it the wedding weekend or for longer adventures. Stay tuned for scheduling events before, during, and after the wedding weekend for those interested in more celebration with loved ones!

Below are some recommendations in Scituate and the South Coast region, Boston, our hometown of Cambridge, and throughout New England. For visitors to the region, we do recommend extending your trip and exploring elsewhere in New England. Scituate is a fun place for a weekend, but by spending more time to venture outwards, it will be clear why we have grown to love this area so much. Please reach out for accommodation recommendations outside of Scituate and the South Coast!

Scituate is a textbook example of a small New England coastal town that is truly beautiful during October as the leaves change. For those staying for the weekend, we recommend exploring the local beaches in between the events we are planning. Yes, October is probably a bit too late into the year to go for a swim, but scenic walks along the coast will include lighthouses, salt marshes, and wildlife refuges - so there is still much to see! Stopping for food and drink along the way in the downtown area is a great option. We also have some recommendations for hiking trails in the bound-to-be colorful forest reserves below!

If you find yourself with more time to burn on the wedding weekend, adventuring up and down the coast is a great option. World’s End Park near Nantasket beach offers scenic views of Boston, and while possibly a bit underwhelming to travel clear across the country for (it’s a rock after all) the historic sites at Plymouth are well worth the very short drive from Scituate. Along the way, you would find yourself driving through beautiful towns and landscapes.

Despite what local Bostonians may say, it’s pretty hard to argue that Cambridge isn’t part of Boston considering that a brisk pace would get you between their downtowns in about 20 minutes time. While you definitely could (and should) mix and match things to do and see during a Boston visit with those from a Cambridge visit, we think that Cambridge is fun enough alone to warrant its own separate list! With that being said, as far as accommodation, planning, and transportation go, you can basically consider them one in the same.

Boston and Cambridge would be prime options to visit during day trips on either end of the wedding weekend, or for multi-day stints. They are both historic and walkable cities, and October generally promises lovely and comfortable weather for exploring. If you are visiting for multiple days, we recommend finding a hotel near the Charles River or along a MBTA train line to make access as easy as possible. The neighborhoods of Back Bay and Fenway in Boston are probably closest to most of the major tourist attractions in Boston, and Harvard or Kendall squares in Cambridge serves a similar role in Cambridge. With that being that, there are TONS of option, so ask us! We absolutely 100% do not think you should plan to drive yourself in Boston, and should walk or use public transit when possible, and Ubers when something is a bit disconnected. Boston is a notoriously difficult city to drive in, and as a walkable public city with good public transit, we think that driving yourself is usually not the best way for most people.

Cambridge is the little slice of the world that we have called home for a few years now, and we really do love it.

The classic Cambridge visit includes a look at Harvard University, which has certainly been a focal spot in our lives these past few years. Walking the grounds, exploring the many museums (including the natural history museum where Evan works or the fantastic art museum) are excellent things to do, refueling at one of the many restaurants we love in the area, particularly around Massachusetts Avenue. If the weather is nice, a walk along the Charles River is easy and well worth it, particularly near the university. Walk far enough and you will surely bump into MIT, which is on Mass. Ave. along the Charles River, just a short distance from Harvard. Cambridge is filled with options for truly wonderful food, great pubs and breweries, and cool activities that we have highlighted below. Between speakeasy arcades, punk-pop live music Irish pubs, live jazz sushi restaurants, and bars with the audacity to have nerdy names like “the miracle of science”, we’d challenge you not to have a good time exploring. The ice cream in Cambridge is also unreal, and you can’t go wrong with honeycomb, toscaninis, or New City Microcreamery.

Boston really does feel like the center of the world in New England, and it’s easy to see why. Boston has a bit of everything. As likely the most historic city in the US, we absolutely recommend leaning into the tourist role for first time visitors and doing the freedom trail. For first and many time visitors alike, many of the places the freedom trail winds through are well worth a longer look, including the historic streets of beacon hill and the North End. For sports lovers, Fenway offers tours every day, and the location of the park is ideally situated for the famous shopping on Newbury Street. Along Newbury street, there are many options for things to see and do such as having high tea at the beautiful Boston public library, or getting the best view of Boston possible at the top of the Prudential Center. The street ends at the centrally located Boston public gardens and the Boston Commons, the oldest public park in North America.

The world famous New England Aquarium is downtown by the water, and if there is time, this area can be used as a jumping off point for whale watching or hiking on the islands of the Boston harbor (a very much unknown national recreation area). The museum of science and the museum of fine arts are great to visit. The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is an excellent option as both a very uniquely designed art museum, and as the site of the largest art heist in history (make a reservation ahead of time to visit!). For those with longer stays, the Arnold Arboretum and the Mapparium are both really special places.

We have put some great food options below, but we also think that it’s worth exploring more widely. We believe that one of Boston’s best kept secrets is just how good of a food city it is and we are happy to make additional suggestions i if you have questions. We do recommend trying at least one of the great Italian restaurants in the North End, especially our personal favorites such as Al Dente or Antico Forno. Stopping at Mike’s pastry or Modern for a cannoli afterwards really completes the North End experience (although you can also get Mike’s without the insane line right outside of Harvard in Cambridge!).

New England definitely extends well beyond scituate and Boston, and for those with the time, we very much recommend doing more exploration of the area. Be it a couple days exploring Massachusetts or the lower portions of the more northern states or longer extended trips, there is much that can be done. We absolutely recommend tacking on a few days to a Boston visit to see a bit more, or if you aren’t so city inclined, start exploring after leaving Scituate.

Within an hour drive of Boston, you can really do quite a lot. The wildlife reserves along the north coast, particularly ones like Plum Island and Crane Beach, offer beautiful and unique dune landscapes with some of the best birding in North America. Along the way is Salem, MA, which doubles down on their witchy past throughout October. There is great hiking right outside of Boston in the Blue Hills And …. Without having to go very far, and it is very easy to add a visit to apple orchards throughout the region after your hike. It’s hard to predict exactly when peak fall colors hits well in advance, but even off peak, the views can be spectacular throughout Massachusetts. Popular areas of coastal Maine are only about 1 hour away (we recommend Ogunquit And Kennebunkport) and the neat city of Portland is only a little ways further. 


If you are happy traveling a bit further from Boston, chasing the peak foliage further North is absolutely worth it. In New Hampshire, fall time hikes in the white mountains state park are exceedingly popular, especially places like Franconia Notch. There are many small towns that are great to stay in during this time of year, there are many unique experiences in the White Mountains such as taking the cog train to the top of Mount Washington. Vermont may be one of the most beautiful places on the planet in mid October, with entire forests of yellow and amber. Stowe Vermont is famous for its colors, and Steph and Evan are big fans of Burlington for a larger city in the area. Western Massachusetts hosts artsy towns in the Berkshires, some of which are great places to stay without having to travel so far. For those looking to travel further, staying in Bar Harbor in eastern Maine provides the best access to the stunning Acadia National Park right before some areas close for the winter. While the opposite direction of where the fall colors will be brightest, Cape Cod is a good option for those who have just a few days after or before the wedding, as it’s just south of the venue. Many of the luxury resorts are off-season in October, and can be quite affordable that time of year for those that would like to take in the wonderful cape landscapes. Martha’s Vinyard is also reachable with a short ferry ride from the Cape and offers similar experiences in October.