Boston life · Citywide

It's Pouring. Here's Your Boston Plan B.

Museums, a glass globe you can stand inside, food halls, candlepins and old movie houses: the indoor Boston plans worth getting a little damp for.

By Fun Boston Published 6 min read

Boston in the rain is still Boston, just with fewer people pretending they don't own an umbrella. Below are indoor plans that are actually fun, each with a price, the T stop and one tip.

The single best tip: if you only do one weird thing, make it the Mapparium. It's $6, free for kids, and nothing else in town feels like it.

The big museums (worth the ticket)

Museum of Fine Arts

Big, easy to lose an afternoon in, and open until 10 pm Thursday and Friday per the MFA's visit page. It's closed Tuesdays.

$30 adults, $14 ages 7–17, free under 7 (as of Sept. 2026) · Museum of Fine Arts (Green Line E) · 10 am–5 pm most days, till 10 pm Thu–Fri

Tip: students from participating colleges get in free with ID, and every third Thursday after 5 pm is pay-what-you-wish ($5 minimum).

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

An art-packed house built around a courtyard with changing plant displays. On a gray day, that courtyard is basically a vacation.

$25 adults, $22 seniors, $15 students, free 17 and under (as of Sept. 2026) · Longwood Medical Area (Green Line E), 4-min walk · Hours: see site

Tip: the Gardner's visit page says it's free for everyone Thursdays 5–9 pm. And anyone named Isabella gets in free for life (reservations required). Yes, really.

Museum of Science

The family rainy-day default, for good reason. The Blue Wing is under renovation, but the museum stays open during the work, with some exhibits closed.

$33 adults, $28 ages 3–11, $29 seniors 60+ (as of Sept. 2026) · Science Park (Green Line D/E) · 9 am–5 pm daily

Tip: those are exhibit hall prices. Decide on extras before you're at the counter with a sticky seven-year-old.

New England Aquarium

Sea creatures on the waterfront, which you'll appreciate more from inside today.

$39.95 adults, $30.95 ages 3–11, $37.95 seniors 60+ (as of Sept. 2026) · Aquarium (Blue Line), about 100 yards away · 9 am–5 pm weekdays, 9 am–6 pm weekends

Tip: the ticket page says it often sells out on weekends. Buy ahead. New England residents get $5 off, with blackout dates.

Smaller, stranger and cheaper

The Mapparium

A three-story glass globe you stand inside, showing the world as it was in 1935, with a light-and-sound presentation. It's part of the "How Do You See the World?" experience at the Christian Science Plaza.

$6 adults, free 0–17 (as of Sept. 2026) · 210 Massachusetts Ave., near Prudential (Green Line E) · Mon–Sat 10 am–5 pm, Sun 11 am–5 pm

Tip: it's a timed ticket, and weekend afternoon tickets (1–5 pm) are sold onsite only. Photos are OK, but recording the globe presentation isn't.

Harvard Museum of Natural History

The big draw is the Glass Flowers, the Blaschka glass models of plants. Yes, glass. They look alarmingly real.

$20 adults, $18 seniors, $15 students and ages 3–18 (as of Sept. 2026) · 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, off Harvard (Red Line) · 9 am–5 pm daily

Tip: Massachusetts residents get in free Sunday mornings 9 am–noon and Wednesdays 3–5 pm, with proof of residency. It's free for all on Oct. 12, 2026.

Boston Public Library, Central Library

Free, gorgeous and dry. Wander, find a quiet corner and check out the Leventhal Map & Education Center.

Free · 700 Boylston St., Copley (Green Line) · Mon–Thu 9 am–8 pm, Fri–Sat 9 am–5 pm, Sun 11 am–5 pm (as of Sept. 2026)

Tip: free art and architecture tours run weekly; register in advance. Closed Oct. 12.

Eat your way through it: food halls and markets

Boston Public Market

An indoor, year-round market with 30-plus New England farmers, fishers and food makers under one roof. Good for grazing, better for going home with too much cheese.

Pay as you go · 100 Hanover St., Haymarket (Orange/Green Line) · Sun–Tue 8 am–6 pm, Wed–Sat 8 am–8 pm (as of Sept. 2026)

Time Out Market Boston

Yes, still open in 2026: a Fenway food hall with 14 eateries and two bars, including Ms. Clucks Deluxe, Cusser's Roast Beef & Seafood and Union Square Donuts, per Time Out's market page.

