Where to Watch the Boston 4th of July Fireworks in 2024

Getty

There are two things that matter most in Boston: summer and celebrating freedom. Naturally, Independence Day and the enjoyment of fireworks are tentpoles of any Bostonian’s summer plans.

Each July 4th, the city swells with activity: residents take to their roof decks, suburbanites ride the commuter rail into town to gather on the banks of the Charles River, and travelers from around the world come to catch a glimpse of this waterfront celebration of music and pyrotechnics that has enchanted our fair city for the last five decades. Whether you’re a seasoned local or a first-time visitor, here are the best places to watch Boston’s 4th of July fireworks in 2024, as well as the events where you're bound to find the crowds, the drinks, and the air of patriotism simply intoxicating.

The Charles River Esplanade

Watching the fireworks from the Esplanade—roughly between the Museum of Science down to the Boston University Bridge—is a quintessential Boston experience, although not suggested for the agoraphobic. Everybody else needs to go straight into the belly of the beast at least once: gates open at the Hatch Shell’s lawn at 9 a.m. (and lawn space fills up notoriously quickly) and the fireworks kick off at 10:30 p.m. If reserved seating is more your vibe, get a ticket to Community Boating’s annual SAILabration fundraiser, the only event that offers reserved seating on the Esplanade on July 4. It will cost you $100 per adult and $75 per child, but that price includes plenty of space to stretch your legs, as well as unlimited water and seltzer from Massachusetts’ popular Polar Seltzer, and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream to beat the heat, so the cost of admission basically pays for itself.

Rolling with a 21+ crew? The Esplanade's Night Shift Beer Garden is a prime spot from which to view the fireworks and throw back a few craft brews. If you’re spending the day out with your pets, this could also be a good spot for your four-legged friends: it's one of the few outdoor bars in the city that allows dogs. Night Shift will offer extended hours from noon until 10 p.m. on July 4th, and will be debuting two new tipples: Firecracker American Lager and Daiquiri Sour, a strawberry daiquiri sour ale brewed with real strawberries. The sprawling space accommodates 400 people at a time and doesn’t require tickets for admission.

Nearby, the Liberty, a Luxury Collection Hotel is just across the street from the Esplanade and where the fireworks will be visible from the second and third floor catwalks that line the hotel’s cavernous lobby, which will be newly open to the public this year. Reservations aren’t required, but are highly recommended—especially if you want to score one of chef Lydia Shire’s signature lobster pizzas at Scampo afterwards.

From the water

Don’t forget that this is a coastal city with watercraft abound. Each Independence Day, the Charles River chokes with anchored boats awaiting the evening’s fireworks. But if you can’t simply score an invite on a friend’s boat, a rented kayak will do just fine: Beloved outfitter Paddle Boston’s launch location in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, just across the river from the Hatch Shell, is an easy five-minute row to the heart of the action. If they don’t have availability when you go to book, look into renting from the Boston location on Soldier’s Field Road—just be ready for a work out, as opting for this location involves about a one-hour paddle each way for the best vantage point. If being chauffeured around is more your speed than doing the paddling yourself, the Charles Riverboat Company is doing a rain-or-shine sunset sailing aboard the Lexington, from 6:45 p.m. to 11 p.m. Kick back and relax while enjoying an open bar, a dessert buffet, and an unbeatable view of the fireworks over the city’s skyline. Tickets are $250 and can be purchased via phone.

And if they’re sold out (which they usually are) there are tons–and we mean tons–of other opportunities to get on a boat for the 4th this year. Boston Harbor City Cruises will offer a dinner cruise on the Harbor side of the city (not the Charles River side)–and while you may not be right under the fireworks, it will still be possible to catch glimpses of them as you take in the city lights. For a more historic outing earlier in the day, City Cruises also offers an excellent daytime lunch cruise that brings you by several of the city’s most popular landmarks, and offers a waterfront view of the USS Constitution’s annual turnaround (once a year, she leaves her port in Charlestown to sail to South Boston, turn around, and come back).

Another pro tip for seeing fireworks from the water in Boston on the 4th–several operators offer tours to nearby Winthrop, located just across Boston Harbor from downtown, which offers a slightly smaller-scale yet infinitely less chaotic display. The Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships will set sail one of its gorgeous schooners from Fan Pier in the Seaport District to make the short trek across the water in time for the fireworks in Winthrop. The cheeky Tiki Boat Boston (a decidedly boozier, more adult-centric offering) also has some sailings available still.

For an even more turnkey experience, Martignetti Hospitality Group (of popular Woburn restaurant Sogno, twelve miles north of Boston) just launched Sogno-at-Sea, a 60-foot Azimut Yacht available for private charters complete with caviar, champagne, serving staff and all the lite bites you can handle. It’ll set you back $7,500 for twenty-five guests, but for some you can't really put a price on having your own sunset charter under Boston’s most iconic fireworks display.

From the sky

Forr something a little more… elevated, View Boston, an observation deck that occupies the top three floors of the Prudential Tower, is offering a special adults-only July 4th viewing party. The $75 tickets grant access to both indoor and outdoor views—making this a great option in case of inclement weather—and includes two drink tickets. Regular everyday admission starts at $29.99 per adult, so the inclusion of two drinks on Boston’s biggest night (not to mention golden hour admission to the city’s most coveted Instagram spot of the moment, without any errant toddlers ruining your shot) makes this a pretty sweet deal.

From Cambridge, Charlestown, and remotely

The classic spot from which to watch the fireworks in Cambridge is the grassy quadrangle at MIT, where a giant screen live-streams the Boston Pops concert. The view from this side of the river—with the city skyline in the background and more sweeping vantage points over the Charles River—might just beat being on the Esplanade itself.

For something with more local flavor, head across the Charles over to Charlestown, the oldest neighborhood in Boston—also known as “The Town”—where The Anchor, a sprawling waterfront beer garden, offers plenty of space to move around and a clear line of sight to the fireworks barge. And if you’d rather catch the fireworks from the comfort of your own home, tune in on Bloomberg TV, or WHDH Channel 7.

Before the 4th

You didn’t think just one night of festivities would be enough for Boston, did you? Locals know that the real party begins in the days leading up to the 4th–specifically with Boston Harborfest, one of the largest Independence Day festivals of its kind in the country. The good times begin on the 1st, with several days of Revolutionary War reenactments, free clam chowder tastings (while supplies last), face painting and balloon art for kids, live music, and more. Don’t miss the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum’s annual “Revelry on Griffin’s Wharf” event, where guests will have access to replicas of the 18-century vessels present at the original Boston Tea Party, and also be able to throw tea crates themselves into Boston Harbor.

And if you aren’t able to make the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular held over the Charles River on the actual 4th, locals know that the Boston Harborfest Fireworks on July 2nd are just as grandiose. And since they’re held over the Inner Harbor, Harborfest’s fireworks can be enjoyed from a wider spread of vantage points, which means (marginally) less hectic crowds. For the best lookouts, check out Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park in the North End, Rowes Wharf by the Boston Harbour Hotel, or head across the water to East Boston, where the best spots include LoPresti Park or Griffin’s Wharf–or better yet, the covered patio at MIDA’s East Boston location, where you can snack on spritzes and charcuterie from the comfort of their covered outdoor patio. City Cruises will also offer a front-row experience to the Harborfest fireworks on July 2nd–where it will be possible to get much closer to the action on the water than on the 4th itself.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler