Fenway Neighborhood Guide

Red Sox, Fenway Park, Nightlife, Museums, and Colleges

Boston's Fenway neighborhood gains its fame from its biggest attraction, Fenway Park, home ball park of the Boston Red Sox.

However, the Fenway area of Boston also includes 18 colleges and universities, world-renowned research centers and hospitals, lively nightlife along Lansdowne Street, and the highest concentration of cultural institutions in the city, including the Museum of Fine Arts and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Symphony Hall.

Boston's Back Bay Fens - Footbridge over Muddy River

Fenway's most famous attraction - Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox

"East Fenway" includes the famous ballpark, House of Blues Boston, and other bars, restaurants, and shops in the Kenmore Square commercial stretch near Boston University.

"West Fenway" includes museums, the Longwood Medical Area, and more colleges and universities. Lots of medical professionals and students live in the neighborhood's residential areas.

Things to Do and Attractions in Fenway

Fenway's sports and cultural attractions bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the neighborhood every week when the Red Sox play home games.

Fenway Park - Cheer the Red Sox for the quintessential Boston experience - or catch one of the star-studded rock concerts or other sports events hosted twice a year here. Red Sox schedule and ticket information.

Ball Park Tour - See the famed ballpark up close, and enjoy your guide's entertaining stories about Fenway history, legendary players, and funny events. You even get to go on top of the Green Monster. Allow about 1 hour. Included with Boston discount card

Museum of Fine Arts - World-famous for its comprehensive collections spanning 7 thousand years. Must-sees include the Egyptian mummy collection and the dazzling new Art of the America's wing. Included with Boston discount card

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - This 1903 mansion, modeled after a 15th century Venetian palace, displays the wide-ranging art collection of its creator. Free admission if you're named "Isabella." Don't miss the Sunday afternoon concerts. Included with Boston discount card

Symphony Hall - Home to Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops. Attend a concert and enjoy its perfect acoustics, or join a free tour for behind-the-scenes views and stories.

Jordan Hall - Another acoustically superb concert hall, and the main performance venue for the New England Conservatory as well as guest performers. Free admission to many student performances - huge bargain considering that some students here are already renowned professional musicians.

Mapparium (200 Massachusetts Ave, next to the Christian Science Mother Church) - This enormous walk-through painted glass globe in the Mary Baker Eddy Library at the Christian Science Mother Church features a 1935 world map overlaid with geography and global history. Included with Boston discount card

Boston Marathon - The almost-final stretch of this famous race cuts through Fenway along Commonwealth Ave. Traditionally, the Red Sox play a home game on Marathon Day, timed to finish just as the first runners streak by. Crowds pour out of Fenway Park to cheer on the racers as they tear through Kenmore Square on their way to the finish line in Back Bay.

Opening Our Doors - Annual FREE 1-day event, usually on Columbus Day weekend, to celebrate Fenway's extensive arts and cultural institutions, with free museum admissions, performances, tours, workshops, concerts, and a ton of other fun things to do.

CITGO Sign - Dating back to 1940, this red triangular sign measures 60 feet by 60 feet and can be seen from many Boston locations, including Fenway Park. The sign, now considered a historic landmark, used to be neon, but now sports thousands of LEDs. The lights go out at 1am - coincidentally, closing time for Boston bars.

Fenway's famous Citgo sign, photographed from Brookline Ave next to Buckminster Hotel

Fenway Restaurant Recommendations

Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks (528 Commonwealth Ave) - French brasserie styling and food, with a terrific bar. Go for the steak-frites, bouillabaisse, and anything with seafood. Sidewalk patio for warm months. More Boston seafood restaurants

Canestaro Restaurant and Pizzaria (16 Peterborough) - Southern Italian favorites made with high-quality ingredients. Patio seating for warm weather. A neighborhood gem. More Boston Italian restaurants

Petit Robert Bistro (468 Comm Ave) - Classic French bistro cuisine, and a great wine selection. You can almost imagine you're in Paris. Affordable. More French restaurants in Boston

Island Creek Oyster Bar (500 Comm Ave) - Showcase for Duxbury's Island Creek oysters - plus lots of other very fresh local seafood and a terrific raw bar.