Pay as you go · 401 Park Dr., next to Fenway (Green Line D) · Mon–Thu 8:30 am–10 pm, Fri 8:30 am–11 pm, Sat 9 am–11 pm, Sun 9 am–10 pm (as of Sept. 2026)

Tip: individual kitchen hours vary, so don't show up at 8:31 am craving roast beef.

Quincy Market

The classic, with over 25 local eateries per Faneuil Hall Marketplace. It's touristy, and on a wet day everyone had the same idea, so go early.

Pay as you go · Government Center, State or Haymarket · Mon–Sat 10 am–9 pm, Sun 11 am–7 pm (as of Sept. 2026; restaurant hours may vary)

Candlepin bowling: the most Boston thing you can do indoors

Candlepin is New England's small-ball, skinny-pin bowling. You'll be bad at it. Everyone is. That's the fun.

Sacco's Bowl Haven at American Flatbread

A 1939 candlepin alley in Davis Square, now paired with American Flatbread's pizza. Their line: "It's not condos, it's candlepins."

$39 per lane per hour, plus $4 shoes (as of Sept. 2026) · 45 Day St., Somerville, Davis (Red Line) · Restaurant hours: Mon–Thu noon–10 pm, Fri noon–11 pm, Sat 10 am–11 pm, Sun 10 am–10 pm

Tip: per the bowling reservations page, lanes fit 5–6 people and there's a two-hour max. Reserve if you can; walk-in-only lanes go first come, first served.

Movies in real old theaters

Coolidge Corner Theatre

A nonprofit, independent movie house with six screens, open since 1933. October brings its Prints of Darkness horror series, per the Coolidge's homepage.

$17 adults, $15 matinees before 3 pm, seniors and kids 12 and under (as of Sept. 2026) · 290 Harvard St., Brookline, Coolidge Corner (Green Line C) · See showtimes

Tip: Thursday senior matinees are $9, per the ticket prices page.

Brattle Theatre

A Harvard Square repertory house since 1953: classics, foreign films, art-house picks and themed series.

$15.50 general, $13.50 students, seniors, kids under 12 and shows before 5 pm; double features $19.50 (as of Sept. 2026) · 40 Brattle St., Harvard (Red Line) · See calendar

Tip: a double feature is the ultimate rainy-day move. One ticket, zero weather.

Cozy bookstores for the drizzle

Harvard Book Store

An independent bookstore with new, used and remaindered books and a busy author-events calendar.

Free to browse · 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Harvard (Red Line) · Mon–Sat 9 am–10 pm, Sun 10 am–9 pm (as of Sept. 2026)

Tip: pair it with the Brattle, also in Harvard Square.

Trident Booksellers & Cafe

A Newbury Street bookstore with a full cafe inside, so you can browse, eat, and browse again.

Free to browse · 338 Newbury St., Back Bay · Open daily 8 am–10 pm (as of Sept. 2026)

Getting around this week

Heads up: per the MBTA's Green Line alerts, there are no trains between North Station and Babcock St, Kenmore and Heath St through Oct. 4, 2026, with shuttles and the Orange Line filling in. That hits the MFA, Copley and Prudential stops, and Symphony is closed long-term. Add 20 minutes, or pick a Red or Blue Line spot. A subway ride is $2.40 as of Sept. 2026.

The short version

  • Best for kids: Museum of Science for energy-burning, the Aquarium for serious fish-staring. Buy ahead either way.
  • Best cheap: the Boston Public Library (free) plus the Mapparium ($6, free for kids).
  • Best free night out: the Gardner, free Thursdays 5–9 pm.
  • Best date: a Brattle double feature, then browsing Harvard Book Store till close.
  • Most Boston: candlepins at Sacco's. You will lose to someone who swears they've never played.
  • Best for grazing: Boston Public Market or Time Out Market, depending on which side of town you're stuck on.

Sources

Prices, hours and schedules change. Tap through to the official source before you go, and if we got something wrong, tell us. We log every fix on our corrections page.

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