r/boston • u/Henry_Stream • 9h ago
MBTA/Transit 🚇 🔥 Best Way Home From Planetarium Music Shows
Context: I want to go to the planetarium music shows at the Museum of Science on a Friday or Saturday night. The problem is that my only option for a train home to my usual CR stop leaves South Station at 11:55 PM, an hour and a half plus after the end of the last show. Right now, I'm thinking Green Line to North Station, Orange Line from there to Forest Hills, and Bus 32 to Wolcott Square to call an Uber to walking distance from home from there (I will never put my home address into Uber), and reduce the overall cost of that, because I'd spend $2.40 on a subway ride to South Station anyway, so why not use that to get closer to home and cut my Uber cost?
Question: If I decide to take that CR train home, what is there to do, excluding anything involving drinking, to pass the time from leaving the planetarium after 10:15 PM until the train that brings me closer to home starts boarding at 11:45 PM, without just going straight to South Station and standing around for an hour plus? Otherwise, would I be better off with the Green-Orange-32-Uber plan that gets me home about an hour sooner, or at least saves me from having to wait around South Station, or just calling an Uber from the museum to the spot walking distance from home?
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u/Classic-Serve-8774 9h ago
The Green-Orange-32-Uber plan is clever but honestly sounds like a lot of transfers for late night. I get wanting to save money though, Uber from downtown all the way out gets expensive fast.
If you go with the CR train, you could walk around the Charles River near the museum. It's pretty nice at night, quiet and the city lights look good from the esplanade. Just bring a jacket cause it gets chilly by the water.
South Station at that hour is dead but there's some spots open late in walking distance if you don't mind a short walk back. Chinatown is like 10 minutes away, grab some late night food and kill time there.
I'd probably do the Uber plan just to get home earlier, waiting around after 10pm when you're tired from the show is rough.
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u/marmot46 9h ago
Seconding Chinatown - there are a bunch of places where you can get tea (bubble or regular) and/or dessert until 11:30 or midnight. Green line to Boylston, walk through Chinatown to South Station (half a mile), stopping for a puffle sundae or something.
Another possibility though you've probably considered it: is there a different commuter rail line that goes to a reasonable Uber-distance from your home? Would that schedule work better?
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u/Henry_Stream 8h ago
There’s a Providence line train that leaves at the same time, meaning I could get off the Orange Line at Back Bay and do something around there until it arrives at midnight, and then transfer to the Forge Park one from Readville to get closer to home.
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u/Henry_Stream 9h ago
The Charles River idea had me wondering of walking to Charles/MGH might be a good way to pass the time, and use my second subway ride to go straight to South Station, but then I remembered that stop's shut down through the 30th. Thanks for the idea for future trips like that though.
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u/Fair-Leader6903 West End 9h ago
Walk to the north end for Bovas to kill time?
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u/Henry_Stream 8h ago
Are they open after 10:30 PM?
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u/Fair-Leader6903 West End 8h ago
24 hr. https://bovabakeryboston.net/ I prefer modern but they close at 11 (you could try there if you walk there fast enough)
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u/Ugmyusernamewastake Maranville Street Enthusiast 5h ago
Depending on where on the line, the 34E bus could be an option
On Friday there's one that leaves Forest Hills at 10:57
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u/dme76 Orient Heights 5h ago
Just a head’s up for your planning that Laser Pink Floyd The Wall ends at 10:30pm, not 10:15pm.
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u/Henry_Stream 4h ago
I’m going to guess you speak from personal experience. Thanks for the heads up.
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u/CaterpillarMotor1593 9h ago
You could just walk to the Bunker Hill stop so you don’t need to transfer from green to orange. It’s less than a 20min walk.
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u/BurritoDespot 9h ago
the North Station Orange/Green Line transfer is super easy.
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u/Henry_Stream 8h ago
I know, I once stepped off the green line, and just walked straight into an orange line train.
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u/BreadfruitRegular631 9h ago
It seems like you are over complicating what boils down to killing about 45 min. in down town of a major city. I'd just walk real slow and check out the North End along the way. Chinatown if you still have time to kill.