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Visiting Boston this summer? Here are 8 navigation tips you need to know.

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Visiting Boston this summer? Here are 8 navigation tips you need to know.


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Boston is preparing for a significant combination of major events this summer, from the FIFA World Cup to the return of Tall Ships and America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

Downtown Boston with a view of Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. (David L Ryan/Globe Staff)

Boston is preparing for a significant combination of major events this summer, from the FIFA World Cup to the return of Tall Ships and America’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Millions of visitors are expected to pass through the city, many of them navigating Boston for the first time. Here are answers to some of the most common questions visitors may have before they arrive.

Passengers using a rideshare app can only be picked up in designated areas for ride app vehicles (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff) – Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

Where is rideshare pick up at Logan Airport?

Passengers using a rideshare app can only be picked up in designated areas for ride app vehicles. Look for signs to your terminal’s designated Ride App pickup area before requesting your ride. 

Taxis are available at designated stands on the Arrivals level at Terminals A, B, C and E. Taxi dispatchers are located in all terminals to help you. Taxis are priced per mile, according to the Boston Police Department: for the first ⅛ of a mile, you pay $3.80, then, for each ⅛ mile after, you pay $0.40. Passengers also pay a $2.75 toll for all trips from Boston proper to Logan Airport and communities on the North Shore. However, passengers don’t have to pay a toll from Boston proper to East Boston (not including the airport).

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Do I need a CharlieCard to ride the T?

No, you don’t need a CharlieCard to ride the train (the T). Most MBTA subway and bus riders can pay directly with a credit card, debit card, smartphone, or smart watch. If you’re riding the Commuter Rail, you’ll need to download the MBTA mTicket app before your trip to purchase and scan Commuter Rail tickets directly from your phone.

However, if you’d like to purchase a CharlieCard, you most certainly can. In fact, the MBTA launched a special edition collectable CharlieCards featuring iconic Boston landmarks to celebrate the summer’s slew of major events. As of Tuesday, cards are available at fare kiosks at Park Street, Downtown Crossing, and Forest Hills stations. Cards will be rolled out at over a dozen more stations throughout the subway system this week.


  • Wickedpedia: Why is it called a CharlieCard?

A general view of the preparations outside of Gillette Stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

How do I get to Boston Stadium?

Boston Stadium (Gillette Stadium) is located in the town of Foxborough, which is about 22 miles (35 km) south of Boston.

The Boston Host Committee for the FIFA World Cup 2026 suggests fans leave plenty of time to travel to the stadium. If you’re driving from Boston, allocate between 60 to 90 minutes to get to the stadium, and 45 to 50 minutes if you’re driving from Providence. 

If you’re taking the Commuter Rail to the stadium, you must buy a Boston Stadium train ticket in advance ($80 roundtrip) from the MBTA mTicket app. The train will take you directly to and from each World Cup match. Arrive at South Station at the time shown for your boarding group (you can see all Boston Stadium train ticket schedules here). The train ride is about an hour long. All Boston Stadium train tickets include a return trip after the match, with trains starting to leave Foxboro Station 30 minutes after the final whistle and roughly every 15 minutes until all trains have departed.

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If you’re taking the Boston Stadium express bus ($95 roundtrip), you must buy tickets in advance. Bus service starts three to four-and-a-half hours before kickoff. Arrive at your bus pickup (there are over 90 locations across Greater Boston plus from the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence) no later than 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time. After the match buses will start leaving 30 minutes after the final whistle. 

Boston Stadium’s gates open three hours before kickoff. Parking (which must be booked in advance) will be open to fans fours hours before kickoff. FIFA encourages fans to arrive early for security screening, ticket scanning, and entry before kickoff. For more information on getting to and from the stadium, see the Boston Host Committee’s fan travel guide.

Where can I watch the World Cup, Sail Boston, and Fourth of July fireworks in Boston?

There are plenty of World Cup watch parties hosted at local bars and restaurants across Boston’s neighborhoods. Standout spots include Boston’s only Scottish bar, The Haven, which is the de facto home base for Scottish fans; and The Lansdowne Pub in Fenway, which will offer World Cup-themed cocktails and food tied to specific games. There will also be a FIFA Fan Festival at Boston’s City Hall Plaza from June 12 through 27 featuring live match broadcasts and a cultural showcase highlighting local artists, musicians, and performers.


