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Worcester (Massachusetts) Travel Guide

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Worcester [1] is located in central Massachusetts approximately 45 mi. (72 km) west of Boston.

Contents

Understand

Worcester was established as a town on June 14, 1722 and as a city on February 29, 1848. It has a population of 172,648 and is the third largest city in New England, behind Boston and Providence. Worcester, MA is the home of nine colleges and universities, the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and the Massachusetts Bio-Technology Research Park, and the American Antiquarian Society. Despite their large number, Worcester's colleges and universities have not left much of an imprint on the overall feel of the city-- for better and for worse, it is not the least bit a college town.

Worcester has a very low rate of violent crime compared to the comparably sized city Providence, RI. It also has lots of parks, greenspace, small bodies of water, and tree-lined streets.

Get in

By plane

  • Worcester's airport[2] is currently (June 2006) only served by Allegiant Air [3] and only between Worcester and Orlando, Florida for four days a week. Worcester's hilltop airport is notorious for weather delays due to its elevation and relatively short runways; this caused Piedmont, United Express, and various other carriers to flee the airport after short, failed tenures there.
  • Logan International Airport in Boston or T.F. Green Airport in Warwick are usual choices.

By train

  • The MBTA's Framingham Worcester Line: $6 one way. Often takes an hour to an hour and a half, depending on if on a local or express train.
  • Amtrak, 2 Washington Sq. (Union Station), [4]. The train only leaves once a day, but is quite affordable and runs from Penn Station directly to Worcester's beautiful Union station.

By bus

  • Greyhound Bus Lines, 2 Washington Sq. (Union Station), Phone: +1 508-754-1102, Toll free: 1-800-231-2222, [5].

By car

  • Worcester is well served by highways. Interstate 290 runs through Worcester and connects to Interstate 495, Interstate 190, Interstate 395, and Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike).
  • From New York: Ramon's Transportation, Phone: +1 508-754-2207. $35 one way, and they will drive you directly to your destination in Worcester. They pickup in Washington Heights, near the 1/9. Call for directions to the pickup. Expect a fast ride and reggaeton.

Get around

Public transit in Worcester is only practical for commuters, really. Cabs are cheap, and if you're there for more than just a visit, bicycles are available from many used stores and are the best way to get around and explore. Busses in the city run every 20 minutes and cover a fair number of stops with the right number of transfers.

Bus

  • Worcester Regional Transit Authority, 287 Grove St., [6].

Taxi

  • Yellow Cab, Phone: +1 508-754-3211.
  • Red Cab, Phone: +1 508-792-9999 or +1 508-756-9000.

See

  • American Sanitary Plumbing Museum, 39 Piedmont Street, Phone: +1 508-754-9453. Tu-Th 10PM-2PM. Yes, it's true. The world's only known plumbing museum. Another Worcester first!
  • The Higgins Armory Museum, 100 Barber Av., Phone: +1 508-853-6015, higgins@higgins.org, [7]. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM, Su 12PM-4PM. Prides itself on being "The only Museum in the Western Hemisphere solely dedicated to the collection of arms, armor and art." 5000 objects on 4 floors. $8, seniors and ages 6-16 $7, under 6 free.
  • Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Phone: +1 508-759-4406, [8]. W-Su 11AM-5PM, Th 11AM-8PM, Sa 10AM-5PM. Plenty of great exhibits! Also free on Saturdays before noon. Lots of great art here! $10, students and under 17 free.
  • EcoTarium - A Museum of Science and Nature, 222 Harrington Way, Phone: +1 508-929-2700, Fax: +1 508-929-2701, eco@ecotarium.org, [9]. Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 12PM-5PM. Great zoo with a Polar bear and working, kid-sized diesel train and more. $10; Seniors, students ages 3-18 $8. Planetarium, train, tree walkway are extra.
  • Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm Street, Phone: +1 508-753-8278, [10]. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM, Th 10AM-8:30PM.
  • Worcester Union Station, 2 Washington Sq. Worcester's pride and joy. This amazing work of art dates back to the glory days of rail roads, tycoons, and Worcester's position as the home to Pullman's Dining Car Company. Abandoned in the 1970s, it was revived to it's original glory in 2000 after a $32 million dollar campaign to save the station. Notice the turn of the century relics as you walk in (such as marble walls and thirty foot ceilings).
  • Burnside Fountain, located on the south side of the Worcester Common, is known to locals as "The Turtle-Boy Love Statue". The fountain features a boy and a turtle engaged in what many observers believe to be an obscene act. Not many people know what it truly represents, so judge for yourself.

