Posted October 30, 2009 by Kate Hamman
Across the Charles River from downtown Boston, you'll find a city with a green conscience. Discover Cambridge's eco side without spending a fortune. Dine on organic and vegetarian pizza at a local cafe, shop for environmentally friendly gifts, and stay at a hotel that rewards those who drive a hybrid.
Eat
Veggie Planet: Veggie Planet makes you feel good about what you eat by creating vegetarian pizzas from organic dough that comes from a nonprofit bakery doubling as a homeless service provider. You can also order homemade soups, salads, and desserts. At night, part of the cafe transforms into a folk club, where Joan Baez has played. Pizzas start at $5.95 for lunch and $10.24 for dinner, and a portion of the profits is donated to organizations working towards social change.
Shop
Greenward: Selling a variety of fashionable and functional home goods, gifts, and other fun knick-knacks, Greenward makes being stylishly green a snap. The shop requires that every product meets its criteria for eco-modern standards, meaning it must be either handmade, recyclable, made from recycled materials, biodegradable, organic, energy-efficient, or educational. You can find wrapping paper made from recycled papers, books on green topics, jewelry, baby clothes, cleaning supplies, and handbags. Even the floors are made from cork. You can spend a little or a lot here, but the real value is in the knowledge that every penny helps make a difference.
Stay
Hotel Marlowe: Thanks to Hotel Marlowe's EarthCare program, you can sleep easy knowing you've played a part in taking care of the environment. This boutique-style hotel incorporates green practices throughout, including adding in-room recycling bins, conserving energy and water, and using environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. As a guest, you can help yourself to the honor bar, filled with organic snacks and beverages. Rooms start at about $161, and you can save $20 if you arrive in a hybrid vehicle.
To search for flights and compare prices to Boston, which is home to Cambridge’s nearest major airport, please use our price-comparison tool.
(Photo: iStockphoto.com/ Jorge Salcedo)
Posted September 2, 2009 by Kate Hamman
Average joes rub shoulders with the educated elite in this smart little square in Cambridge. And as Harvard students return to their Ivy-League classes, the rest of us can take advantage of the cheap eats, classic flicks, and intellectual side of the Square without having to attend a lecture. Plus, if you spend a little time around these academic types, you may even learn a thing or two for free.
Play
The Brattle Theatre: After entertaining audiences for more than 100 years with live and filmed performances, this historical theater exhibits a certain amount of discriminating taste. And since most of the big blockbusters are playing at movie houses elsewhere, the Brattle is open to highlight some of the brainier flicks of the past and present. You may be able to catch a classic, independent, horror, animated, or foreign film, simply depending on what mood the Brattle's in during a given week. Tickets cost $9.50, but are worth every nickel and dime to see some of history's greatest films once again on the big screen.
Drink
Grendel's Den: Grad students call this underground bar, named after the monster in the epic poem Beowulf, home. Happy-hour specials make this hangout even more attractive. If you order one $3 drink between 5:00 and 7:30 any night and from 9:00 to 11:30 Sunday through Thursday, you can have anything off the menu—from simple soups to a $25 cheese fondue for two—for half its original price. This deal feeds even the most ravenous of monsters, with little damage to the pocketbook.
Shop
Harvard Book Store: There are few places in this world where you can spend an entire day without realizing you've missed lunch and possibly dinner. This little bookshop across from Harvard Yard is just the type of place where time stands still. With a basement housing thousands of used and remainder books selling for a fraction of their original price, it's difficult not to get lost in the stacks. The upstairs sells new hardcovers and paperbacks ranging from classics to cookbooks, making it easy to find something to fit your reading fancy.
To search for flights and compare prices to Boston, which is home to Cambridge’s nearest airport, please use our price-comparison tool.
(Photo: Harvard Book Store)
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