Entertainment Districts

Allston, Massachusetts

Allston (known as "Allston Rock City" among musicians) is the most musically productive neighborhood in New England — a Boston University and Boston College adjacent neighborhood with an extraordinary concentration of band practice spaces, record stores, music venues, and the cheap apartments where virtually every significant Boston musician has lived at some point in their careers. Brighton Avenue's concentration of music venues, the local tradition of leaving furniture on the sidewalk during "Allston Christmas" (September 1 move-out day), and the neighborhood's extraordinary musical output create the most genuinely rock and roll neighborhood in New England.

Brighton Ave, Allston, MA 02134

Allston, Massachusetts

Allston, nicknamed 'Allston Rock City,' presents dive bars and DIY music venues serving Boston University and Berklee students in one of the city's most storied indie music neighborhoods.

Amherst, Massachusetts

Downtown Amherst presents restaurants and bars serving UMass Amherst, Amherst College, and Hampshire College's five-college consortium community.

Andover, Massachusetts

Downtown Andover presents restaurants and bars serving Phillips Academy's campus community in the Merrimack Valley.

Arlington, Massachusetts

Arlington Center presents restaurants and bars serving one of Boston's densely populated inner suburbs northwest of the city.

Attleboro, Massachusetts

Downtown Attleboro presents restaurants and bars serving the jewelry-manufacturing corridor between Boston and Providence.

Belmont, Massachusetts

Belmont Center presents restaurants and bars serving one of Boston's affluent inner suburbs.

Beverly, Massachusetts

Downtown Beverly presents restaurants and the Cabot Theatre serving the North Shore just across the harbor from Salem.

Billerica, Massachusetts

Billerica presents restaurants and bars serving the Merrimack Valley's suburban corridor.

Boston, Massachusetts

Back Bay presents Newbury Street's upscale boutiques and restaurants alongside Copley Square, one of Boston's most architecturally elegant neighborhoods.

Boston, Massachusetts

Beacon Hill presents gas-lit cobblestone streets with wine bars and restaurants in one of Boston's most historic and picturesque neighborhoods near the State House.

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston Common, the oldest public park in the United States, and the adjacent Public Garden present swan boats, street performers, and seasonal events at the heart of downtown Boston.

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston's North End is America's oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood and the most authentic Italian-American community in New England — a compact peninsula where Hanover Street's extraordinary Italian restaurants, pastry shops, and bars create the most culturally specific entertainment district in Boston. Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church (two if by sea), and the modern-day tradition of Saturday night pastry lines at Mike's and Modern Pastry create an entertainment district where American history and Italian culinary culture intersect in ways found nowhere else in the United States.

Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston's Seaport District is the most remarkable urban development in 21st-century Boston — a former industrial waterfront transformed into the city's most modern entertainment, restaurant, and innovation hub with billions in new development creating Boston's newest and most dynamically expanding entertainment destination. The concentration of nationally recognized restaurants (Legal Sea Foods' flagship, Trillium Brewing, Row 34), the Boston Convention Center, and the extraordinary waterfront views of the harbor create an entertainment district of rapidly growing cultural importance.

Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02210

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston's Chinatown presents dim sum restaurants and karaoke bars in one of the oldest and most historic Chinatowns on the East Coast.

Boston, Massachusetts

Faneuil Hall Marketplace, one of America's oldest and most-visited public markets, presents street performers, pubs, and restaurants at the heart of Boston's Freedom Trail.

Boston, Massachusetts

The Fenway/Kenmore entertainment district is one of America's most beloved sports entertainment neighborhoods — a cluster of bars, music venues, and restaurants around the world's most loved baseball park creating a year-round entertainment ecosystem fueled by Red Sox games, concerts at Fenway, and the House of Blues. Fenway Park's extraordinary cultural importance to Boston and New England creates an entertainment district where sports and music culture intersect at the highest levels of emotional intensity.

Lansdowne St, Boston, MA 02215

Boston, Massachusetts

Fenway-Kenmore near Fenway Park presents sports bars and music venues serving Red Sox game-day crowds and the Berklee College of Music community.

