Nightlife & the Arts in Boston

First and foremost, Boston is a Cinderella city. With public transportation shutting down each night between midnight and 1 am, most nightspots follow accordingly, with last call typically around 2 am. True night owls may be disappointed by the meager late-night options, but there are plenty of possibilities for visitors open to stepping out on the earlier side. The martini crowd may want to stroll Newbury and Boylston streets in the Back Bay, selecting from the neighborhood's swank restaurants, lounges, and clubs. Coffee and tea drinkers can find numerous cafés in Cambridge and Somerville, particularly Harvard and Davis squares. And beer swillers—well, there's pretty much an option on every corner. If you're having trouble finding a place to down a pint, you must have wandered out of Boston. For dancing, Lansdowne Street near Fenway Park has a mix of student-oriented clubs, sports bars, and techno clubs. There's also a thriving "lounge" scene in downtown's coolest hybrid bar-restaurant-clubs, providing a mellower, more mature alternative to the student-focused club scene. Tourists crowd Faneuil Hall for its pubs, comedy club, and dance spots. The South and North ends, as well as Cambridge and Somerville, cater to the "dinner-and-drinks" set, while those seeking great rock clubs should look no further than Allston, Jamaica Plain, and Cambridge, especially Central Square.