Boston Bars, Pubs, Restaurants, Clubs, Events, and Nightlife

Actually underwater until a massive 19th-century land reclamation project filled in areas between Downtown and Kenmore, Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood has an endearing old-world charm and a population of young professionals who have taken over the area and the neighborhood’s distinct Victorian-era brownstones.

During the day, bustling Newbury Street is a magnet for upscale shoppers looking to browse the designer and boutique clothing stores or pop into

Separated from the rest of Boston by the Charles River, Cambridge and Somerville have a reputation for aloofness or even snobbery compared with the rest of the city’s blue-collar ethic, due in no small part to the presence of two elite universities, Harvard and MIT.

While not as edgy as Jamaica Plain or as upscale as Back Bay, both Cambridge and Somerville boast a flourishing art scene as well as a deep connection to Boston’s colonial history; after all,

As one might expect, Boston’s Financial District is a busy hub of economic activity, looming skyscrapers, and a steady stream of briefcase-carrying bankers, lawyers, and other professionals.

The Downtown area is also home to many historical sites, served by a section of the city’s famous red brick Freedom Trail, which zigzags past old cemeteries, battlegrounds, and Faneuil Hall, an indoor/outdoor marketplace consisting of Quincy Market, North Market, and

Located directly across the Charles River from Cambridge (to the north) and Downtown Boston (to the east), Allston and Brighton are home to Boston University, Harvard Business School, and Boston College – not to mention Harvard Stadium – giving both areas a unique college town feel in the midst of the big city.

Although the border between Allston and Brighton is so unclear that they are usually lumped together, each has a distinct personality, with

A marshy backwater until the development project that introduced Back Bay gave the area new prominence, Fenway/Kenmore is best described as the buffer between Allston and Downtown and, as such, is a bit of a mixed bag.

Although Fenway/Kenmore has relatively few housing options, it has attracted many students from nearby BU, as well as financial types who like the area’s proximity to Downtown and its easy access to mass transit.

The resident population

Despite, or perhaps because of, its history as a rough-around-the-edges area, the South End has emerged in recent decades as one of Boston’s trendiest neighborhoods.

Since the 1970s, the area has been cited for its artistic, cultural, and gay-friendly environment and for organizations like the South End Artists Guild (SoWa), which have pushed the area to prominence on the Boston art scene with events like monthly gallery crawls and design markets.

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