No trip to the Boston area would be complete without a hop across the river to Cambridge to visit one of the area’s most popular attractions— the bustling neighborhood of Harvard Square. In fact, there’s so many terrific shopping, dining, cultural and nightlife options available in the shadow of prestigious Harvard University, that we at Panorama started wondering if you couldn’t fill a week’s visit with just the Square. Turns out, we came up with eight days worth of fun for Ivy-leaguers and the rest of us.
Saturday, October 13:
Do the Time Warp Again
In this era of home-theater excess,
people seem to have forgotten how to enjoy
the simple pleasure of seeing a movie with a
live, engaged crowd. The folks who turn out
for the weekly Saturday midnight screenings
of the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror
Picture Show at the Loews
Harvard Square Theater (10 Church
St., 617-864-4580) certainly remember,
turning up in droves dressed in the
outrageous, gender-bending outfits of the
sci-fi musical’s colorful characters. Before
you head over, spend the day putting your
own outfit together, searching for
distinctive vintage clothing at
Oona’s (1210 Mass.
Ave., 617-491-2654), funky alt-modern
outfits and accessories at
Urban Outfitters’ Bargain Basement
(11 JFK St., 617-864-0070) and
Hootenanny (inside The
Garage Mall, 36 JFK St., 617-864-6623) and
makeup—lots of it—at Origins
(8 Brattle St., 617-868-8090). From there,
it’s just a jump to the left...
Sunday, October 14:
Ladies Only
When Bay State members of the fairer sex
plan a day out together, the temptation is
to spend the whole time flouncing up and
down Newbury Street—but just how much haute
couture can one take before it loses its
appeal? A gals’ day out in Harvard Square
offers just as much fun potential with only
a fraction of the ’tude. Start your
lady-centric Sunday off with brunch at
Zoe’s (1105 Mass.
Ave., 617-495-0055), where the selections
range from traditional breakfasts to Greek
specialties to sinfully delicious frappes
(try the pumpkin!). Next, enjoy a shopping
trip: get everything you need to outfit your
bachelorette pad at Bowl and
Board (1063 Mass. Ave.,
617-661-0350), pick out fine chocolates and
other gourmet foodstuffs at
Cardullo’s (6 Brattle St.,
617-491-8888), find the perfect pair of
reasonably priced shoes at
Berk’s (50 JFK St., 617-492-9511) and
try on modern fashions at
Mint Julep (6 Church St.,
617-576-6468). Make sure to save some time
for an afternoon appointment at
Carriage House Salon
(33 Church St., 617-868-7800), where you can
enjoy massages, facials, manicures and hair
treatments to make you feel as beautiful
outside as you do inside.
Monday, October 15:
Be an Ivy Leaguer for a Day
Obviously, not all of us could get into
Harvard. But it’s a lot easier to fake it
for a day than you might have imagined. The
first thing you’ll need to do is pay a visit
to the Harvard Coop
(1400 Mass. Ave., 617-499-2000), where you
can purchase any kind of Harvard T-shirt,
sweatshirt or athletic jersey you desire.
Then head out on one of the
Unofficial Tours of Harvard University
(www.unofficialtours.com).
Departing from outside the Harvard Square T
stop, these irreverent student-led tours run
six times a day and take visitors all around
the Harvard campus and provide a slew of
insider stories—which you can later swap
with real Harvard students at hangouts like
Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage
(1246 Mass. Ave., 617-354-6559),
La Creperie (1154
Mass. Ave., 617-661-6999) or while showing
off your wicked big brain during the popular
Trivia Night at John Harvard
Brew House (33 Dunster St.,
617-868-3585).
Tuesday, October 16:
Bookworm Your Way through the Square
During your travels through Harvard Square
you might find yourself confused by the
absence of a Barnes & Noble or Borders
superstore. Harvard Square is one of the
last remaining outposts for quality
independent and used bookstores in the
Boston area. Lovers of obscure old tomes can
spend a day perusing the stacks at local
gems like Schoenhof’s Foreign
Books (76A Mt. Auburn St.,
617-547-8855), Raven Used
Books (52B JFK St., 617-441-6999),
the Harvard Book Store
(1256 Mass. Ave., 617-661-1515) and the
aforementioned Coop. After all that digging,
take a little time to unwind and read one of
your finds at L.A. Burdick’s
(52 Brattle St., 617-491-4340) over a cup of
hot white chocolate, before heading over to
Memorial Church (1
Harvard Yard, 617-495-5508) at 8 p.m. for a
talk by legendary horror scribe
Stephen King, who’ll
be discussing his choices for this year’s
edition of The Best American Short
Stories.