  • Where to watch the World Cup in Boston

From July 11 through 16, a fleet of tall ships will sail into Boston as part of Sail250, a global gathering of tall ships to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Most Sail Boston activities are expected to be concentrated along Boston’s waterfront. If you’re coming from outside of Boston, take the Commuter Rail into South Station. From there, take the Silver Line to the Seaport District and Boston Waterfront, where you can visit the Tall Ships. If you’re coming from North Station, it’s about a 0.6-mile walk to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park in the North End, where you can enjoy a great view of the ships. Other spots to see the Tall Ships include Castle Island, East Boston and Charlestown. You can find a schedule of free events here, and can use Sail Boston’s interactive harbor map to see the Parade of Sail route through Boston Harbor, recommended viewing locations along the waterfront, and public access to piers and Tall Ship berthing areas.

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The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will take place on Saturday, July 4 at the DCR Hatch Shell on the Esplanade from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The event features the Boston Pops led by Keith Lockhart, guest performances by Lainey Wilson and Chance The Rapper, and a fireworks show starting at 9:15 p.m. There are several places to watch the fireworks, including the Charles River Esplanade near the Hatch Memorial Shell; Castle Island Beach in South Boston; and Memorial Drive in Cambridge. The Hatch Shell is accessible via the Arthur Fiedler Footbridge. The Esplanade is accessible via a footbridge at the intersection of Silber Way and Back Street near Boston University’s campus; a footbridge at the intersection of Fairfield and Back Streets in Back Bay; a pedestrian ramp where the Harvard Bridge goes over Storrow Drive; the Frances Appleton Pedestrian Bridge in Beacon Hill; and from the Charles River/MGH T stop on the Red Line.

What should I do if the T is crowded after a major event?

Walk. Boston was ranked as the second-most walkable city in the world, according to a 2025 Time Out survey. Downtown Boston is approximately 1.5 square miles, making it easy to access many points of interest in a short amount of time. 

Where can I find public restrooms in Boston? 

There are many public restrooms hidden in plain sight in Boston. From libraries and to firehouses, here’s a running list of public restrooms.

Can I get anywhere interesting by water? 

Yes. In addition to subway and bus service, the MBTA also operates ferry service from Boston to several coastal neighborhoods, islands, and even Logan airport.

In Boston, the main ferry terminals are located along Atlantic Ave, just outside of the Aquarium Station on the Blue Line. Each MBTA ferry terminal is marked with a T sign. Fares depend on the route you take, but range from $2.40 to $9.75 each way. Ferries operate year-round and include both indoor and outdoor seating. They also offer a fantastic view of Boston and the Boston Harbor Islands. You can find schedules and maps here as well as a beginner’s guide here.

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What’s parking like in Boston?

If you see a “Resident Parking Only” sign in a neighborhood, it means you need a resident parking permit sticker for that space. However, metered parking and garage parking is available throughout the city. 

Most meters operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday (on Sundays and City holidays you can park for free). You can generally only park in a metered spot for two hours before needing to move your car. You can pay your meter with quarters, credit cards, and by using the ParkBoston app (if a ParkBoston decal is on the meter where you parked). Metered parking ranges between $2.50 and $3.75 per hour, depending on the neighborhood. 

Downtown Boston has more than 6,300 parking spaces in thirteen public parking garages, according to the Downtown Boston Alliance, with most garages offering discounted parking rates on nights and weekends. Garage parking typically ranges from $10 to $20 for the first hour, with daily maximums up to $75.

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Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.

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Chickadee, the popular Mediterranean restaurant in Seaport, is shutting down – The Boston Globe

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Chickadee, the popular Mediterranean restaurant in Seaport, is shutting down – The Boston Globe


The half fried chicken served with black bean hummus and cauliflower cashew pilaf at Chickadee Restaurant in the Seaport.Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

An Instagram post that announced their closure on Tuesday evening did not point to any reason for the closure, and requests for comment were not immediately returned.

“Eight years ago, we opened our doors at the Innovation and Design Building with a simple hope: to bring you honest, delicious food and a warm place to share it,” read the post. “What we found instead was a community – regulars who became friends, first dates that turned into anniversaries, celebrations, quiet lunches, and everything in between. You made this restaurant so much more than a place to eat.”

Globe Food Critic Devra First awarded Chickadee 3.5 stars in October 2018, where she wrote how some meals “are magic, everything cooked perfectly, making you swoon.”