Boston, Massachusetts

Jamaica Plain presents Centre Street's craft breweries and diverse restaurants, one of Boston's most artistically vibrant residential neighborhoods.

Boston, Massachusetts

Newbury Street is Boston's most elegant entertainment and shopping corridor — an eight-block stretch of Victorian brownstone storefronts with the finest concentration of restaurants, galleries, and boutiques in New England. From the Public Garden end (with upscale designer boutiques and Café Boulud) to the Mass Ave end (with independent stores and casual restaurants), Newbury Street presents the full spectrum of Boston's sophisticated commercial culture.

Newbury St, Boston, MA 02116

Boston, Massachusetts

The North End, Boston's Little Italy and oldest residential neighborhood, presents dense Italian restaurants and cafes along Hanover Street.

Boston, Massachusetts

Seaport District along Boston Harbor presents rooftop bars and restaurants in one of the city's newest and fastest-growing entertainment neighborhoods.

Boston, Massachusetts

South Boston, known as Southie, presents Irish pubs and waterfront restaurants along East Broadway, one of the city's most historically Irish-American neighborhoods.

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston's South End is the most gastronomically distinguished entertainment district in New England — a beautifully preserved Victorian neighborhood with the highest concentration of outstanding restaurants and bars in the Boston metropolitan area. Tremont Street's corridor of nationally recognized restaurants, the concentration of the LGBTQ+ community that has made the South End Boston's most LGBTQ+-welcoming neighborhood, and the extraordinary Victorian row house architecture create an entertainment environment of extraordinary beauty and culinary depth.

Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118

Boston, Massachusetts

The West End near TD Garden presents sports bars and restaurants serving Bruins and Celtics game-day crowds.

Bourne, Massachusetts

Bourne presents restaurants and bars at the gateway to Cape Cod near the Cape Cod Canal bridges.

Braintree, Massachusetts

Braintree presents restaurants and bars serving Boston's South Shore near the South Shore Plaza.

Brewster, Massachusetts

Downtown Brewster presents restaurants and antique shops along Cape Cod's bay side.

Brockton, Massachusetts

Downtown Brockton presents restaurants and bars serving the 'City of Champions,' hometown of boxing legends Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler.

Brookline, Massachusetts

Coolidge Corner in Brookline presents the historic Coolidge Corner Theatre alongside restaurants and bars in one of Boston's most walkable inner suburbs.

Burlington, Massachusetts

Burlington presents restaurants and bars near the Burlington Mall serving Boston's northwestern suburbs.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Central Square in Cambridge is the most musically important entertainment district in New England — a diverse, walkable neighborhood with the highest concentration of music venues, recording studios, and musical instrument shops in the Boston metropolitan area. The Middle East, TT the Bear's, and a dozen smaller venues create a music ecosystem of extraordinary fertility that has produced some of the most important independent music in American history, from the Pixies to Galaxie 500 to Juliana Hatfield.

Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Central Square presents the Middle East nightclub complex alongside a diverse mix of bars and restaurants in Cambridge's most eclectic neighborhood.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard Square is the most intellectually stimulating entertainment district in the world — a Cambridge crossroads where Harvard University's 21,000 students and faculty, the most extraordinary concentration of public intellectuals in America, and some of the best bookstores, restaurants, and music venues in New England create an entertainment ecosystem of unparalleled cultural density. The Sinclair, Plough & Stars, and dozens of outstanding cafes and restaurants create an entertainment district that serves both the global intellectual elite and the broader Boston metropolitan area.

Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 02138

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard Square presents bookstores, cafes, and bars serving Harvard University's campus community, one of the most iconic college-town squares in America.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Kendall Square near MIT presents restaurants and bars serving one of the most concentrated biotech and tech hubs in the world.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

The MIT campus area of Kendall Square presents restaurants and bars serving one of the world's most concentrated innovation districts.

Chatham, Massachusetts

Chatham Main Street presents upscale restaurants and boutiques in one of Cape Cod's most picturesque and affluent seaside towns.

