<p>Hi all! Hoping you can share some local knowledge with me. D2 & I will be visiting Brown on 4/3. Taking the train in from Boston and staying at the Providence Biltmore. From previous threads, it seems as if walking to the campus is doable. And maps show that the Amtrak station is close to the hotel. </p>
<p>We’ll be getting there late afternoon on 4/2 with a tour & info session at 9am on 4/3. Suggestions for casual restaurants and “must do’s” for people without a car would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance</p>
<p>Thayer Street, as you no doubt already know, is great for shops and lots of restaurants. You can check out events on campus in the evening on the Brown calendar site-- maybe there’s a performance, lecture, or a concert to see. There are great galleries in the List Art Center, and the RISD museum is terrific. Walking to the campus from where you are is doable, but it’s hilly. There are cabs.</p>
<p>Definitely would do a cab up the hill in the morning. (unless the eve before you meet some other visiting family in your hotel who will give you a lift.) Too early to hoof it that far (Biltmore is about a mile across the downtown “square” area from bottom of the hill and you don’t want to be all worn out from the treck up hill before your walking tour!)
Bring umbrellas! and shoes that can get wet. (probably not boots etc, since I presume you want to pack light.)
Suggest dinner at Kabob and Curry or Andreas on Thayer st.
Lunch at the Blue Room(don’t know if they still call the cafe in Faunce/Robert center that) but food is decent, and you can sit among lots of students, and be bold and strike up conversations with students around you. On college tours with HS relatives I’ve done, this was really the very best way to get an “inside feel” for the school, other than the overnight stay with a student. Option 2 for lunch would be Verney Wooley cafeteria on the Pembroke side of campus (smaller, more intimate, so easier to chat with students than the Ratty (Sharpe Refectory)).
If you express interest in that chatting, you may find a student willing to have your student come with them to an afternoon class, or at least suggest one to just drop in on (the bigger classes your student could just wander into as students are going in and no one would care.) Also a way to get a look into dorms etc. since those are not usually on tours on the inside. (unless Mom is not prepared for dorm shock of how students live, lol.)
Think ahead with your student about questions and things you want to see.
Have fun! I think you will find that if you just strike up conversations, Brown students are very friendly and will go out of their way for you.</p>
<p>franglish: I had no idea about Thayer Street. Really all I’ve figured out is where the hotel, train station & Brown are on the map ;)</p>
<p>Travelmama & BrownAlumParent: Thanks for the tip on the morning taxi. Brown is stop 3 on a 5 college tour so I’m trying to pace ourselves. I appreciate the restaurant tips & also the tip about the umbrella; I have a list of what not to forget and can’t believe I didn’t put down an umbrella!</p>
<p>Definitely eat lunch in the Blue Room. It’s a good way to get an idea of the students, and people there tend to be willing to talk. If you have any chance of getting in touch with and meeting up with a student to chat, that’s honestly the best thing you could do on any college tour.</p>
<p>If you are visiting 15-17, be aware that that is when ADOCH will be going on (the admitted students day), so there are going to be TONS of people around campus. However, there will also be tons of events going on :)</p>
<p>Do not eat in the Verney Woolley or Ratty dining halls. I always feel so bad when I see parents paying a decent amount of money to eat dining hall food. Your kid will have 4 years of it soon enough.</p>
<p>Blue Room for lunch is great idea. Kebab and Curry is good for sitdown for dinner. However, if you want to do something faster/cheaper, I recommend East Side Pockets or Nice Slice pizzeria.</p>
<p>If you can, try to sit in on a class. Gives a good sense of the intellectual environment on campus. </p>
<p>Make sure to devote some time to just walking around the Main Green and Wriston Quad and other areas where students gather (assuming it is nice weather). Try to get an idea of the student dynamic.</p>