Burlington, Massachusetts 01803

Highways
There are four exits for I-95 (Route 128), and three for Route 3. I-93 is close by and I-495 is just a bit north of town. Burlington is just 20 minutes from Boston, 30 from the New Hampshire border, and 1 hour from Rhode Island.


Train
The closest Commuter Rail (train) stop is Anderson/Woburn located at Atlantic Ave & Commerce Way in Woburn. It's a very short drive up RT 128 from Burlington. This is part of the Lowell Line of the T and ends at North Station in Boston. The commute time can vary, but it's under a 30 minute trip by train from Woburn to Boston.

In my day I used Mishawum station in Woburn. I was surprised to see this change!


Subway
The closest Subway stop is Alewife Station located Alewife Brook Parkway & Cambridge Park Drive in Cambridge. The drive isn't bad at all; RT 128 to RT 2 from Burlington. This is part of the Red Line of the T.

From there you can transfer to the Green, Orange, or Silver Lines and get just about anywhere you need to throughout Boston. My usual trip would be from Alewife to Park Street Station, switch to the Green Line for Hynes Convention Center Station and hit Newbury Street shops and restaurants. :)


International Airport
The closest major airport is Logan Airport in Boston. It's about a half hour drive if the traffic isn't bad. Logan is part of Massport.

Burlington folks are spoiled being so close to New England's largest transportation center.


Cruiseport
15 major cruise lines use the Port of Boston. The Black Falcon Cruise Terminal, located in the Boston Marine Industrial Park is 7 miles from Logan Airport and is also part of Massport.

From April to November ships sail north along the New England and Canadian Coastlines, south to Bermuda, and east across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

Got a whole day to devote to shopping? Good. You'll need it here.

First, there is the two level, 185+ store, Burlington Mall. Apple, Banana Republic, Crate & Barrel, dELiAs, Eddie Bauer ...it may just have a store for every letter of the alphabet. ;)

When I was really young this mall was only one level. My uncle was part of the construction crew that worked on it's expansion. I always thought that was cool.

Up for more? It's a quick drive over to Wayside Commons. There you'll find L.L.Bean, West Elm, Arhaus Furniture and Cold Stone Creamery to name a few. This is a very cute, and pretty new, open air shopping plaza.

I did not have the benefit of this retail center while I lived in Burlington, but I've been to it a few times since it opened. Wish I lived closer!

There's also Middlesex Commons which includes Old Navy and a few other smaller stores.

And this only scratches the surface. Burlington has shopping centers and stand alone stores sprinkled throughout the town.

Lahey Clinic is one of the largest providers of comprehensive healthcare services in New England. This facility is one of the things Burlington is known for.

Their main campus, located in Burlington, houses an ambulatory care center serving more than 3,000 patients each day, a 317-bed full service hospital, and Level II Trauma Center. Lahey Clinic is a teaching hospital affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and also has teaching affiliations with Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine.

People fly in from around the world and drive across the state to recieve care here. Lahey Clinic is consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals in the country in U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Hospitals" and in 2007, Lahey was one of only 33 adult-care hospitals in the country named to the Leapfrog Group's "Top Hospital list."

I have spent many, many, hours at this hospital. Starting at age 6 I went in weekly for allergy shots. As you can imagine it wasn't fun for a little girl, but I do have fond memories of Lahey. My mother would always bring me to the gift shop to buy penny candy, and we'd have dinner at the Coffee Shop (which is no longer there). I'd always end the meal with Carrot or Black Forest Cake.

Lahey has also helped keep my father's and grandmother's hearts ticking. Those days of visits are a blur to me. No memories, just thankful.