Do

  • Worcester Tornadoes, Fitton Field, [11]. May-Sep. Playing in the Canadian-American League, they began playing in Worcester in 2005 and won the Canadian American Championship against Quebec in just three games. People seem to love the Tornadoes, and with tickets at about $6.00 and winning most games they've played, it's easy.
  • Worcester Green Hill Municipal Golf Club, 2 Green Hill Av., Phone: +1 508-799-1359. Apr-mid Dec. 18 hole, 6487 yds, Par 72, CR-70.4, S-122. Public.
  • Quinsigamond State Park, 10 North Lake Av., Phone: +1 508-755-6880, [12]. Swimming, sailing, fishing, picnicking. Rest rooms, showers.

Learn

Worcester boasts a fair number of colleges and universities in it's region.

  • Assumption College, 500 Salisbury St., [13].
  • Becker College, 61 Sever St., [14].
  • Clark University, 950 Main St., [15].
  • College of the Holy Cross, 1 College St., [16].
  • Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 19 Foster St., [17]
  • Quinsigamond Community College, 670 West Boylston St., [18].
  • University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave N, [19].
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 100 Institute Rd., [20].
  • Worcester State College, 486 Chandler St., [21].

Buy

  • Mid Town Mall, Main St. directly across from Worcester Commons. The decor is from the 70s, and there's a broken escalator leading down to a nearly abandoned lower level. Good food too. A wonderful spot of local color. The downtown sections of Worcester are run down and scary but also quite fascinating.
  • Greendale Mall, Gold Star Blvd. Still pretty small by modern standards, but with all of the required stores for a simple stock up.
  • That's Entertainment, 214 Park Av., Phone: +1 508-755-4207. If you have any interest in comic books, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, roleplaying, etc, check this out.
  • Hung Thinh Oriental Market, 15 Parker St., sells whole, frozen durian.
  • Happy Birthday Mike Leslie, 420 Pleasant St., [22]. Visionary junk store that sells ball gowns, trading cards, shrunken heads, and old phone books. Also zines, tapes, cds, posters, and clothing from local artistes. open Wednesday Thursday Friday 2 - 7pm.

Eat

Americana

  • Coney Island Hot Dogs, 158 Southbridge Street, Phone: +1 508-753-4362, Open W-M. (best hot dogs, best sign)
  • Long Island Hot Dogs, 68 Stafford Street, Phone: +1 508-753-9223. (best burger)

Breakfast

For breakfast the wealth of diners opens up and it is near impossible to choose. Here are some of the most cool and comfy:

  • Parkway Diner, 148 Shrewsbury St., Phone: +1 508-753-9968.
  • Jeans Place, 136 Cambridge St., Phone: +1 508-753-9466.
  • Wendy's Clark Brunch (also referred to as Annie's. Regulars are allowed a tab.)
  • Boulevard Diner, 155 Shrewsbury St., Phone: +1 508-791-4535 A favorite among college students, open 24 hours.
  • Gold Star Restaurant, 68 W Boylston Dr., Phone: +1 508-852-7900.

Fancy

  • 111 Chop House, 111 Shrewsbury St., Phone: +1 508-799-4111.
  • Anthony's, 172 Shrewsbury St., Phone: +1 508-757-6864. Italian.
  • Block 5, 139 Green St., Phone: +1 508-767-3483. Modern American.
  • The Harlequin, 363 Plantation St., Phone: +1 508-754-5789. At the Beechwood.
  • Maxwell Silvermans Toolhouse, Worcester Center Blvd. Near Lincoln Sq., 508-755-1200. Restored factory building.
  • Sole Proprietor, 118 Highland Av., Phone: +1508-798-3474, [23]. Seafood.
  • The Sahara, 143 Highland St., Phone: +1508-798-2181.
  • The Flying Rhino Cafe and Watering Hole, 278 Shrewsbury St., Phone: +1 508-757-1450. Much more excellent than the name suggests.
  • Union Station The Restaurant, 2 Washington Square, Phone: +1 508-831-7800, [24].

Pizza

Classic central MA style:

  • Tech Pizza, 137 Highland St., Phone: +1 508-752-2133.
  • Fantastic, 910 Main St., Phone: +1 508-798-5577. Also has fallafel.

Thinner crust:

  • Blue Jeans, 270 Park Av., Phone: +1 508-753-3777.

Gourmet Pizza:

  • Corner Grill, 806 Pleasant St., Phone: +1 508-754-8884, [25].
  • Dino's, 13 Lord St., Phone: +1 508-753-9978.
  • Wonderbar, 121 Shrewsbury St., Phone: +1 508-752-9909.