Chelsea, Massachusetts

Chelsea presents restaurants and bars serving a historic immigrant-gateway city just north of downtown Boston.

Chicopee, Massachusetts

Downtown Chicopee presents restaurants and bars serving the Pioneer Valley near Springfield.

Cohasset, Massachusetts

Cohasset Village presents a picturesque harbor with restaurants serving one of the South Shore's most affluent coastal towns.

Concord, Massachusetts

Concord Center presents restaurants near the Old North Bridge, site of the first shots of the American Revolution, in one of Massachusetts's most historic towns.

Danvers, Massachusetts

Danvers presents restaurants and bars serving the North Shore near Salem.

Dedham, Massachusetts

Dedham Square presents restaurants and bars serving Boston's southwest suburbs, the historic county seat of Norfolk County.

Deerfield, Massachusetts

Historic Deerfield presents one of the best-preserved colonial villages in New England, with restaurants and museum tourism in the Pioneer Valley.

Dennis, Massachusetts

Dennis presents the Cape Playhouse and restaurants serving Cape Cod's mid-Cape resort communities.

Duxbury, Massachusetts

Downtown Duxbury presents restaurants and bars serving one of the South Shore's most affluent historic coastal communities.

Eastham, Massachusetts

Eastham presents restaurants near the Cape Cod National Seashore visitor center at the outer Cape's gateway.

Edgartown, Massachusetts

Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard presents historic whaling-captain mansions alongside restaurants and bars in one of New England's most exclusive island destinations.

Everett, Massachusetts

Encore Boston Harbor is the $2.6 billion integrated resort casino on the Mystic River in Everett — New England's first and only full-scale casino resort. The waterfront complex includes a 671-room hotel, 210,000 sq ft of casino gaming, a spa, fine dining restaurants, the Encore Theater, harbor-view bars, and direct water taxi service from Boston's Seaport district.

1 Broadway 02149

Fall River, Massachusetts

Downtown Fall River presents restaurants and bars serving the historic mill city on Mount Hope Bay, home of the Lizzie Borden House.

Falmouth, Massachusetts

Downtown Falmouth presents restaurants and bars serving the Woods Hole ferry gateway to Martha's Vineyard on Cape Cod's south shore.

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Downtown Fitchburg presents restaurants and bars serving North Central Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border.

Foxborough, Massachusetts

Patriot Place surrounding Gillette Stadium presents restaurants, bars, and a cinema serving Patriots and Revolution game-day crowds south of Boston.

Framingham, Massachusetts

Downtown Framingham presents restaurants and bars serving MetroWest Boston's largest commercial hub.

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester Harbor, America's oldest fishing port, presents seafood restaurants and bars along a working waterfront made famous by The Perfect Storm.

Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Downtown Great Barrington presents restaurants, breweries, and galleries in the Berkshires' most vibrant small-city entertainment corridor.

Greenfield, Massachusetts

Downtown Greenfield presents restaurants and bars serving Franklin County at the northern gateway of the Pioneer Valley.

Haverhill, Massachusetts

Downtown Haverhill presents restaurants and bars serving the Merrimack Valley near the New Hampshire border.

Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham Shipyard presents a mixed-use waterfront development with restaurants and bars serving Boston's South Shore commuter communities.

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Downtown Holyoke, birthplace of the volleyball, presents restaurants and bars serving the Pioneer Valley's historic mill city.

Hyannis, Massachusetts

Downtown Hyannis presents Main Street restaurants and bars serving the Cape Cod ferry gateway to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Ipswich, Massachusetts

Downtown Ipswich presents fried-clam restaurants and bars serving the North Shore, famous for its Crane Beach and colonial architecture.

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Downtown Lawrence presents restaurants and bars serving the historic mill city on the Merrimack River near the New Hampshire border.

Lenox, Massachusetts

Downtown Lenox presents upscale restaurants and galleries serving the Tanglewood summer arts season in the Berkshires.

