Things to do in Chinatown, Boston

Dive into the cuisine and sights of Chinatown – here’s why we think it’s not one to be missed!

UPDATED NOVEMBER 2024
chinatown boston

Picture the scene. You're planning your vacation to Boston. You've mapped out all the places you want to see, all the things you want to do, and then it hits you. What about Chinatown? Understandably, you pause, wondering how you could possibly miss one of Boston's best districts. It's okay; we all make mistakes. There's still time to fix things. And fix them we shall. Just sit there, yes, there, and chill out. Scroll down and discover the district's delights. Here begins our guide to the best things to do in Chinatown, Boston!

Including:

  • Where to eat
  • Where to drink
  • What to see
  • What to do

Chinatown's best eating

 Things to do in Chinatown Boston

Chinese cuisine is one of the world's favorites, so it's no wonder residents and visitors travel to Chinatown for chow. But with so many options, which are the best? These are our picks.

If choice paralysis isn't a thing for you, then Taiwan Cafe should be top of your list. They have over 200 items on the menu, so you're literally spoiled for choice. However, don't sleep on the pork chop. It's good. Real good.

Fancy a dumpling? Don't worry; they've got a cafe dedicated to them, the aptly-named Dumpling Cafe. Alongside a mouth-watering number of soup dumpling dishes, they also do sides like teriyaki sticks, which every customer should try once.

Like your dishes with a little spice? China Gourmet Restaurant offers Fukienese options with a hefty dose of fiery spices. Check out their spicy chicken wings to see what you're made of!

Or, if you fancy another Eastern cuisine, why not try Penang's Malaysian menu? Chicken and rice are the way to go here, and you've got plenty of options as far as both are concerned! Or, try the Malaysian national dish, nasi lemak, if you've never had it before.

Chinatown's best pastries

 Things to do in Chinatown Boston

Of course, you might be looking for something lighter, or want to eat on the go. Thankfully, Chinatown's got a few amazing pastry joints that'll fit you like a crispy glove.

Ho Yuen Bakery makes all their pastries on site, with plenty on offer in their humble Chinatown abode. You'll find sweet and savory buns, as well as bao and other traditional gems on offer. Check out their curry bun; you'll never know buns could be so much fun.

Another one is the savory-focused Hing Shing Pastry, which sits just a stone's throw from Chinatown's impressive gate. Does a hot dog bun sound appealing? Well, it should, because it's awesome. Partner it with a delicious almond cookie, and you're good to go.

 

Chinatown's best drinking

 Things to do in Chinatown Boston

While most of Chinatown's drinking spots are eating spots too, we've split the list to better focus on each separately. You're very welcome. Here are our picks for Chinatown's best watering holes.

Enter the Ritz Carlton, and you'll find the swanky, suave Avery Bar. Along with a decent food menu (compared to most hotels at least), you'll find a world of delicious craft cocktails, an exhaustive wine list, and pro-shakers who will mix you up whatever you desire.

Want something loud? Looking for more of a vibe? Shojo is one of Chinatown's best, with big music, big drinks, and big bar snacks to boot. Whiskey lovers will be enamored with their surprisingly verbose menu. So, if you need to drown it down with brown, Shojo's probably your jam.

Yearn the leather, bike chains, and bandanas of a dive bar? Swayze over to Corner Pub and experience your own Roadhouse, minus all the violence. Literal buckets of beer are on offer, along with a riffing jukebox and some decent pub food if you get the beer munchies.

Looking for some Asian food while you down your shots? Crave Chinatown has a wide selection of bites, from sushi to Korean fried chicken, along with some Asian-inspired cocktails. Anything with sake is the one here. Nice.

Chinatown's best sights

 Things to do in Chinatown Boston

Of course, Chinatown isn't just about food and drink. It's about the culture too. So keep an eye out for these landmarks when you visit!

China Trade Gate is the first thing that greets you when you enter Chinatown. Donated to Boston by the Taiwanese government in the '80s, its jade-green roof and white frame are quite the sight!

Have a look around Chinatown, and you'll find a myriad of colorful murals. They're created by different groups, but all tell the generational story of Chinatown's residents throughout Chinatown's existence.

 

Chinatown's best activities

 Things to do in Chinatown Boston

And finally, let's end with the best things to do in Chinatown.

Go check out some artwork at Pao Arts Center, where you'll find a rotation of exhibitions on show from some of Chinatown's own artists. They also hold classes there too, if you need to brush up on your skills. That was a pun, and it was absolutely intended, just like all puns are.

Want a keepsake to bring home, or looking for a gift to give that special someone? Essex Corner has all manner of wonderful Asian crafts inside. They sell all manner of authentic products, like handmade fans, lanterns, and candles, among many others.

