Fenway Park Overview

On September 24, 1911, in the swampy Fens section on Boston’s western edge, ground was broken on a new baseball park, part of a new wave of major league venues built with concrete and steel instead of the traditional wood. Just seven months later, on April 20, 1912, the Red Sox opened Fenway Park, debuting its imposing Green Monster wall a mere 300 feet from home plate, built 37 feet high not to make home runs more difficult, but to prevent neighbors from watching games for free. 

What took 209 days to build has endured for more than a century, its seats and quirky sightlines little changed over the decades, its walls and facades covered in a shade of green so iconic that Benjamin Moore named a paint color after it. It is serviced by a subway stop that opened in 1932 and overlooked by a 60-foot Citgo sign that has stood since 1940.

This is Fenway. It’s not just a ballpark, it is living American history, a must-visit for any fan of the game and its stadiums. It is a continuum that runs from the Sultan of Swat to the Splendid Splinter to Big Papi. It’s the Million Dollar Outfield, the Impossible Dream, Carlton Fisk’s home run, 1986, Curt Schilling’s bloody sock. 

And it is bigger than baseball. 

Fenway grew up out of Boston’s landfilled swampland and, all around it, a vibrant and diverse area grew as well, one that has exploded in recent years with new restaurants, bars, living space and energy. The park has undergone facelifts, and recently, ownership has focused on creating a more fan-friendly and accessible experience. We’ll get into all that. 

But the enduring attraction is that Fenway remains mostly unchanged. It was hastily built, with obstructed views, terribly uncomfortable seating and an entirely unnecessary (but undeniably iconic) big seafoam wall that houses an inefficient hand-operated scoreboard. The sun blasts half the seats during summer afternoon games, and the quality of food (though there have been improvements) ranks alongside your average middle-school cafeteria. 

That’s just it, though. That’s why we love it. Fenway is not about what you can buy or how much you spend on tickets or food, it’s about the enduring and shared experience of millions of fans over 120 years who have been in that place. It’s about sitting in the landing spot for Ted Williams’ final home run, while remembering the night that Roger Clemens struck out 20, or the time Pedro Martinez said he’d gladly throw a fastball at Babe Ruth’s backside.

It’s an amazing place in the present with an unparalleled connection to the past. So let’s get you there!

OK, so you’ve decided you’re going to Fenway. Now what? In this five-part guide, we will walk you through every aspect of planning the perfect Boston baseball trip.

1. Travel: How to get to Boston
2. Lodging: Where to stay in Boston 
3. Local Transit: Getting to Fenway and around town
4. Tickets/Seating/Premium: Where to sit, how to buy, and which seats are worth it
5. Gameday: What to do before, during, and after the game

We hope you enjoy our Fenway Park Insider Guide. Please be sure to sign up for our free daily newsletter to keep informed about events, schedules, onsales, ticket deals, and everything else you need to know to plan the best fan experiences.

Why you should visit Fenway Park

Atmosphere

Fenway is in a hip Boston neighborhood where the smell of grilled sweet Italian sausage floods Lansdowne Street, and Jersey Street transforms into a pregame beer garden.

A City Summarized

Cramped, uncomfortable, unaccommodating, loaded with self-importance and proud Irish roots, the park is an awful lot like Bostonians in general – tough to get to know, but once you do, you’ll find we’re easily worth the trouble.

How many games should you see?

If you’ve got three days, three games is strongly recommended. The thing about Fenway is that every section of the park gives you an entirely different experience—a day in the right-field bleachers harassing the visiting relief pitchers in the bullpen is fun in a different way than a day atop the Green Monster, which is itself different from kicking back in a primo infield box seat. It’s almost like visiting three different parks, except you’re getting off at the same Green Line stop. Mix up your pregame and postgame routines, and you can really get the full Fenway in three games.

When should you go to Fenway Park?

Unavoidable Fact: it rains in Boston. It rains in April, and it rains in October, and it rains during every month in between. So, if you want to eliminate the risk of a rainout during your Fenway trek… well, you can’t. Bring an umbrella and a poncho because the Red Sox will always do their best to play through precipitation.

Generally speaking, July, August and September are the driest months, but 2023 was the second-wettest July on record so we refer you back to the Unavoidable Fact.

April is a good time to come if you’re looking for bargain tickets and can put up with some chill—the lows often get into the 40s, which is enough to keep less hearty fans away. Temperature-wise, May and June are ideal, not too hot (average high is 66 in May and 76 in June) nor too cool (50 is the average May low, and 60 in June). July and August give you the ideal summer ballgame feel, but be aware that there are sections around the park that are especially uncomfortable when it’s hot and sunny. (Fear not, we’ll cover that.)

Where is Fenway Park located?

Fenway is located in Boston’s Kenmore Square neighborhood, near the city’s northwestern edge. It is inhabited by a mix of monied Bostonians, students from Northeastern and Boston University, as well as the bohemians of the nearby prestigious Berklee College of Music. It is a mere two safe and walkable miles from the city’s downtown and is best accessed by foot, by riding the Green Line subway or, ideally, some combination of the two. 

Fenway can be accessed by car, too, and has an exit off of Storrow Drive, one of Boston’s main thoroughfares. It is visible from Interstate 90 (we call it the Mass Pike in these parts) as well, making a drive to the ballpark appear to be a sensible option. But expensive parking, a confusing city layout, relentless one-way streets and notably aggressive Massachusetts drivers should make the use of public transport or rideshares much, much more appealing.

About your Fenway Park Insider

Welcome to Boston! I am Sean, an area native, and happy to help you navigate this beautiful, walkable and very confusing little city and its ancient, hallowed, amazing ballpark. I am a sportswriter by trade, but a Red Sox fan by nature—for me, there is no better sound/smell combination than one of the sausage cart guys on Lansdowne Street shouting “Shweeet Italians heeee-ahh!” amid wisps of grease-and-fennel steam. I was hooked from early on, and played second base as a kid mostly because Marty Barrett was my baseball crush. I was raised to recite the litany of Red Sox heartbreaks—“Pesky held the ball!” in 1946, Ed Armbrister interfered in 1975, Bucky $%&#ing Dent, Bill Buckner’s ankles—that preceded 2004. 

I am a denizen of the right-field bleachers or the left-field grandstand, and the park’s recent attempts to up its food game still can’t compete with the street meat you can find outside the park. There’s a wealth of little secrets hidden in this park, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you here.

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We hope you enjoy this insider look at Fenway Park.