Restaurant Row (Peterborough Street, between Kilmarnock and Jersey Streets) - After burning down in January 2009, 3 restaurants are finally open again: El Pelon Taqueria (best fish tacos in Boston), Thornton's Fenway Grill (now serving draft beer), and Swish Shabu (Japanese hot pots). Look for more coming soon. More about the fire

Elephant Walk (900 Beacon St) - Classic French dishes on one side of the menu and traditional and contemporary Cambodian offerings on the other side reflect the owners' ethnic heritages and expertise. Long-time personal favorite.

Tasty Burger (1301 Boylston St) - Burgers, dogs, and shakes - plus wine and beer, pool, and a jukebox. What's not to love?

Fenway Franks - No, not a restaurant, but iconic Fenway cuisine - get them inside the ballpark, or in Bleacher Bar.

More Fenway neighborhood restaurants

Fenway Hotels

Buckminster Hotel (645 Beacon Street)

A block and a half from Fenway, and one of Boston's biggest hotel bargains. No designer linens here - but great rates for a comfortable stay.

Designed by famed architect Stanford White (Boston Public Library) and built in 1894, the 97-room Buckminster played its own role in Fenway's history. The Buckminister is where:

A bookie and a baseball player hatched the infamous plot to fix the 1919 World series
Engineers made first network radio broadcast in 1929, with the help of a clothesline
Italian prisoners of war stayed during World War II
Jazz legends such as Billlie Holiday, Dave Bruebeck, and Sarah Vaughan performed in the 1950s
Grahm Junior College, which bought it in 1968, used it for a few years as a dorm

Happily, the Buckminster became a hotel again in the early 1970s and remains one of Boston's true bargain hotels. Its Kenmore Square location places it within easy reach of Fenway Park, Boston University, and all the Lansdowne Street nightlife, and its proximity to the Green Line's Kenmore station makes getting to other parts of Boston easy.

Rates /reviews for Hotel Buckminster | Other Boston Discount Hotel

Hotel Commonwealth (500 Commonwealth Ave)

One of Boston's top luxury boutiques, replete with Italian linens, down comforters, complementary WiFi, and nice electronics. You'll even find pet-friendly amenities, such as a pet bed and tasty treats.

What makes Hotel Commonwealth outstanding, though, is its personalized service, designed to make guests feel like . . . well, like pampered guests.

The independently-owned 148-room Hotel Commonwealth is only 2 blocks from Fenway Park, and about a 10-minute walk from the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Museum, and Boston University (one of the partner/owners).

Although the Second Empire-inspired Hotel Commonwealth fits in visually with some of the other mansions along Comm Ave, it is actually one of Boston's newer hotels, built only in 2004. However, it occupies a Kenmore Square location made famous by the previous occupant, punk rock club, The Rathskeller.

Over the course of several decades, The Rat, as it was called, hosted stellar rock and punk performers - Aerosmith, Joan Jett, Thin Lizzy, the Dropkick Murphys (catch them these days at nearby House of Blues), Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mission of Burma, U2, Talking Heads, Metallica, The Ramones, Patti Smith - and many, many more.

Rates / reviews for Hotel Commonwealth | Other Luxury Boutique Hotels

Howard Johnson Fenway Park (1271 Boylston Street)

Right behind Fenway Park and close to many of the neighborhood's colleges and universities, the 94-room Howard Johnson retains a motel-like layout - and an outdoor swimming pool.

Check for the "campus visit and interview package." The hotel also provides a shuttle to the Longwood Medical Area. During baseball season, the hotel fills up with fans whenever the Red Sox play at Fenway, and rates rise - at other times, though, they're usually mid-range.

Almost directly across Boylston Street is the Victory Garden section of The Fens, well worth exploring if you're a gardener.

Rates / Reviews for Howard Johnson Fenway Park

Best Western Inn at Longwood (342 Longwood Ave)

Located in the Longwood Medical Area, and convenient for patients and their families. It is also close to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Wentworth Institute of Technology, and is a 10-15 minute walk to Fenway Park.