At the time, it was also considered one of the earliest restaurants to have opened in the still-industrial far reaches of the Seaport, which was home to ship-repair facilities and cutting-edge design firms, seafood wholesalers, and biotech companies. In terms of location, some said it was ahead of its time.

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DaSilva, a three-time James Beard Best Chef: Northeast semifinalist, has led some of the top restaurants across the Greater Boston area. Aside from Barbara Lynch’s flagship No. 9 Park, he opened Spoke Wine Bar in Somerville in 2013. During his time at Spoke, he received a number of accolades and was named one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30” for Boston and earned the title “Rising Star Chef” from StarChefs.

Kilpatrick, who also left Lynch’s group in 2014, worked for the team behind O Ya to help open restaurants in New York. According to his LinkedIn, he started a new job as a regional operations manager for Lark, a boutique hotel management company, in April.


Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.





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GBH Daily: Come sail away

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GBH Daily: Come sail away


This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.

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🥵Very hot, with highs around 97 degrees. Sunset is at 8:19 p.m.

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GBH’s Dan Murphy captured Abby Evangelista and her corgi, Rocko, at Sail250 this weekend. “Rocko gets dressed up for lots of occasions … sometimes just to go to the store, and he does so great with meeting people,” Evangelista said. Keep reading for more photos from the tall ships. 

A year ago today firefighters were extinguishing flames at the Gabriel House, an assisted living facility in Fall River. Ten people died in the fire, a tragedy for their loved ones and a scary moment for about 18,000 people who live in assisted living facilities across the state.

Now state officials have created new regulations for fire safety in assisted living facilities, going into effect later this month. Fire departments will inspect these facilities once a year, and facilities will need to submit emergency plans and train their workers on what to do in case of a fire.

GBH’s Craig LeMoult found that neither the new regulations nor state or federal fire codes address checking sprinkler systems. Some of the sprinklers at the Gabriel House weren’t working the night of the fire, including the ones in the room where it started.

“Had the sprinklers functioned properly, we’re not having this conversation right now. It is maybe a single fatality fire, but certainly not more than that,” Fall River fire chief Jeffrey Bacon told LeMoult. “The good news is that some of the sprinklers did function. And had they not, we would be here talking about 20, 30, 40 victims.” You can read the full story here.

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Four Things to Know

1. Colleagues and friends are remembering Louisa Gag, a Boston transportation planner killed last week when a truck driver hit her as she rode her bike near the Roxbury Crossing MBTA stop. Gag grew up in Roslindale and worked for the city on expanding the BlueBikes bike-share program. Before that, she worked for the LivableStreets Alliance, co-authoring a plan to help cities stop traffic deaths. You can see her talk about her work in this 2019 video.

“In moments like these, there is a tendency to reduce the person to the way they died and to their activism,” said Stacy Thompson, a former executive director of LivableStreets. “While we may know Louisa as a deep champion of the city and a close advocate, she’s also a Boston Latin [School] kid. She’s also, like, the most infectious, hilarious person you’ve ever met. She’s also a daughter. It’s so important to us right now for her life to not be reduced to how she stopped living.”

2. More than 4,000 nurses are back at work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. They went on a one-day strike last week, and hospital administrators kept them from returning to their jobs for another five days. The Massachusetts Nurses Association and Brigham management have been negotiating a contract for seven months, going back and forth over wages, health insurance premiums and staffing levels.

“It’s exciting, but also frightening,” said Christine Forgeron, a cardiac nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “I don’t know what to expect when we go back to our patients. What happens next, because we still don’t have a contract,is the most unsettling part.”

3. Michael Walsh, a Republican candidate for state attorney general, will be on the primary ballot in September despite what Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Karp called “substantial evidence in the record of voter fraud.” The case began when Adam Roof, executive director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, submitted a complaint accusing a signature gatherer Walsh’s campaign hired of either falsifying or not meeting state requirements for 1,021 of the 10,677 signatures they submitted. Candidates for statewide office need 10,000 signatures to get onto the ballot.

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Karp said that there was indeed evidence that the signatures came not from voters themselves but from a list of registered voters the state’s Republican party gave the signature gatherer. But the case fell on a technicality: state law required Roof, the Democratic party official, to submit his complaint by certified mail, and he did not do so. The state’s highest court still has to decide what will happen to Anne Manning Martin, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor who used the same signature gatherer.