Ever tried acupuncture? If not, go check out Lea Tam Acupuncture Center and get pricked in all the right places. We're talking about pressure points here, so get your mind out of the gutter. If you've got any lingering or chronic issues, this family-run joint could be just the thing. One ticket to relief town, please! That sounded way better in our heads.

Or, if you want to find out more about the women who helped make Chinatown the district it is today, take a Boston Women's Heritage Trail tour of the area. It'll take you all around the area and teach you a lot about what women have done to Chinatown!

 

And that about rounds out our list of the best things to do in Chinatown when you visit Boston! Eager for more Boston-related fun? Check out our guide to the city's best museums. Not sure where to stay during your visit? We've collated all the best spots just for you! So grab a Boston pass and save while you sightsee!

Dom Bewley
Go City Travel Expert

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10+ Things to Do Near Fenway Park and Back Bay During Your Trip to Boston

Even if you aren’t a fan of baseball, you’ve probably heard of iconic Fenway Park. But did you know that this neighborhood has much more than just a baseball stadium to explore? From world-famous museums to boutique shopping to top restaurants and bars, there’s something to fit every vacation style near Boston's Fenway and Back Bay neighborhoods. Check out our list of the best local activities and attractions, including... Museum of Fine Arts Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Skywalk Observatory Swan Boats of Boston And more! Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts is the place in Boston for your art fix. It's one of the best museums in the country according to a recent TripAdvisor poll, With an impressive collection of paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs, and decorative arts, you can spend all day in this lovely institution. They also host special exhibits on world-renowned artists, compelling subjects, and beloved topics. The exhibitions may come at a small additional cost.  Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Gardner Museum is another top option for art lovers. So much more than just a museum, it combines the appeal of a fascinating historic home with luxurious gardens alongside an impressive collection of artwork. With more than 2,500 works of art from masters like Titian, Rembrandt, Manet, Degas, Sargent, and more, you’re bound to find a favorite here.  Panopticon Gallery If you prefer photographs to painting, then perhaps a visit to the Panopticon Gallery is for you. One of the earliest fine art photograph galleries in the entire country, it houses a great collection of beautiful works of art that you can purchase or simply walk through and enjoy. A visit here is a nice complement to the MFA or the Gardner. Kenmore Square The home of a nearby T stop, Kenmore Square is also the heart of a lively community filled with students, restaurants, bars, and shops. Here you’ll find everything from the renowned Eastern Standard to local favorite Cornwall’s pub. There’s also a bookstore, a few boutique shops, and plenty of chain restaurants for those looking to save money for souvenirs.  Boston Symphony Orchestra Classical music lovers should not pass up the chance to hear a performance from one of the country’s best orchestras, the Boston Symphony Orchestra. With a variety of performances put on in a majestic hall, you’ll love the entire experience. For a more affordable ticket, try attending an open rehearsal. A performance by the BSO is a top cultural thing to do near Fenway.  Things to Do in the Back Bay Skywalk Observatory Located on the 50th floor of the Prudential Center, this famed observatory showcases the Boston cityscape like nothing else. Although it may not be as high as some observation towers around the globe, the amazing view is more than enough to keep Boston visitors happy. After you snap a few photos, stop for a cocktail and a snack at the Top of the Hub Restaurant. It's not inexpensive, but the view is worth the bump in price. Swan Boats of Boston Take a ride aboard one of Boston’s best beloved historic treasures – the Swan Boats of Boston. First invented in the 1870s by innovator Robert Paget, these ingenious vessels are propelled by your own pedaling feet. Their recognizable swan shape has also inspired great children’s literature like Make Way for Ducklings. So, the swan boats are an important cultural artifact as well! Mary Baker Eddy Library & Mapparium A unique attraction nestled in Back Bay Boston, the Mary Baker Eddy Library and Mapparium is a fascinating place for kids and adults alike. Mary Baker Eddy was a significant person in early Boston’s history, working as a teacher, businesswoman, publisher, and religious leader, and the institution today reflects her wide-ranging vision for human knowledge. Do not miss a visit to the Mapparium itself, a massive painted glass globe that visitors can actually walk through!  Freedom Trail of Boston Spend some time walking the famed Freedom Trail of Boston, marked by a thin red line that winds through the city past major points of historical and cultural interest. While you can certainly walk the line yourself, a guided tour is the best way to learn about each stop and its significance to Boston’s history.  Boston Public Library Although you can certainly feel free to sign up for a library card if you’re a local, it’s also worth it as a visitor just to step inside the Boston Public Library for a glimpse of their beautiful, legendary reading rooms. Then, you can step back outside and marvel at the BPL’s distinctive architecture. Be sure to get a photo of yourself on the library steps – it’s a Boston tradition and one of the top things to do near Back Bay.  Emerald Necklace Parks If you love nothing more than a good walk outdoors, then the Emerald Necklace is the place for you. This chain-like system of 1,100 acres of parkland in the Fenway/Kenmore area is perfect for photos, bird-watching, leaf-peeping, and much more.  Save up to 50% on Boston attractions Discover our full line-up of Boston attractions from Fenton Park tours to the Salem Witch Museum. If you want to see and do as much as you can, our All-Inclusive Pass is for you. If you want to pick just a few attractions and visit at your own pace, our Explorer Pass is the perfect option.
Katie Sagal
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Boston MFA Discount Tickets & Tips for Visiting

Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is truely a premier museum of art, featuring global and timeless collections, from Egyptian statues and tombs, to fine Benin Kingdom sculptures, to European masters like Renoir, and modern legends like Van Gogh and Picasso. The Museum’s diverse, extensive, and eclectic artwork is presented inside a magnificent, stone palatial building on Huntington Avenue. Here, the Museum of Fine Arts not only curates and cares for the works, but through their many programs, tours, and activities, they help people of all ages understand, engage, and create art. Check out our helpful guide for visiting Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), packed full of ways to save on admission, tips for visiting, other nearby attractions, and much more. Looking for Boston MFA Discount Tickets? We’ve got you covered – Museum of Fine Arts admission is available with the below money saving options, so you can choose the attraction pass that’s right for you: 1. All-Inclusive Pass – All you can do. Includes admission to dozens of attractions. 2. Explorer Pass – Choose as you go. Includes admission of up to 5 attractions. 3. Build Your Own Pass – Select the attractions you want to visit prior to visiting. See all available passes, attractions & prices – Learn more. Tips for Visiting the Museum of Fine Arts Before visiting the Museum of Fine Arts, look through the list of activities and tours, all free with admission. The tours can be as general as “Highlights of the Museum,” to tours that focus on a single tradition like “Art of the Ancient World,” to something even more specific like “Gaugain’s Lush Colors and Island Landscapes.” Each tours is led by friendly and wildly knowledgeable guides. Activities are a great way to get closer to the art and its creation. The Artist Toolbox Cart series, for example, gives you the great opportunity of handling artists' tools and view the results of their use on step-by-step demonstration pieces. Even more exciting, every Wednesday, there’s a free opportunity to sketch live models, and/or objects in the Museum of Fine Arts collection. A drawing instructor there will provide insights on technique and artist-model relationships. If you want to go off on your own, but still enjoy the depth and auditory nature of a guide, you can rent the MFA Guide audio tour for six dollars for adults, and four dollars for kids seventeen and under. The Museum of Fine Arts offers these tours in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese languages. Additionally, Museum of Fine Arts accommodates visitors who are blind, low vision, deaf, or hard of hearing, with a free mobile MFA Guide, providing touch screens with a reading option, text transcripts, neckloops for hearing aids with T-switches as well as headsets. Furthermore, the Museum of Fine Arts supplies ASL videos for many starred stops, and its own mini tour as well. If you read every word in an art museum, you’re apt to spend more time reading blurbs from gray plaques than actually experiencing art. On the other hand, according to a study conducted by the Louvre, the museum attendee spends a mere 15 seconds on the Mona Lisa on average. That’s right, a five-Mississippi on da Vinci’s masterpiece. The tip for solving this “study versus breeze by” paradox is this: begin each gallery at the large plaque that reads, “In this gallery...” It’s not always by the opening you enter through, given the wandering nature of the halls, rooms, and side-rooms. It is, however, always worth it. The Museum of Fine Arts does an excellent job at providing just enough context, whether political, historical, or rooted in an artistic trend, without ever imposing a rigid structure on the collection. Then, as you walk through the room, you can’t help but note an inherent logic that threads the pieces of art together, putting them in conversation with each other, and importantly, with you. If you read the gallery plaques, you’ll find yourself noting the story element of the priest in the background of Steen’s “The Sacrifice of Iphigenia,” for instance. While you may not find yourself drawn to every piece, you’ll likely spend quality time with the ones that do, making for a much more meaningful experience of art. Avoid the stern, yet fair admonishment of the museum staff by ensuring your camera’s flash is not on. Luckily, you can take non-flash pictures throughout the museum. If you’re the artistic type, don’t forget to bring your sketchpad or drawing board (no bigger than 18” by 24”) and your pencils. Charcoal, watercolors, crayons, and pastels are not allowed. With its abundance of styles, from Japanese ink strokes to ornate Iranian design, there are endless hours of learning and emulating to do within the halls. If Boston is in the throes of the notoriously harsh winter, don’t be afraid to bundle up in a bulky, warm jacket. The museum offers a complimentary coat and bag check service. If you’re bringing children, view the available kids’ programs and activities. Schedule your visit around one of the MFA playdates, or let the MFA Kids’ Tour’s group of animated characters help bring art to life. You can also download the Art Connections activity cards to