Rates / Reviews for Best Western Inn at Longwood

More about Fenway hotels

Fenway Photo Gallery

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Fenway Nightlife, Sports Bars, Clubs

Fenway's legendary nightlife - and there's a lot of it - mostly clusters around Fenway Park. Several of these spots rank among the top sports bars in the city (a couple even top national lists), others showcase live music, and some manage to do both. Many also serve lunch and dinner, and all serve bar food.

When the Red Sox are playing or a concert or other sports event is scheduled at Fenway Park, expect these places to be crazed. Weekends also pack in crowds. Otherwise, they're quiet (well, relatively speaking) neighborhood spots.

Bleacher Bar - This ultimate sports bar under Fenway's Green Monster looks out onto the field
Boston Beer Works - Microbrewery /gastro-pub morphs into a sports bar on game days
Game On! - One of the top sports bars in the country - and in Boston
Cask 'n Flagon - Another nationally renowned sports bar very close to Fenway Park
House of Blues Boston - This mid-sized entertainment venue features nationally-known touring groups - including Boston's own Celtic punk rockers, the Dropkick Murphys, who put on sold-out St Patrick's Day performances each year
Bill's Bar - This small pub features live music by performers featuring an eclectic mix of genres - reggae, jazz, soul, R&B, hip-hop, punk
Jery Remy's Sports Bar and Grill - Monster big screens, small patio, and biggest draw: a 180-seat roof deck open May through October overlooking Fenway's right field wall.
Lansdowne Pub - Sporting an Irish theme, the roomy Lansdowne manages to seem cozy, although it gets packed on game days (when it morphs into a sports bar) and weekends. Otherwise, look for live music and even live band karaoke.
Church of Boston - In this West Fenway "neighborhood sanctuary," look for very good gastro-pub food and drink, a few pool tables, big screen TVs - and outstanding live music, mostly rock, on most nights of the week.
Machine (1254 Boylston) - DJs, karaoke, and a large dance floor. Primarily a gay club but welcoming to everyone.
An Tua Nua (835 Beacon Street)

More about nightlife and bars in this neighborhood

Fenway Shopping

With Back Bay's Newbury Street, Boylston street, Prudential Center, and Copley Place just next door, Fenway offers mostly small neighborhood and specialty shops.

Fenway Plaza Shopping Center (401 Park Drive, by the Green Line D/Fenway stop) - Repurposed Deco-style Sears distribution center now contains an REI, movie theater complex, Best Buy, and a few other stores and restaurants.
Kenmore Square (intersection of Commonwealth Ave and Beacon Street) - Small shops and eateries, plus the building topped by Fenway's famous Citgo sign, a Boston landmark.
Huntington Ave, between Northeastern University and Massachusetts Ave - Small stores, including music, art, and student-oriented shops.
Red Sox Team Store - Everything Red Sox-related that you can imagine - and then some! Fenway Park Tours leave from here, so allow shopping time after your tour.

Display of Red Sox Shirts in Red Sox Team Store in Fenway neighborhood in Boston, MA

However, the best shopping in Fenway can be found in quirky unique boutiques. Two of my favorites fall squarely into the "insider secret" category:

Dorothy's Boutique (190 Massachusetts Ave) - From floor to ceiling, every kind of costume and accessory imaginable - not just for Halloween. More about Dorothy's Boutique

Bodega (6 Clearway St - but there's no street sign, so find Dorothy's, walk along Mass Ave toward the Christian Science Church, and turn left onto the first side street) - Enter through the door marked "6", and you're in a tiny and artfully messy space filled with packed foods and papers. Walk straight back and just before you hit the wall, a hidden door slides open to reveal a beautifully curated collection of shoes and jackets - Yes, you're in Bodega, possibly the best sneaker boutique in New England, renowned for periodically collaborating with Nike on limited edition designs. Try to look cool as you drool.