Leominster, Massachusetts

Downtown Leominster presents restaurants and bars serving North Central Massachusetts, birthplace of plastics manufacturing.

Lexington, Massachusetts

Lexington Center near the Battle Green presents restaurants and shops in the town where the American Revolution began in 1775.

Lowell, Massachusetts

Downtown Lowell presents restored 19th-century textile mills housing restaurants and bars, birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.

Malden, Massachusetts

Downtown Malden presents restaurants and bars serving one of the most diverse communities north of Boston.

Marblehead, Massachusetts

Downtown Marblehead presents restaurants and bars along winding colonial-era streets in one of New England's premier sailing towns.

Marlborough, Massachusetts

Downtown Marlborough presents restaurants and bars serving MetroWest Boston's corporate corridor.

Mashpee, Massachusetts

Mashpee Commons presents an open-air New England village-style shopping and dining center serving Cape Cod's year-round community.

Medford, Massachusetts

Medford Square presents restaurants and bars serving Tufts University's campus community north of Boston.

Methuen, Massachusetts

Methuen presents restaurants and bars serving the Merrimack Valley near the New Hampshire border.

Milford, Massachusetts

Downtown Milford presents restaurants and bars serving MetroWest Boston's southern corridor.

Milton, Massachusetts

Milton presents restaurants and bars near the Blue Hills Reservation south of Boston.

Nantucket, Massachusetts

Nantucket Town presents cobblestone streets of restaurants and bars in a preserved 19th-century whaling port, one of America's most historic island communities.

Natick, Massachusetts

Natick Center presents restaurants and bars serving MetroWest Boston's growing suburban corridor.

Needham, Massachusetts

Needham Center presents restaurants and bars serving one of Boston's affluent southwestern suburbs.

New Bedford, Massachusetts

Downtown New Bedford presents the Whaling National Historic Park alongside restaurants serving the historic whaling port that inspired Moby-Dick.

Newburyport, Massachusetts

Downtown Newburyport presents a restored waterfront of restaurants and bars along the Merrimack River near the New Hampshire border.

Newton, Massachusetts

Newton Centre presents restaurants and bars serving one of Boston's most affluent western suburbs, known as the 'Garden City.'

North Andover, Massachusetts

North Andover presents restaurants and bars serving the Merrimack Valley's affluent suburbs.

Northampton, Massachusetts

Downtown Northampton presents a vibrant arts and live music scene serving Smith College's campus community in the Pioneer Valley.

Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts

Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard presents the famous gingerbread cottages alongside bars and restaurants in the island's liveliest and most historically diverse town.

Orleans, Massachusetts

Downtown Orleans presents restaurants and shops at the elbow of Cape Cod, gateway to the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Peabody, Massachusetts

Peabody presents restaurants and bars serving the North Shore's commercial hub near Salem.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Downtown Pittsfield presents the Colonial Theatre and Berkshire Museum alongside restaurants serving the largest city in the Berkshires.

Plymouth, Massachusetts

Plymouth Waterfront near Plymouth Rock presents restaurants and bars in America's Hometown, site of the 1620 Pilgrim landing.

Provincetown, Massachusetts

Commercial Street in Provincetown presents one of the most historically significant LGBTQ nightlife and arts districts in America at the tip of Cape Cod.

Provincetown, Massachusetts

MacMillan Pier in Provincetown presents whale-watching cruises and waterfront restaurants at the working harbor of Cape Cod's tip.

Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy Center presents restaurants and bars serving the birthplace of two U.S. presidents on Boston's South Shore.

Revere, Massachusetts

Revere Beach, America's first public beach, presents seafood restaurants and bars along a historic oceanfront boulevard just north of Boston.

Rockport, Massachusetts

Bearskin Neck in Rockport presents galleries and seafood shacks along a narrow fishing-village peninsula on Cape Ann.

Salem, Massachusetts

Downtown Salem presents witch-history tourism restaurants and bars around Essex Street, one of the most visited small-city entertainment districts in New England, especially during October.

