Lansdowne Street

This stretch of clubs, bars, and restaurants across from Fenway Park is Boston's one-stop destination for a rowdy night on the town. Inside the walls of Fenway (with a public entrance on the Lansdowne Street side) is the Bleacher Bar with a decent beer selection and pub grub, and a giant window overlooking center field. The rock club Bill's Bar features local indie and touring rock, metal, and reggae bands, and the House of Blues complex offers large and small stages as well as a less-well-known bar and restaurant, the Front Room, with live music and no admission charge. If you prefer a quieter night and local beer, hit Boston Beer Works a reliable microbrew with decent bar food (try the sweet-potato fries) near the corner of Lansdowne and Brookline Avenue. When deeper hunger strikes, look to celebrity chef Ken Oringer's taqueria, La Verdad for surprisingly authentic Mexican fare (tripe and tongue tacos, even) and huge plastic jugs of aguas frescas. End the night shooting billiards or bowling frames at the multilevel Jillian's entertainment complex alongside a nattily dressed college crowd. Jillian's has a strict dress code Friday and Saturday nights after 8 pm: no athletic wear or sleeveless shirts.

Photograph courtesy of La Verdad