Fenway Park is home of the Red Sox. But there’s more than just baseball drawing the public to America’s oldest active Major League ballpark these days.
Concerts from artists like Noah Kahan, Bad Bunny and Pearl Jam; theme nights and cultural identity celebrations at the stadium; and a deluge of nearby restaurants, bars and musical venues like MGM Music Hall and the House of Blues have made the area and the neighborhood surrounding it an entertainment hotspot.
So, what should you know before you head to the Lansdowne Street area?
Field Guide to Boston: Discover — and rediscover — your Boston.
If you grew up going to see the Red Sox, you might already have a tried-and-true routine since finding parking on the fly around Fenway is the stuff of nightmares, especially on game day.
But the area is booming with new attractions, so whether you just haven’t been to the area in a minute or you’re among the thousands of Fenway Park first-timers, we’d like to share our local knowledge with you.
From how to get around the ballpark to places to eat and use the restroom while you’re in the area, here’s your guide to navigating Fenway Park.
Gate D at Fenway Park. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Getting there
If you can, use public transit
You can save yourself a lot of stress — and money — by taking public transit instead of driving into the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood. Parking around the ballpark is notoriously difficult and can get very expensive on game days, not to mention the post-game gridlock. The MBTA has four train stations and several bus routes that offer access to Fenway. Another perk of riding the train: If you catch a crowd of Sox fans in a good mood, you might be treated to an off-key rendition of Sweet Caroline.
Four stops on the MBTA where you can access Fenway Park, marked with baseballs. (MBTA) For a short walk: You can take Green Line’s B, C or D branches to Kenmore station (on the north side of the park) and then walk 0.3 miles (about five minutes) along Brookline Ave. toward Jersey Street, where you’ll be able to enter the park through Gates A or D. If you take the D branch, you can also get off at Fenway station, which is 0.4 miles from the ballpark coming from the southwest. For a longer walk: While the Green Line’s E branch doesn’t go to Kenmore or Fenway, some of its stops aren’t too far from the park. So on a pleasant day, it can be nice to get off at the Museum of Fine Arts station and take a walk along the Fenway section of the Emerald Necklace before heading to the stadium. This scenic route covers 0.9 miles, but if you’ve got time to kill, it’s worth it. Escape the post-game crowd: Fenway and Kenmore stations tend to be slammed with people heading home after the game. If you’re willing to walk, you can also catch the Green Line back to Park Street or North Station from Saint Mary’s Street (on the C branch) or Prudential (on the E), respectively, bypassing fan traffic.
If you’re able to access the commuter rail’s Worcester Line, you can also get off at Lansdowne Station, which is 0.2 miles (just three minutes) west of the park. Other commuter rail riders will have at least one train transfer:
From north of the city: Take the commuter rail to North Station, and then take the Green Line inbound via any B, C or D train. From south or west: Take the commuter rail to South Station, ride the Red Line inbound to Park Street, then switch to the Green Line’s outbound B, C, or D trains. You’ve also got the option to hop off at Back Bay (which connects with the Needham Line, Franklin/Foxboro Line, Framingham/Worcester Line and the Providence/Stoughton Line) and walk over to Copley station, which will give you Green Line service to Kenmore.
Traveling between Boston and Cambridge? Buses 1, 47, 55, 57, 85 and CT3 all make stops on game days near the park. (Bus routes 8, 19, 60 and 65 all typically stop around Fenway Park, but detour around Brookline Ave. on game days, so you won’t be able to get off any closer than Kenmore.)
By bike: There’s a Bluebike station on Ipswich Street, right near the ballpark, if you choose to rent a bike to get to the game. If you’d rather take your personal bicycle, Fenway Park will also valet park your bike for free. The valet is located at Gate D and closes 30 minutes after the game ends.
Taking your car
The Red Sox strongly recommend using public transit to make it to a game, but if you are a sucker for punishment, you can drive and find parking around Fenway. (It’s hard, but not impossible.) One way to make the feat easier is to narrow down your parking options depending on which direction you plan to leave from — whether that’s north, south, east or west of the ballpark. Here’s what else to know if you plan to drive in:
Official parking: The Red Sox have two “official” parking lots: The Prudential Center Garage, which is a 15-minute walk from Fenway Park (0.9 miles) and offers a rate of $26 on game days; and the Clarendon Street Garage, which charges just $12 for game day parking but is farther away. If you choose the latter, you can either walk 0.2 miles to Copley station and take the Green Line’s B, C or D branch for two stops to Kenmore, or walk a mile and a half (about 30 minutes through the city) to the ballpark. There’s just one hitch: these rates are only available for evening and weekend games, not weekday afternoon ones. You’ll also need to show your ticket stub at both garages to get the special price. Unofficial parking: You can find private parking at gas stations and smaller lots around the Fenway and Boylston Street — for a hefty price. There’s also two parking garages near the House of Blues — the Stanhope Garage and the Lansdowne Garage — and another beside Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. But all of them fill up fast during special events. For peace of mind, Fenway Park recommends reserving parking through SpotHero. But if you decide to wing it, be sure to keep $50 to $65 cash on hand for the lot owners.
Fenway Park’s new “Lobstah Poutine” is among several New England-inspired dishes on the ballpark’s menu. (Courtesy Fenway Park)Where to grab a bite to eat
Around the park
The Fenway neighborhood is not short on food. The park is surrounded by bars, cafes, food halls, chain restaurants and doughnut shops that offer casual and fine dining. To help you choose, we asked locals (and the team at WBUR) to recommend their favorite places to grab a bite when they’re headed to a game or event:
49 Lansdowne St., Boston
A whopping 80% of respondents recommend eating at The Sausage Guy — a hotdog stand stationed on Lansdowne Street — when you’re headed to see a Red Sox game. Readers love the customer service and employees just as much as they do the food.
