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The best things to do in Boston's South End are the Sunday SoWa Open Market (May to mid-November), the SoWa galleries' First Friday open studios, dinner on Tremont Street, Washington Street or Columbus Avenue, and live music at Wally's Cafe Jazz Club or The Beehive. In between, walk the side streets: the South End is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the largest Victorian brick rowhouse district in the United States.
The South End is not South Boston. It sits between Back Bay and Roxbury, and the Orange Line and the Silver Line along Washington Street are the ways in by T.
SoWa: the Sunday market, First Fridays and the holiday market
SoWa, short for South of Washington, is the arts district of studios, galleries and shops along Harrison Avenue. Its Sunday market, the SoWa Open Market, runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Sunday from May 3 to November 15, 2026, in the lot at 500 Harrison Avenue and along pedestrian-only Thayer Street. Entry is free, and the organizers count more than 250 artisans, food trucks and farmers. The market says it is a 10-minute walk or less from Back Bay and Tufts Medical Center stations on the Orange Line.
On the first Friday of every month, SoWa's artists, galleries and showrooms open their doors in the evening. Two galleries to look for: the member-run Boston Sculptors Gallery at 486 Harrison Avenue and Kingston Gallery at 450 Harrison Avenue. In winter the SoWa Christmas Market moves indoors to the SoWa Power Station from November 20 to December 27, 2026.
Where to eat in the South End
| Restaurant | What it is | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Toro | Ken Oringer's Barcelona-style tapas bar, open since 2005 | 1704 Washington St. |
| SRV | Venetian-style bacaro: cicchetti, fresh pasta, risotto | 569 Columbus Ave. |
| Mistral | French Mediterranean dinner since 1997 | 223 Columbus Ave. |
| 311 Omakase | Sushi counter with one MICHELIN Star | 605 Tremont St. |
| Flour Bakery + Cafe | Bakery and cafe | 1595 Washington St. |
Book ahead at all four dinner spots: Toro and Mistral take reservations on OpenTable, SRV opens bookings 28 days out on Resy, and 311 Omakase was the only Boston restaurant to receive a star in the MICHELIN Guide's first Boston selection.
Live music: Wally's and The Beehive
Wally's Cafe Jazz Club, behind a red door at 427 Massachusetts Avenue, has had live music every night since it opened on New Year's Day 1947 and calls itself the first nightclub in New England owned by a Black man. It takes no reservations. Jam sessions run Tuesday to Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m., and the night set from 10 p.m. to midnight.
The Beehive, inside the Boston Center for the Arts complex at 541 Tremont Street, has live music every day, from jazz and blues to bluegrass on Monday Night Hoedowns, with no cover; it adds an optional 7% entertainment fee during performances and has live-music brunch on weekends.
Theater and art at the Boston Center for the Arts
The Boston Center for the Arts at 539 Tremont Street is the South End's arts campus: theater in its Plaza theatres, exhibitions in the Mills Gallery, and events in the Cyclorama.
Walking the brownstone streets
The South End Historical Society, founded in 1966, documented the neighborhood for its National Register listing and says the neighborhood also has the largest collection of cast iron in the United States. The city made the South End a Boston Landmark District in 1983. Small parks such as Titus Sparrow Park on West Rutland Square break up the rows, and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross stands at 1400 Washington Street.
For a newer side of the neighborhood, Underground at Ink Block, at 90 Traveler Street, is a public space known for its mural project.
Shopping in the South End
Beyond the SoWa market, the South End's shops are small and independent. Tadpole at 58 Clarendon Street has sold baby and toddler gear, clothes, toys and books since 2006 and is open Tuesday to Saturday.
Getting to the South End
By T, use the Orange Line to Back Bay or Massachusetts Avenue, or the Silver Line along Washington Street: the SL4 stops at Washington and East Berkeley Streets near SoWa, and Worcester Square is the stop for Toro. On Sundays, street and metered parking in Boston is free, according to the SoWa market, and nearby SoWa lots charge $10 cash.
More ideas: things to do in Boston this weekend, things to do in neighboring Back Bay and date ideas in Boston.
Sources: SoWa Open Market; SoWa First Fridays; SoWa Christmas Market; Boston Sculptors Gallery; MICHELIN Guide, 311 Omakase; South End Historical Society; Boston Center for the Arts; Underground at Ink Block. Checked October 1, 2026.