Entertainment

Activities

Boston Public Garden
617-635-4505
A Swan Boat ride is $1.75. The boats run from mid-April to late September, daily 10a-4p. Directions: take the T to Arlington.

Boston Ski and Sports Club
http://www.bssc.com/
Phone: 617-789-4070
BSSC has been providing year-round sports, social events, skiing, and travel for nearly 40 years. The Club caters to over 30,000 participants each year - active professionals of all ages.
Single Membership: $60 1-year, $110 2-years
Family Membership: $110 1-year, $190 2-years

Critical Mass
http://www.bostoncriticalmass.org/
Critical Mass is a vision of a happy, bike-friendly world replacing our polluted, congested roads, a protest for better cycling facilities and against car culture, a mobile paean to bicycling's joys, a merry ride downtown and through the neighborhoods with friends, and more - all rolled into one convenient monthly ride right after work!
Last Friday of each month, 5:30 pm, Copley Square.

Four Square League
http://www.squarefour.org/
Not just for children anymore! This is a competitive league for adults, though children of all ages are welcome. Cost to join is $40.00, otherwise it is $6.00 week. The games are every other Sunday starting Feb 6 - Apr 3. Place: Cambridge YWCA, 7 Temple Street Cambridge, MA 02138 (Near Central T stop on the Red Line).

Massachusetts Bike Coalition
http://www.massbike.com/
The purpose of MassBike is to promote the bicycle as a safe, healthful, enjoyable, efficient, and environmentally sound means of transportation, to seek to establish an atmosphere which enhances those desirable qualities of bicycle transportation, and to serve and protect the interests of the bicycling public.

Clubs

Avalon
15 Lansdowne St
617-262-2424
An anchor on the Lansdowne St club scene, Avalon is a local favorite for late-night dancing with different themes on different nights (Saturday is techno night) and a live concert venue. Dress tends to be casual.

Chaps
100 Warrenton St off Stuart St
617-266-7778
Glitzy gay club filled with lots of decked-out young men.

Club Passim
47 Palmer St
Harvard Square
617-492-5300
A four-decades-old, intimate "coffee house" that has been a noted folk/blues venue since Joan Baez performed here as an unknown 17-year-old.

Man Ray
21 Brookline Ave
Central Square
617-864-0400
Nightly themes draw very different crowds to Cambridge's most popular dance club. Wed is gothic/industrial, Thurs and Sat (when the club is known as Campus ) draw a lively gay crowd, and Fri is reserved for less mainstream romantic possibilities. :-)

Middle East
472/480 Massachusetts Ave
Central Square
617-864-EAST
Cambridge's best alternative music venue with three stages and a good, inexpensive Arabic restaurant. Cover usually $3-10 in the main rooms with free music in the restaurant - acts to have played here gratis include Morphine, Buffalo Tom and Tracy Bonham.

Ryles Jazz Club
212 Hampshire St
617-876-9330
Eclectic jazz and world music club charging $10-20 covers.

Western Front
343 Western Ave, Central Square
617-492-7772
This former jazz and blues club is now dedicated to reggae, with live music Fri and Sat nights, and Jamaican food Thurs-Sat.

Pubs

The Black Rose
160 State St
617-742-2286
Large Irish pub beside Faneuil Hall, with traditional music every night and Guinness galore.

Bull and Finch Pub
84 Beacon St
Beacon Hill
617-227-9605
Its status as the original setting of TV's Cheers makes this place totally touristy, but at least it's central and lively.

The Cellar
991 Massachusetts Ave
617-876-2580
An eclectic mix of students and locals gather in this laid-back niche between Harvard and Central squares. Two stories, two bars and some live entertainment on weekends.

Commonwealth Brewery Company
138 Portland St
617-523-8383
Brewpub right by the Fleet Center near North Station, serving good pub food and its own ales.

J J Foley's
21 Kingston St
617-338-7713
A blue-collar Irish bar in the heart of downtown, with decent food, sports on TV and a great jukebox. Around since 1909.

Phoenix Landing
512 Massachusetts Ave
Central Square
617-576-6260
Affable neighborhood bar and restaurant with soccer beamed in from Europe and a down-to-earth mix of music at weekends.

Plough & Stars
912 Massachusetts Ave, between Harvard and Central squares
617-441-3455
Time-worn Irish pub with music most nights. Cover free or up to $8.

Sevens Ale House
77 Charles St
Beacon Hill
617-523-9074
It may not look like much, but that's the point at this centrally located neighborhood watering hole.

Museums

Children's Museum
http://www.bostonkids.org/
300 Congress St.
Boston, MA
617-426-6500 or 617-426-8855
Description: COST: $7, $6 for kids 2-15, free for kids under 1; $1 Fri. 5-9. Sat.-Thurs. 10-5, Fri. 10-9. Directions: take the T to South Station.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/
280 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
617-566-1401

Museum of Fine Arts
http://www.mfa.org/
Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115-5597
617-267-9300

New England Aquarium
http://www.neaq.org/
Description: It's an aquarium! And fun! Go to it!

Bank of America: Museums On Us
http://64.106.216.172/museums/?adlink=000309029f360000b300
Region: Metro Boston
Description: Every May, Bank of America offers free admission during that month to many museums around the Northeast including several in the Boston area. You just have to present your Bank of America ATM, check, or credit card at the museum entrance. Check the list of participating museums linked above. If the link above isn't working in 2006 and beyond, just do a google search on "Bank of America Museums On Us".

Other

Boston Public Library
http://www.bpl.org/
700 Boylston St.
Boston, MA
617-536-5400
Description: Hours; Mon.-Thurs. 9-9, Fri.-Sat. 9-5; Oct.-May, also Sun. 1-5. Free guided art and architecture tours Mon. at 2:30, Tues. and Thurs. at 6, Fri. and Sat. at 11, Sun. at 2. Directions: take the T to Copley.

Brattle Book Shop
http://www.brattlebookshop.com/
Great place to buy any sort of used book *cheap* in Boston, near the common. Huge selection, atmosphere is warm. When the weather is good there will be an outdoor area selling books more cheaply than normal.

General Longy School of Music
http://longy.edu/news_events/monthly_listings.htm
617-876-0956 ext. 500
Description: Free music concerts.

Lucy Parsons Center
http://www.lucyparsons.org/
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
617-267-627
Description: Radical, Independent Bookstore and Community Center. Radical Movie Nights. Every Wednesday, the center hosts videos, films and documentaries on freedom struggles in this country and around the world.

Other Side Cosmic Café
407 Newbury St
617-536-9477
Popular and trendy café with great salads, sandwiches, beer, wine, coffee and tea. Across from Tower Records and the Mass Turnpike, and open late.

Loews Theater Boston Common
175 Tremont St.
http://www.enjoytheshow.com/favorites/index.cfm
Every Thursday night at 8pm Loews is showing fan favorite movies for free.