Brookline

Brookline is a primarily residential, although fairly high density, suburb of Boston. It has several interesting neighborhoods to visit, and two National Historic Sites.

Understand
Brookline is nearly surrounded by the City of Boston, and borders six of its neighborhoods.

Coolidge Corner: Anchored by the SS Pierce building, this shopping area is without a doubt the most busy and bustling corner of Brookline. Here you will find the highest concentration of shops, restaurants, along with the requisite traffic of course! Continue north on Harvard Street (towards Allston) to find the densest strip of Kosher restaurants and Jewish traditions in the city. If you visit one place in Brookline it will be Coolidge Corner.

Brookline Village: A somewhat sleepier historic area lined with many shops and restaurants. The only happening part of Brookline not along Beacon Street, it succeeds mostly due to the T stop. Although its great location between Longwood Medical in the Fenway and south of Coolidge Corner along Harvard Street doesn't hurt either.

Washington Square: A few stops further outbound from Coolidge Corner, Washington Square plays host to a variety of local shops, swanky restaurants, and popular taverns. Often overshadowed by its bigger brother up Beacon Street, don't overlook it. More and more offbeat and original businesses are choosing to call Washington Square home.

Putterham Circle: A variety of shops, including market, restaurants, bank, hair salon, gift shop, Starbucks, and others. Without train access, this location has a different feeling than the others listed here. For those without cars looking to get here, look to catch the #51 Bus from Cleveland Circle.

Get in
Since it's so tightly connected with Boston, please refer to the Get In and Get Around sections of the Boston article to familiarize yourself with the basics.

By public transit
In terms of the number of T stops, it's probably the best-connected to downtown of any area outside of the City of Boston. Brookline is served by the MBTA Green Line light rail. The Green Line has four branches: two of them serve Brookline.


 * C branch: All stops after Kenmore are in Brookline, except for the final stop Cleveland Circle.
 * D branch: The Brookline Village, Brookline Hills, Beaconsfield, and Reservoir stops are in Brookline.

The B branch doesn't enter Brookline proper, but its stops on Commonwealth Ave. are all within blocks of Brookline.

The following Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus routes are in Brookline:


 * 66: At Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village. Runs up and down Harvard Street and continues north to Allston in Boston and Harvard Square in Cambridge.
 * 65: Is less frequent, goes through Brookline Village and Washington Square and continues north to Brighton Center in Boston.
 * 60: Goes Along Highway 9 (Boylston Street) and Cypress Street. Goes through Brookline Village.  Continues west to Chestnut Hill Mall, and East to Kenmore Square.
 * 51: Goes from Cleveland Circle into South Brookline and continues Forest Hills MBTA station in Jamaica Pond in Boston.
 * 86: Goes from Cleveland Circle north into Brighton Center and Harvard Square.

By car
Cars and Brookline, like most of Boston and its immediate suburbs, do not mix perfectly. One thing to be aware of is that there is generally no overnight parking on streets; those cars on streets after 2AM (11PM in some areas) will be ticketed... seriously! There is also a two-hour parking limit, which is not as strictly enforced. (But wouldn't you know it, your car will be the one that gets ticketed.)


 * Parking

Eat
The stretch of Harvard Street between Comm and Beacon is a heavily Jewish neighborhood; the majority of kosher restaurants in the Greater Boston area can be found here. Remember, Kosher restaurants are closed Friday night and only open late Saturday night (if at all) due to the Jewish Sabbath. Some restaurants in the area might just join the crowd and go Kosher, like the ice cream shop J.P. Licks, for example.

Go next

 * You almost can't help but cross the border into Allston and all the great bars and restaurants therein.
 * Ride the C line downtown and tour some of Boston's famous colonial architecture on the Freedom Trail.
 * There's not much in the way of museums here, head to Fenway and visit The Museum of Fine Arts on Huntington Ave.
 * Want to keep it green? Don't miss the Arnold Arboretum in adjacent Jamaica Plain.
 * Head across the river and spend some time in Harvard Square. Located within another of Boston's great neighbors, Cambridge.