give the visit a game component. Furthermore, the Museum of Fine Arts has kid-friendly meal options in their Garden Cafeteria, baby-changing stations in bathrooms, and an area designated for nursing. Best Times to Visit Weekday afternoons, and evenings (open until 9:30 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) will give you the most space and quiet to enjoy the museum. What to See There are so many collections and exhibitions (always adding new ones) that we couldn't do the MFA justice by listing them all. Instead, below is just a taste of some of the things we recommend you take some time to see during your visit. John Singer Sargent Thanks to Sargent’s ties to Boston, where he received his first solo show and multiple commissions, there is a uniquely extensive collection of his work that provides a sense of his artwork as a whole. In the atrium, you can see his preliminary sketches, and then look up and see their realized paintings and friezes on the domed ceiling. Furthermore, his large collection in the Art of the Americas is highlighted by “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit,” and framed by the tall and elegant vases featured in the painting. Kingdom of Benin Recently, the Museum of Fine Arts accepted 34 pieces of rare West African works of art. Like the long-standing Egyptian collection, these pieces allow the Museum of Fine Arts and the viewer to reconstruct the characteristics of their civilization, and imagine the use of their recovered everyday objects and the meaning of palace artwork in their culture. These intricately detailed, expertly carved wooden statues and high relief plaques not only reflect their way of life, they demonstrate the civilizations sophisticated artistic style. Art of Europe The Art of Europe is the largest collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, likely taking an entire day and you still won’t have really seen it. The collection works its way through 14th and 15th century iconography, the Italian Renaissance, to the rococo of the 18th century, through the Flemish masters, to French Impressionism, and arrives at modernity, as depicted by Munch, Picasso and Gauguin. Simply walking through the collection will give you a sense of the arc of European history as a whole. Nearby Attractions James P. Kelleher Rose Garden might be the perfect place to see art outside the walls of the museum. A five minute stroll will take you from the Museum of Fine Arts into the Back Bay Fen where a profusion of petaled blossoms, white, red and pink, circle around a fountain, tumble off a trellis, or float suspended from an archway. Round out the day’s cultural experience with a trip to the sports icon--Fenway Park, home of the Green Monster. Even if the Socks aren’t playing, you can sign up for a one hour walking tour of Fenway. Just don’t call it a stadium. Even the security guards will correct you: “You mean the ballpahk?” The Boston Symphony Orchestra is world renowned, and the hall’s interior is stunning. You may forget which century you’re in. Now in 132 season, The Boston Symphony Orchestra performs excellent shows of a variety of styles. Places to Eat Nearby The Museum of Fine Arts offers multiple dining options. Bravo's couples a dark and classy ambience with a excellent cuisine for a sophisticated experience. The New American Cafe puts you in the center of the museum's excitement and grandeur of the vast Shapiro Courtyard, while delivering amazing seasonal dishes. Fittingly located near the contemporary art, The Taste Cafe and Wine Bar features fine coffee, as well as a bite to eat-- sandwiches, salads, desserts and gelato. Last but not least, The Garden Cafeteria, satisfies your favorites. It's the perfect place for families to get burgers, pizza, sandwiches and more. In walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts, El Pelon Taqueria cooks up delicious Mexican favorites. Their fresh guacamole is a must try. Less than a mile away, the highly-esteemed Island Creek Oyster Bar upholds the tradition of excellent Boston seafood, with mid-atlantic tilefish, grilled Maine salmon, lobster, and land-based dishes like New York strip steak, and roasted chicken that’s just as good. Re-living the collegiate experience? Or just plain living it? Boston students flock to Chicken Joe’s Inc. for cheap, but tasty subs and sandwiches. Need to Know Hours Saturday-Tuesday, 10:00 am-4:45 pm Wednesday-Friday, 10:00am-9:45pm Closings: New Year's Day, Patriot's Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day All holiday hours are subject to change without notice. Directions & Address 465 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115 Public Transportation: Take the T: Green Line E train to Museum of Fine Arts stop. Orange Line to Ruggles Street stop. Save on Tickets with a Go Boston Card Remember, the Go Boston® Card is the best choice for maximum savings and flexibility, which includes Boston Museum of Fine Arts tickets, plus admission to your choice of other top attractions. Save up to 55% on top museums, tours, and activities vs. paying at the gate. Visit multiple attractions for one low price.
Lindsay Eagan

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