“The people, the food, the atmosphere — it just hits different than any other food vendor,” wrote Leila Grasso. “I remember being a little kid and grabbing my dad’s hand and asking him for the sausage man, and they thought it was hilarious.”
“Its appealing scent pervades the outdoor space at the park and adjoining Kenmore Square,” wrote Tim Hegan. His order is “a steamed sausage on a fresh roll, with mustard. No onions or peppers,” which he recalls eating “while dancing to street drummers using sticks and five-gallon plastic buckets.”
Ms. Clucks Deluxe Chicken & Dumplings
401 Park Drive, Boston
This Asian fusion restaurant located inside Time Out Market food hall serves up chicken dumplings, fried chicken sandwiches and chicken ramen.
“Everything is done really well. The dumplings are tasty, the karaage chicken is juicy, well-seasoned but doesn’t feel oily at all,” wrote Harsh Singh. “I usually like to pop here before a game at Fenway or a concert nearby at House of Blues or MGM Hall. It just makes me feel full and satisfied before going to a game or concert.”
476 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
Located around the corner from Fenway in Kenmore Square, this casual basement bar has a creative variety of burgers and hotdogs for under $10. There’s also a long craft beer list, wine and specialty cocktails on the menu.
“We stop at The Kenmore before almost every game we go to,” wrote Jessica Towns. But what makes this spot better than the rest? “The burgers and Randall the bartender,” Towns added.
1321 Boylston St., Boston
This Portland, Maine, institution opened its second location in Boston in 2017 — with a more fast-casual spin. Still, the seafood restaurant and oyster bar, which is located just one block from Fenway Park, offers reservations, a full bar, booth seating and a patio.
“Fresh seafood, amazing cocktails,” wrote Al Armstrong.
Our WBUR staffers also had their own top picks for the best bites around Fenway — with another clear winner among the bunch: Audubon, located at 838 Beacon St. It got multiple shoutouts for tasty food and a really nice patio out back. Here’s where else we like to dine and drink in the area:
In the park
Did you know that the Fenway Frank — the stadium’s signature hotdog — is produced by a local company that’s older than the park itself? Kayem, located in Chelsea, sells more than a million hotdogs destined for the ballpark each year. “It’s part of the magic of the ballpark, really,” Matt Monkiewicz, Kayem’s CEO, told WBUR’s Andrea Shea. “It’s like ‘Sweet Caroline,’ cold beer and a Fenway Frank.”
Concessions provided by Aramark are available throughout the park. For the 2026 season, the culinary team came up with some locally inspired (and eyebrow-raising) special menu items, like baked bean hot dogs and lobster poutine. Believe it or not, our staffers kind of liked them.
If nothing strikes your fancy, you can always bring your own food. You’re also allowed to bring a plastic bottle of water, as long as it is 16 ounces or less. But alcohol, cans, glass containers and non-water bottles are off limits.
Need to go, like, now?
There are restrooms located throughout the ballpark, and if you’ve got young children, you can find family restrooms near Gate E (behind the fan information booth) and next to the elevator at the Big Concourse.
Once you leave the park, finding a restroom can be a bit trickier. Thankfully, Time Out Market, which is 0.4 miles from Fenway, has a big public restroom with lots of stalls, as does the Target on Boylston Street. Take a gander at the city of Boston’s official bathroom map for more options nearby the Prudential Center and the Emerald Necklace.
A fan poses with a hot dog bag during game one of a doubleheader between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 22, 2026. (Rachel O’Driscoll/Boston Red Sox)While you’re in the stands
Things to leave at home
Fenway Park’s bag policy prohibits bags larger than 12 in. x 12 in. x 6 in., as well as backpacks, duffels and any other multi compartment bag. (Diaper bags and bags with medical equipment are the only exceptions.) If you mistakenly bring an oversized bag, Fenway offers the option to rent a locker where you can store your belongings — it’s on top of Lansdowne Garage across from Gate E. Drones, costume masks and hard-sided coolers are not allowed in the park, either. If you want to bring a sign to show your team spirit, make sure that it is smaller than 18 in. x 24 in.
Dress for the weather
Baseball season runs from early spring through September, or even October, if things go well for the Sox. And in New England, that can involve a variety of temperatures. If the game is rained out, it’ll be rescheduled for another day. But if the field is still playable, you’ll need to come prepared for the elements.
Baseball fans sit in the stands at Fenway Park, in Boston, Saturday, May 9, 2026, following an announcement that a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox scheduled for Saturday was postponed due to rain. (Steven Senne/AP)
An early spring chill calls for a warm coat. But once we reach the sweltering summer, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got sun protection and comfy, breathable clothing on, since there isn’t air conditioning in the standard ballpark seats. And in the case of light rain, a packable rain poncho can be handy, and is far less obtrusive to your fellow fans than an umbrella.
Flex your Fenway Park knowledge
With over 100 years of history, there are many interesting nuggets of information about Fenway Park to chew on as you watch the Red Sox play. Here are a few more fun facts to throw out between innings:
Fenway Park is named after its neighborhood, the Fenway — which itself was named after the nearby Back Bay Fens. The first game at Fenway Park was played on April 20, 1912 — just five days after the Titanic sank. The Green Monster’s custom paint color was designed by local Emil Disario, shortly after he returned from World War II in 1947. The Citgo sign, an iconic part of Kenmore Square, went dark for several months in 2026 so it could be moved higher up. Themed nights at Fenway Park brought in a quarter of a million fans this past year, according to the Red Sox’ ticket strategy and promotions team.