Because it’s a college town, Boston is NOTORIOUSLY STRICT about IDs. International travelers should bring a passport to bars, I’ve seen many people get turned away with a photo of their passport or even with Canadian/EU ID cards.
Daytime activities/orgs
- Shakespeare on the Common: weekly SUPER high quality Shakespeare plays, performed on Boston common. You can pay to reserve lawn chairs but I think it’s free to watch if you bring your own supplies. Get yourself charcuterie from Kured first!
- Kured: it’s like Chipotle but for charcuterie boxes and it’s located on the border of Boston common. It makes for a wonderful picnic!
- Chez Vous: roller rink in Jamaica Plain, they throw disco nights and apparently have a nice crowd of pretty skilled regulars.
- Skate Hags: skating group at Allston’s smith rink that meets Mondays from 6:30p to 8p weather permitting. Check their instagram to see the weekly theme.
- South Washington Arts (SoWA): arts organization in downtown Boston that throws lots of wonderful famers/artists market events (typically only in the summer). They also have some open studio days and a pretty good year-round vintage/antique shop. The SoWa summer market takes place Sundays from May to October ish.
- Bow Market - an open air collection of lots of nice shops and restaurants, picture a small mall but it’s open air and all small businesses.
- Lucky Strike at Fenway Park - ginormous 2-3 floor bowling alley, arcade, and bar. At night it’s 21+.
- Newbury Street + Prudential Center: touristy shopping district in downtown Boston, nice to walk around and see some of the important landmarks in boston.
- Levain Bakery - imported from NYC, this bakery is known for warm gooey cookies the size of a closed fist, I really like them.
- Boston Public Library - landmark public library and historic building.
- Memorial Drive: on weekends from April to mid-November, Cambridge closes this road along the Charles river to let pedestrians use the space, it’s sometimes called “Riverbend Park” and it’s a beautiful walk along the river.
- Storrow Lagoon/Charles River Esplanade - beautiful walk along the river. There are lots of docks for sailboats along the way.
- Night Shift Brewing does a beer garden on the Esplanade but I don’t know if it’s 21+ only entry.
- Independent movie theaters
- Somerville Theater - plays lots of cool old movies, midnight horror showings, etc
- Coolidge Corner Theatre - also plays cool old movies alongside the new ones
- A Sanctuary Cafe - this is a “cat café” in downtown boston, so you can play with rescue cats while drinking your coffee!
- Balance Patch - Boston’s first Esports Center and Video Game Café. You can rent time on their PCs/gaming equipment and play with friends which is pretty fun! They also host and air competitions which can be pretty fun to watch.
- Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park - these islands in the Boston Harbor are accessible by ferry from downtown during they day. Lots of beaches and tide pools, some people kayak between the islands but it’s pretty intense. George Island has a historic fort (Fort Warren).
- Malden Gaming District
- Boda Borg - like an escape room on steroids. Good for kids and adults!
- Level 99 - also like an escape room on steroids, but mainly geared towards adults.
Boston’s Best Ice Cream (we are blessed with absurdly many fantastic ice cream options)