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Home - City Guide - Boston - Nightlife | ||
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Nightlife Boston is a lively place, make no mistake, yet there are still odd throwbacks to the Pilgrim Fathers, such as 0200 being the official closing time for bars, 21 years the minimum drinking age and stringent anti-smoking rules. There are some 24-hour diners, a few clubs that open beyond 0200 and some late-night restaurants in Chinatown. Some bars and clubs can admit under 21s, some do it on a fixed-night basis. Bars generally open at around 1100. Clubs have varying cover charges up to around US$15 but can often be free if you arrive early in the evening. Student bars and clubs, of course, abound just over the river in Cambridge around Harvard and MIT but probably won't allow credit cards. The gay scene is centred on South End and Bay Village, although various clubs have a specific gay night. The Thursday weekly Bay Windows (website: www.baywindows.com) has the largest coverage of Boston's gay and lesbian scene. Most nightclubs are to be found on Lansdowne Street near Kenmore Square and Fenway at the southwestern end of the city centre. The Thursday editions of the Boston Globe (website: www.boston.com/bostonglobe) and the Boston Phoenix (website: www.bostonphoenix.com), and the Friday edition of the Boston Herald (website: www.bostonherald.com) have full listings. Bars: One of the joys of the USA now is the range of micro-brew (self-brew) pubs. Boston has several: Boston Beer Works, 61 Brookline Avenue, Kenmore Square, where all the working 'gubbings' of the brewery are on show; Commonwealth Brewery Company, 138 Portland Street, is the oldest brew-pub. Over the river, try the Cambridge Brewing Company, 1 Kendall Square, and John Harvard's Brew House, 33 Dunster Street, Harvard Square. If you can't resist the Irish legacy of Boston, there is a huge choice, often with live music. Try the Black Rose, 160 State Street, Faneuil Hall, and the Littlest Bar, 47 Province Street. One of the country's first gay bars was the Napoleon Club, 52 Piedmont Street. Over the river, for an eclectic artistic experience ranging from poetry nights to bluegrass music in a student atmosphere, make for the Cantab Lounge (upstairs) and Third Rail at 738 Massachusetts Avenue. For a little elegance in your evening, go to the Atrium Lounge at the Regal Bostonian Hotel, North Street. The ultimate TV-theme experience, if queues are not off-putting, is the Bull and Finch Pub, Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street, which was shipped over from England and became the inspiration for Cheers, although it doesn't look much like the TV bar inside. For a rock music association Mama Kin's, 36 Lansdowne Street, is owned by Boston heroes Aerosmith. Casinos: Casinos are illegal in Massachusetts - only offshore cruise ships and the permanently located Leisure Casino Cruises, One Douglas Drive, Rockport (tel: (978) 282 3330), which goes offshore twice daily can operate. Across the border in Connecticut, two huge casinos operate. Foxwoods Resort Casino, Route 2, Mashantucket (tel: (860) 312 3355; website: www.foxwoods.com), and Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville (tel: (888) 226 7711; website: www.mohegansun.com). Clubs: Avalon, 15 Landsdowne Street, and Axis, 13 Landsdowne Street, both huge clubs in their own right, combine for Sunday's gay night, allowing free movement between the two. Otherwise, both have their own range of themed nights and music styles. Avalon is also a good live rock venue. Bill's Bar, 5.5 Landsdowne Street, is smaller and its 1950s atmosphere is popular with students. The Roxy, 279 Tremont Street, in the Theater District, is done out as a huge ballroom but has all kinds of dance and music from salsa to chart and even has magic shows. For a professionals class of singles night visit Sonsie, 327 Newbury Street. Live music: For trad jazz to Latin tunes go to Wally's CafÉ, 427 Massachusetts Avenue. Just down the road is the Middle East CafÉ, 472 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square, which has local and national rock acts in three rooms, along with a restaurant offering Middle Eastern cooking. Not cheap, but with modern jazz and unbeatable views, is the Top of the Hub (top of the Prudential Tower. Across the river is the House of Blues, 96 Winthrop Street, Harvard Square, now a chain across the country but this was the first, opened in 1992. Not only is there a gospel-style brunch on Sundays, but they also have recording facilities. There is blues and jazz every night at the Marketplace CafÉ, 300 Faneuil Hall Marketplace. |