How to Spend 3 Hours in Boston: East Boston Skyline Parks and Santarpio's
Updated October 3, 2026
Three hours in Boston is plenty to ride the Blue Line under the harbor to East Boston. See the downtown skyline from two waterfront parks, then eat at Santarpio's, a pizza and grill house that has fed Eastie for generations.
Most visitors see East Boston only as the neighborhood wrapped around Logan, yet the waterfront here looks straight back at the downtown towers across a narrow stretch of harbor. Its two harbor parks have some of the widest skyline views in the city, and few visitors find them. The plan is short and flat: one subway stop under the water to Maverick, a stroll along the Harborwalk past shipyards turned into lawns and piers, and an early dinner at a corner institution near Airport station. It also suits anyone staying at an airport hotel with a free afternoon.
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The 3 hour plan, stop by stop
Stops and travel: 1 hr 52 min to 2 hr 37 min of 3 hours
Opened by the city in 1977 on the site of the old North Ferry landing, LoPresti Park sits just a few blocks from Maverick station and faces the Financial District and the North End across the inner harbor. A rebuilt pier pushes out over the water, a promenade carries the Harborwalk along the shore, and the lawn behind it hosts pickup soccer, basketball and families at the splash pad. Photographers favor the small jetty at the corner for wide skyline panoramas.
Tip: Walk to the tip of the pier for the cleanest frame of the Custom House tower and the Zakim Bridge beyond it.
- Time here
- 15 to 25 min
- Website
- boston.gov
NaviTime to head out from LoPresti Park for Piers Park. It's a 15 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Massport built this long, tidy waterfront park on former shipping piers, and it rewards the short walk east along Marginal Street with an unbroken view of the whole downtown skyline. A wide promenade runs out to a pavilion at the end of the pier, with benches, shade trees and an open lawn on the way. The Piers Park Sailing Center keeps a fleet of small keelboats at the docks and runs community sailing and kayaking from here. A new playground and a refurbished splash pad opened in May 2026, and jets climbing out of Logan add to the show.
Tip: Come near sunset if you can, when the downtown skyline across the harbor stands out against the western sky.
- Time here
- 25 to 40 min
NaviTime to head out from Piers Park for Santarpio's Pizza. It's a 17 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Santarpio's began life as a bakery in 1903 and became East Boston's best known pizzeria, a dark, wood paneled room where the pies come in one size with a thin, crisp crust and toppings like homemade sausage and garlic. Half the regulars come for the grill by the front door, where lamb and steak tip skewers cook over charcoal and arrive with bread and hot peppers. The pizza has fans and critics, but the skewers and the old Eastie atmosphere win nearly everyone over. As of October 2026, a plain cheese pie costs $16, a single lamb or steak tip skewer is $17.50, and it opens daily.
Tip: Order a skewer as a starter while the pizza bakes; the grill is fast and the pie takes longer.
- Time here
- 40 min to 1 hr
- Website
- santarpiospizza.com
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