Parks and Green Spaces

Back Bay Fens - A serpentine-shaped park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as one of the "jewels" in the Emerald Necklace of parkland encircling Boston. Usually just called "The Fens," and known for its World War II era Victory Gardens, Kelleher Rose Garden, and Veterans Memorial Park. Memorial Day services take place each spring in this grassy area containing 3 memorials honoring veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Although the Fens are rumored to be dicey late at night, the park is filled with students, joggers, and gardeners during the day. Big playground, lots of statues, and a tranquil stream called Muddy River.

Ramler Park (Peterborough Street) - Half-acre urban oasis created from a former parking lot. Plants, flowers, benches, a fountain, plus a summer concert series make this a favorite neighborhood gathering spot.

Boston's Back Bay Fens - Footbridge over Muddy River
Footbridge over Muddy River in The Fens

Fenway Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools

Eighteen colleges, universities, and professional schools call Fenway "home," giving it the highest concentration of higher education institutes of any Boston neighborhood.

Boston University (also extends west into Allston), including their law school, business school, and other graduate schools
Northeastern University, including their law school, business school, and other graduate schools
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Emmanuel College
Simmons College
Wheelock College
Berklee College of Music
Boston Conservatory
New England Conservatory
Massachusetts College of Art and Design ("Mass Art")
New England School of Photography
School of the Museum of Fine Arts
Art Institute of Boston at Lesley College
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Harvard University Medical School
Forsyth Institute

Find more information about each of these Fenway colleges, universities, and schools at Universities and Colleges in Boston

Fashion creations by Fenway's Mass Art students on display at Chestnut Hill Mall

Fenway Medical Centers

The 213-acre Longwood Medical Area bounded by Riverway, the Fenway, and Huntington Ave contain some of the world's premier medical research and care institutions, as well as top academic institutions. More than 40,000 people work within the LMA, more than 18,000 students study here, and approximately 1 million patients receive care here each year.

Medical centers located in Fenway's LMA include:

Brigham and Women's Hospital (75 Francis Street)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (330 Brookline Ave)
Children's Hospital Boston (300 Longwood Ave)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (450 Brookline Ave) - Find out how you can help support cancer research at ScooperBowl, Boston's biggest ice cream event

Joslin Diabetes Center (1 Joslin Place, near Longwood Ave and Pilgrim Road)

More Boston Neighborhoods to Explore


South Boston Waterfront	Boston's South End	Historic Downtown

Fenway Center

Look for changes to the Fenway landscape during the next few years as Fenway Center, a huge new solar-powered complex of offices, apartments, condos, and stores begins to take shape.

Question: If you look around densely-developed Fenway today, you may wonder where Fenway Center could possibly be built?

Answer: Right over the Massachusetts Turnpike between Beacon Street and Brookline Ave in a space near Fenway Park now occupied by . . . air. With much of Boston already built on land created during the 1800s by filling bays, swamps, and marshes, Fenway Center will break new ground, so to speak. Stay tuned!

Fenway T Stations

Green Line - Kenmore
Green Line B - Blandford St, Boston University East, Boston University Central
Green Line D - Fenway
Green LIne E - Symphony, Northeastern, Museum, Longwood, Brigham Circle
Orange Line - Massachusetts Ave, Ruggles St

Tracks for the T's Green Line B runs down the center of Comm Ave near Boston University -
Photographed during early evening in January

Fenway Parking

On-street parking is almost non-existent in most areas of Fenway, aside from metered spaces along some parts of Huntington Ave and Commonwealth Ave. and nearby streets. You're almost always better off taking the T, especially on Red Sox game days.

But if you must drive, check out nearby parking garages and lots

Fenway Boundaries

North: Charles River

East: Charlesgate West, Massachusetts Turnpike, Boylston St, Dalton St, Belvidere St, Huntington Ave, Massachusetts Ave

South: Southwest Corridor, Ruggles Street, Parker Street, Ward Street, Huntington Ave, Francis St

West: Muddy River, St Mary's Street, Commonwealth Ave, Boston University Bridge

Caveat: These boundaries are approximate, and opinions about Fenway boundaries vary. Boston neighborhoods don't have "official" boundaries, so they're often ambiguous and sometimes contentious.