Salem, Massachusetts

Pickering Wharf in Salem presents a waterfront marina district of restaurants and shops adjacent to the city's historic downtown.

Salem, Massachusetts

Salem's Historic District is America's most atmospherically extraordinary entertainment destination — a beautifully preserved 17th-century town best known for the 1692 witch trials that becomes one of America's most spectacular entertainment environments each October when Haunted Happenings draws over one million visitors. The Essex Street pedestrian mall, the Peabody Essex Museum (one of America's greatest art and culture museums), and the extraordinary concentration of witch-themed and heritage tourism experiences create a year-round entertainment district of unique historical and atmospheric power.

Essex St, Salem, MA 01970

Sandwich, Massachusetts

Downtown Sandwich, Cape Cod's oldest town, presents restaurants near the historic Dexter Grist Mill and Cape Cod Canal.

Scituate, Massachusetts

Scituate Harbor presents seafood restaurants and bars along the South Shore, known as the Irish Riviera.

Siasconset, Massachusetts

Siasconset (Sconset) on Nantucket presents rose-covered cottages and a quiet village restaurant scene on the island's eastern shore.

Somerville, Massachusetts

Davis Square in Somerville presents the Somerville Theatre alongside a walkable corridor of bars and restaurants serving Tufts University's campus community.

Springfield, Massachusetts

Downtown Springfield presents restaurants and bars near the Basketball Hall of Fame, the birthplace of basketball in western Massachusetts.

Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Main Street Stockbridge, immortalized by Norman Rockwell's paintings, presents restaurants and the historic Red Lion Inn in a picture-postcard Berkshires village.

Stoneham, Massachusetts

Stoneham presents restaurants and bars near the Stone Zoo north of Boston.

Sturbridge, Massachusetts

The area around Old Sturbridge Village, a living-history museum recreating an 1830s New England town, presents restaurants serving Central Massachusetts tourism traffic.

Taunton, Massachusetts

Downtown Taunton presents restaurants and bars serving Bristol County between Boston and Providence.

Tewksbury, Massachusetts

Tewksbury presents restaurants and bars serving the Merrimack Valley near Lowell.

Waltham, Massachusetts

Moody Street in Waltham presents one of MetroWest Boston's most diverse restaurant corridors, serving Brandeis and Bentley University students.

Watertown, Massachusetts

Watertown Square presents restaurants and bars serving Boston's western inner suburbs along the Charles River.

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Wellesley Square presents restaurants and boutiques serving Wellesley College's campus community west of Boston.

Wellfleet, Massachusetts

Downtown Wellfleet presents oyster restaurants and galleries on Cape Cod, famous for the Wellfleet Drive-In and its oyster harvest.

Westborough, Massachusetts

Downtown Westborough presents restaurants and bars serving Central Massachusetts along the I-495 tech corridor.

Westfield, Massachusetts

Downtown Westfield presents restaurants and bars serving western Massachusetts near the Connecticut border.

Weston, Massachusetts

Weston Center presents restaurants serving one of Boston's most affluent western suburbs.

Weymouth, Massachusetts

Weymouth Landing presents restaurants and bars serving Boston's South Shore commuter communities.

Williamstown, Massachusetts

Downtown Williamstown presents restaurants and galleries serving Williams College's campus community in the northern Berkshires.

Winchester, Massachusetts

Winchester Center presents restaurants and bars serving one of Boston's most picturesque northern suburbs.

Winthrop, Massachusetts

Winthrop Center presents restaurants and bars on a peninsula community just northeast of Logan Airport.

Woburn, Massachusetts

Woburn presents restaurants and bars serving the I-93 commercial corridor north of Boston.

Worcester, Massachusetts

The Canal District in Worcester presents breweries and restaurants in a revitalized former industrial corridor near Polar Park.

Worcester, Massachusetts

Polar Park's Canal District presents restaurants and bars surrounding the Worcester Red Sox's downtown ballpark development.

Yarmouth, Massachusetts

Yarmouth presents restaurants and shops along Cape Cod's mid-Cape corridor near Route 6A's historic Old King's Highway.