Ethnic Restaurants

You could spend a lifetime going to the following restaurants in rotation:

Jamaican

  • One Love. Delicious Roti, Ackee, and Curry of all types imaginable. Most dishes come with an excellent side of plantains.

Vietnamese

  • Saigon. 976 Main St Most of the entrees are delicious. The #92 is a favorite. Also make sure to get the tofu mushroom rolls appetizer and an avocado milkshake. Who could resist this restaurant!
  • Dalat, 425 Park Av., Phone: +1 508-753-6036. Vegetarians, get #37 in the Spring and Summer months, and #86 in the Fall and Winter. Avocado milkshake is a favorite of course, and can be made with soy milk by request. Also try the durian milkshake, which is tasty despite smelling like serious foot.
  • Ba Le Boston. 878 Main St. near Clark University, Phone: +1 508-798-8856. Tofu sandwich.

Latino

  • Pupuseria Elsavadorena, 82 Pleasant St., Phone: +1 508-756-5586. This place makes pupusas, has a great burrito, and has the best nachos in the city, if you ask them to hold the meat: homemade guacamole, homemade tortilla chips, and plenty of salad and sour cream. It also has no sign.
  • Sabanas, 439 Park Av., Phone: +1 508-767-1820. Sabanas is conveniently located downtown in the mindblowing midtown mall (directly opposite the Common on its north side.

Middle Eastern

  • Lee's Bakery, 98 Hamilton St., Phone: +1 508-755-7014. Lebanese.

Vegetarian / Vegan

  • Quan Yin, 56 Hamilton St., Phone: +1 508-831-1322. An all vegan fake meat restaurant by run by followers of Suma Ching Hai (the "Suma" is a contraction for "Supreme Master"). Great mock foods. The fake cheeseburger is a secret item: not on the menu but always deliciously available.
  • Pho Saigon, 976b Main St., Phone: +1 508-799-5250 Vietnamese with exciting vegetarian offerings. Don't even look at the menu and order the #92 (warning: spicy).

Also see "Middle Eastern" for more delicious vegetarian meals.

Late Night

Worcester is the birthplace of the diner. The Worcester Lunch Car Company Built Diners from their factory in downtown Worcester from 1906 to 1957. Their serial numbers started at 200 and ended with 850. Many are still in existence. They are characterized by porcelain enamel exteriors with the name of the diner in the enamel. The interiors have mosaic tile floors and tile walls. So there's still lots of "third shift" places to eat, including:

  • Kenmore Diner,250 Franklin Street, Phone: +1 508-792-5125. Recommended.
  • Boulevard Diner, 155 Shrewsbury Street, Phone: +1 508-791-4535.
  • Miss Worcester Diner, 300 Southbridge Street, Phone: +1 508-757-7775. Terrific liver and onions at this diner, for the inner truck driver in you.
  • Parkway Diner, 148 Shrewsbury Street, Phone: +1 508-753-9968.
  • George's, Grafton St. One of the most interesting cheap late-night eats is a pita bakery on Grafton St. It opens each night around 2AM to start making pita, and you can buy fresh pitas that look like footballs. The pita bakery is about 5 storefronts up the hill from their daytime, public-facing deli.

Drink

Worcester has a very large number of bars. If you're looking for raucous 20-something bars, go to Shrewsbury St. or Park Av., south of Elm Park. If you're looking for very cheap, strange, divey bars, go to Canterbury St. and its cross streets.

The following are interesting and comfortable places to drink:

  • Vincent, 49 Suffolk St.
  • Sahara, 143 Highland St.
  • Ding Ho, 38 Southbridge St.
  • Block 5, on Green Street - maybe the only hip place in town.


  • El Coqui, 184 Chandler St., Phone: +1 508-756-8862. Considered to be the best liquor store.

Sleep

  • Beechwood Hotel, 363 Plantation St., Phone: +1 508-754-5789, Fax +1 508-752-2060, [26]. 2 miles from downtown, near all major business centers and universities, ideal for business and leisure travelers, meetings and weddings. $$$$
  • Best Western Executive Inn & Suites, 50 Oriole Dr., Phone: +1 508-852-2800, [27]. $$
  • Hampton Inn Worcester, 110 Summer St., Phone: +1 508-757-0400 +1 508-831-9839, [28]. $$$
  • Holiday Inn, 500 Lincoln St., Phone: +1 508-852-4000, Fax: +1 508-852-8521, [29]. $$
  • Residence Inn, 503 Plantation St., Phone: +1 508-753-6300. Fax: +1 508-753-6330, [30]. $$$



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