Harvard Environs: a Class Act and Affordable

For those who like a bit of intellectual stimulation on holiday, some of America’s university towns and cities can offer a delightful version of an exciting urban vacation--and inexpensive, too, because many local attractions and dining spots are geared toward student budgets.

There are few more splendid college towns to vacation in than Cambridge, Mass., home to Harvard, Radcliffe and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And it’s right across the Charles River (an easy three-stop ride by subway, known as the “T”) from Boston, which besides its own fine universities offers countless attractions dating to its origins as one of the most distinguished cradles of American history.

To take full advantage of the local offerings, travel during the academic year. Harvard, for example, is in session through Dec. 14, then the coming semester runs Jan. 2 to March 22 and April 1 to May 15. But avoid graduation and fall foliage seasons, when rates are at their peak and availability is at its nadir. Plenty of low-cost carriers serve Boston’s Logan Airport and Manchester, N.H., less than an hour away.

Start your visit at the Cambridge tourism office at 18 Brattle St., telephone (800) 862-5678, Internet https://www.cambridge-usa.org, or the Information Center at the Holyoke Center Arcade, 1350 Massachusetts Ave., tel. (617) 495-1573, where you can hook up with a free student-led tour of Harvard Yard or get a $1 map to guide yourself. Also pick up a copy of the Harvard Gazette (https://www.news.harvard.edu), whose calendar is crammed with scheduling and contact information for upcoming lectures by all manner of experts, including household names. You’ll also find performances by talent ranging from students to world-famous artists and troupes, plus a host of other activities. Tickets for events, if not free, usually run $3 to $15 at the Harvard Box Office across from the Information Center. The Harvard Film Archive (https://www.harvardfilmarchive.org) screens a variety of thought-provoking, sometimes rare works for $7.

There’s an enormous amount of top-notch museum fare as well, including 60 exhibitions at any given time at free or inexpensive campus archives and museums, such as the Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (both $6.50), as well as the one-price-for-all ($5) art museums: the Fogg for decorative arts, the Sackler for ancient and Asian arts and the Sert (housed in Le Corbusier’s only North American building) for modern art. Senior discounts of 25% are available, and most museums are free on Wednesdays and one weekend morning.

For possibilities at MIT, check at the Information Center in Building 7, 77 Massachusetts Ave., tel. (617) 253-4795. There are free guided tours and maps, and copies of the campus rag Tech Talk, which lists events. (They’re also online at https://events.mit.edu.)

Boston/Cambridge is not a cheap place to rent a room, but there are possibilities under $100 a night, double. Through B&B; Cambridge and Greater Boston, tel. (800) 888-0178, and the B&B; Agency of Boston, tel. (800) 248-9262, rooms with shared bath start at $80 nightly. Your better bets are in Boston rather than Cambridge. At the low end are the basic accommodations at HI Boston International Hostel, 12 Hemenway St., tel. (617) 536-9455, $30 for a dorm bed or $84 for one of 10 private doubles. In Back Bay, the cheerful Oasis Guest House, 22 Edgerly Road, tel. (617) 267-2262, rents doubles with breakfast and shared bath for $90. Other options: Anthony’s Townhouse, 1085 Beacon St., Brookline, tel. (617) 566-3972, $50 to $90; Abercrombie’s Farrington Inn, 23 Farrington Ave., in Allston, tel. (800) 767-5337, $350 per week, single or double; and Cambridge Gateway Inn, 211 Concord Turnpike, tel. (617) 661-7800, from $90.

Getting fed at various student-oriented eateries is still possible for a pittance at spots like the venerable Mr. Bartley, 1246 Massachusetts Ave., with huge burgers from $4.75 and dinners from $6.75.