Bars and Clubs in Boston

Bostonians don’t mess around with their beer or their nightlife, and the bars and clubs in Boston revolve mostly around the endless Irish pubs full of salty regulars and post-grads who get together to down pints of Guinness and home-grown micro brews, talk Pats, and dump quarters into the jukebox.

The plethora of universities in the area means that droves of students from Boston College, MIT, Boston University, and Harvard show up during the week to sing karaoke and play trivia, and then again on the meat-market weekends to rock out to cover bands and Top 40 hits in the venues around Faneuil Hall and Allston. Luckily, Boston’s T – the subway system that runs until 1am – covers most of the city, making it the “designated driver” for wasted partiers.

While beer may reign supreme, patrons in the mood for a higher-end experience and a more exclusive vibe will still find a smattering of Boston bars and clubs, with chic hotel haunts and chichi lounges in Downtown, the Leather District, or Back Bay – but high-end clubs and venues are decidedly not the defining characteristic of this beer-guzzling, blue-collar town.