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

12.07.2024 - 20:17 / cntraveler.com

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.

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.

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