Wednesday, October 17:
A Little Cul-cha
Befitting a neighborhood boasting a
world-class educational institution, Harvard
Square is a great spot for enjoying fine
cultural pursuits like museums and theater.
You could easily spend an afternoon
strolling through the Harvard
University Art Museums, which include
the Busch-Reisinger,
which specializes in Central and Northern
European artists; the Fogg,
home to European and American art from the
Middle Ages up to the present; and the
Sackler, which boasts
extensive Islamic and Oriental collections
(32 Quincy St., 617-495-9400). In the
evening, one of Cambridge’s finest drama
companies—the American
Repertory Theatre—hosts the
thought-provoking The Veiled Monologues at
its Zero Arrow Theatre (Zero Arrow St.,
617-547-8300). After the show, you and your
special someone can end your very classy and
cultured day with a late night supper at
that hidden jewel for French cuisine, the
venerable Sandrine’s Bistro
(8 Holyoke St., 617-497-5300).
Thursday, October 18:
Oldies but Goodies
Harvard Square has certainly changed
with the times, but pieces of Harvard
Square’s history still abound. An evening of
celebrating Harvard Square’s past could
begin with dinner in the cozy subterranean
restaurant Grendel’s Den
(89 Winthrop St., 617-491-1160)—a fixture
since 1971. Following dinner, head over to
legendary folk venue Club
Passim (47 Palmer St.,
617-492-7679)—opened in 1958 as Club 47—for
a show by popular singer-songwriter Erin
McKeown. Then, end your night with a
nightcap over at Casablanca
(40 Brattle St., 617-876-0999), a popular
restaurant and watering hole that’s been
satisfying Ivy Leaguers and others since
1955.
Friday, October 19:
Wet Your Whistle
Sometimes you just want
nothing more from a night out than to sample
a few delightful libations, and Harvard
Square has some happening nightspots
well-equipped to help you do just that.
Before the evenings get too chilly, you can
start your night at Shay’s
Pub and Wine Bar (58 JFK St.,
617-864-9161), sipping your beverage of
choice on their sunken patio. Just around
the corner, OM (92
Winthrop St., 617-576-2800) boasts unique
aromatherapy cocktails in a sleek, modern
space perfect for lounging. Over at the
Charles Hotel, the classic cocktail lounge
Noir (One Bennett St.,
617-661-8010) serves up decadent libations
inspired by classic film noirs ’til 2 a.m.
Once you’re full of liquid courage,
Redline (59 JFK St.,
617-498-9851) is a great place to get up and
boogie, with their Friday DJ nights “The
Friday Alternative.” Finally, if you’re
feeling those inevitable late-night
munchies, stumble (delicately, of course)
over to Felipe’s Taqueria
(83 Mt. Auburn St., 617-354-9944), which
serves fresh, tasty burritos, tacos and more
’til 2 a.m.
Saturday, October 20:
Embrace Your Inner Child
After a night devoted to such grown-up
pursuits, it might make sense to spend the
next day in Harvard acting like a kid again.
The neighborhood has some great shopping
options for the young at heart—including
Games People Play
(1100 Mass. Ave., 617-492-0711), where,
seemingly, every board game or jigsaw puzzle
you could ever want reside; and two great
options for comic books, New
England Comics (14A Eliot St.,
617-354-5352) and Million
Year Picnic (99 Mt. Auburn St.,
617-492-6763), where you can feed your
superhero fantasies. Recapture your misspent
days in the video game arcade at
Urban Outfitters,
where old school arcade versions of Pac-Man
and Galaga can still be played for a
quarter, and follow it up with a delicious
ice cream sundae at Lizzy’s
(31A Church St., 617-354-2911). Finally, cap
off your afternoon in the company of the
silver screen’s favorite manchild, as the
Brattle Theatre (40
Brattle St., 617-876-6837) hosts 1:30 and
3:30 p.m. screenings of everyone’s
favorite tale of a boy and his bike, Pee
Wee’s Big Adventure.
back to homepage