4. Residents of towns around the Quabbin Reservoir flooded into the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority meeting last week to ask for a better deal. The Quabbin supplies clean drinking water for dozens of cities and towns in the eastern part of the state. Right now, the state requires towns like Shrewsbury, Belchertown, Orange and Pelham to keep their development in check to keep the Quabbin clean. Though those towns get some money in return, local officials said it’s not enough to cover their costs.

“We are protecting this watershed by foregoing any type of economic development, which is a cornerstone of providing the basics of education [and] public safety,” said state Rep. Aaron Saunders, of Belchertown. “It’s time for a change, and not an incremental one.”

Tall ships sail into Boston

The Colombian vessel ARC Gloria passes spectators watching from Castle Island on Saturday, July 11 in Boston.


Dan Murphy / GBH News

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Tomorrow is the last full day of Sail Boston, the city’s tall ships celebration. The ships will leave our harbor Thursday morning. GBH photographer Dan Murphy was there over the weekend to capture the Parade of Sail.

People in white sailor's uniforms waving towards camera on white sailing ship flying Chilean flag

Chilean sailors aboard the Esmerelda wave to spectators on Castle Island during the Meet Boston Parade of Sail on Saturday, July 11 in Boston.


Dan Murphy / GBH News

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The Esmeralda, a ship from Chile, sailed by Castle Island.

Woman in navy shirt and black baseball cap points to ship out of frame for child in white pinstripe shirt sitting on her shoulders

Carolyn Gustine points out a ship to her son, Patrick Gustine, during the Meet Boston Parade of Sail on Saturday, July 11 at Castle Island in Boston.


Dan Murphy / GBH News

Carolyn Gustine carried her son, Patrick, on her shoulders.

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You can see the full photo essay here. 

Dig deeper: 

Spectators line Cape Cod Canal to see tall ships make their way to Sail250 in Boston

The World Cup transformed Greater Boston. Will it last?

Department of Agricultural Resources celebrates Ice Cream Trail program

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Boston man charged after allegedly assaulting Burger King employee, punching customer

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Boston man charged after allegedly assaulting Burger King employee, punching customer


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The customer, who was evaluated for “visible lacerations to the forehead,” was punched three times while being called racial slurs, prosecutors say.

A Burger King sign in Erie, Pa.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File

A Boston man is facing charges after he allegedly lunged at a Burger King employee, punched a customer, and then resisted arrest at a nearby MBTA station in East Boston, authorities announced Monday afternoon. 

Patrick Donovan, 59, was charged July 1 with one count of assault and battery causing injury on an over 60 or disabled person, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault, and vandalism, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a press release. 

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The charges stem from an incident shortly before 10 p.m. on June 30, when Boston police responded to a disturbance call from Burger King at 1 Maverick Square, Hayden’s office said.

A Burger King employee told officers that, after ordering his food and receiving it, Donovan yelled that he no longer wanted it and smacked a napkin holder off the counter. He then allegedly lunged at an employee and grabbed her by the arm, prosecutors said. 

Donovan subsequently shoved a customer from behind and allegedly punched him in the face three times while calling him racial slurs, the DA’s office said. 

Emergency medical services evaluated the customer for “visible lacerations to the forehead,” but the victim declined additional treatment, authorities said. 

Donovan fled the restaurant following the assaults, and officers tracked him to the nearby MBTA Maverick Station, prosecutors said. 

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“While officers tried to detain Donovan inside the station, he swung at them with a closed fist but did not make contact,” Hayden’s office said, noting that Donovan made racial slurs towards the officers. “Donovan was placed into custody after a brief struggle.” 

During his arraignment in the East Boston division of the Boston Municipal Court, Donovan pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. Court records show he was also ordered to stay away from Maverick Square and Burger King. 

He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 7 for a pre-trial hearing, prosecutors said. 

Officers obtained security footage of both assaults. Authorities said the incident remains under investigation and could result in further charges. 

“Our workers deserve to be safe in their workplaces and our consumers deserve to be safe in their shopping or dining places, without exception,” Hayden said in a statement. “Beyond that, none of our citizens or first responders should be subjected to racial slurs. These appalling words have no place in Suffolk County or anywhere else in our society.” 

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Attorney information for Donovan was not immediately available Monday afternoon.

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