Visiting Fenway Park with kids is a great activity for all families, not just the die-hard baseball fans. Fenway Park consistently ranks as the top tourist attraction in Boston, and it’s no wonder. Visiting Fenway and enjoying the history of the Boston Red Sox doesn’t have to mean scoring tickets to one of the 81 home games each season, which is good since most of those games end well after those little ones’ bedtimes! Fenway Park Tours offers families a sneak-peek inside America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, showing off parts of Fenway that many fans never see.
Read on to discover how Fenway Park Tours packs a lot of Boston history and Red Sox lore into one tidy, kid-sized hour. For more can’t-miss Boston outings for kids, check out our list of 100 Things To Do in Boston with Kids Before They Grow Up.
Why Fenway Park is an Awesome Family Destination
Fenway Park Tours takes families through the “Sistine Chapel of baseball.” Built in 1912, Fenway Park has a unique layout that is tied to the surrounding neighborhood. The tour guides do a wonderful job of making the history of Fenway Park funny and interesting. Beyond baseball, Fenway Park’s history includes football, hockey, presidential speeches, and rock concerts. Kids will be taken in by the lush grass of the field and the cool sections around the stadium.
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See banners from the 9 (and counting!) World Series titles. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Fenway Park is an awesome family destination because it combines outdoor activity with history and local color. Fenway Park Tours are fun for all sports fans, not just the devoted citizens of Red Sox nation. (But, can you live in Boston and not be part of Red Sox nation? So, I guess I’m saying, even visiting Yankee fans will be interested in the history.)
If your family likes the tour, a baseball game at Fenway Park is always an awesome family excursion. If the kids don’t love the crack of the bat and roar of the crowd, the hot dogs (Fenway Franks) should do the trick.
Must See Things at Fenway Park
Fenway Tours guides families from one piece of sports history to another. The tour starts from the oldest seats in all of baseball and moves to the heights of the Green Monster, the iconic 37-foot left field wall. With seat prices here for a game ranging starting at $300, this might just be your family’s only chance to see the view from here, and the views of the park and the city are pretty amazing from atop the most famous wall in sports.
Music fans will enjoy seeing the tribute to all the concerts Fenway has hosted in the last two decades. Past performers include Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Lady Gaga, and Bruce Springsteen.
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Bet you didn’t expect to find a garden at the park! Fenway Farms photo courtesy of mlb.com
Fenway Farms is a recent addition to Fenway Park. The team has turned a vacant space into a vibrant roof garden. The produce finds its way into both the park menus and into local food pantries.
My son’s favorite part was sitting in the front row of the press box, looking down over home plate as we pretended we were covering a World Series game. The Royal Rooters Club, with its vast collection of memorabilia from Red Sox history, put a walk-off worthy touch to the end of the Fenway Tour.
We also really liked walking the streets around Fenway Park after the tour, so don’t rush home when your tour ends. My son enjoyed seeing the Green Monster towering above Lansdowne Street. The retired numbers, championship banners, and statues of Red Sox legends were also a hit. Of course, the souvenir shop might have been his favorite stop…
Restaurants at Fenway Park
Few concession stands are open hours before game time, but the Fenway neighborhood has many dining options for families looking to get a quick bite. The Cask n Flagon on Brookline Avenue sits in the shadow of the legendary Green Monster. The Cask is a fan favorite, a lively pub with a full kids’ menu.
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Tour before a game or during the off season. Photo by Kayak The Rockies, via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Know Before You Go: Visiting Fenway Park with Kids
Purchase your tickets in advance at the team’s Fenway Park Tours page. Tickets are $25 for adults and $17 for kids 3 – 12 for the standard public tour. Children under three enter for free. A pregame tour is $40 for kids and adults (under 3 is free). Public tours are held daily throughout the year, running on the hour from 9am to 5pm. However, on game days, the last tour departs four hours before games. Pregame tours depart three hours before games.
Fenway Park Tours meet at the Team Store on Jersey Street, across from Fenway Park’s Gate D. Downloading the MLB app can streamline admission for the tour.
Fenway Tours require a bit of walking, but they are fully accessible. Smaller children might struggle with the stairs or the heights of some portions of the tour, so be ready to give them a helping hand!
