North End – Eat. Drink. Laugh. A LOT.

The North End has everything I love, tons of Italian restaurants and bakeries, red wine and a comedy club. My itinerary will fill you up and make you laugh, just make sure to leave room for dessert!

Late Afternoon – Walk to the North End via Greenway or Waterfront
Evening – Dinner at Lucca followed by dessert at Mike’s Pastry
Late Night – Improv Asylum

Late Afternoon – Walk to the North End via Greenway or Waterfront

Beautiful view along the Greenway

Easily accessible by the green or orange line, the North End is a great place to walk around and check out the small shops and historic background. Now that the weather is starting to cooperate, take the train to South Station or Government Center and walk along the waterfront or through the Rose Kennedy Greenway on your way to the North End. You better get your exercise in now, because the rest of my itinerary will have you running to the gym in the morning.

Evening – Dinner at Lucca followed by dessert at Mike’s Pastry

Chocolate chip cannolis, my favorite!

I can honestly say that Italian food is my favorite type of food. There is nothing better than carbs soaked in garlic washed down with some red wine. When visiting the North End, a staple of mine is Lucca. It is one of the North End’s most popular restaurants.

After you have stopped stuffing your face with bread, olive oil and Lucca’s sweet potato ravioli, walk it off so you can truly enjoy what Mike’s Pastry’s has to offer. As mentioned in Mihaela’s post, yes, the long lines can be intimidating, however I always tell myself it is WELL worth the wait when you get that chocolate chip cannoli in your hands.

Some restaurants can be a mob scene (no pun intended) around dinner time in the North End. Be sure to plan ahead and make a reservation at Lucca so that you don’t have to wait forever!

Late Night – Improv Asylum

Be prepared to laugh!

I LOVE to laugh. Every once in a while I enjoy visiting one of Boston’s many comedy clubs, the Improv Asylum. It is located at the beginning of Hanover Street and whenever I am in the North End, I make sure to catch a show. The great thing about the Improv is the variety of shows and the times they offer. They conveniently have shows before & after dinner and even late night if you want to stumble in with a good buzz. The raunchy humor is not for everyone, but it is definitely worth adding to your North End agenda.

I hope you enjoyed my recommendations for an afternoon and evening in Boston’s historic North End. If you didn’t see something that would suite your interests, please reference Alex or Mihael’s posts for other great things to do in the area!

Ciao!

Diana – I enjoy spending as much time outside as possible even if that means finding a bar with a roof deck. I am always up for a challenge, whether it’s hiking a mountain, bowling or singing karaoke in front of complete strangers, I will do it. As long as the day involves a glass of wine, family or friends and a good laugh at the end of it, it’s alright in my book.