Know before you go

• Class Day is the day before Commencement.
• Confirm the date and ticket rules on the school's commencement page: guest tickets are often limited.
• Book the celebration dinner when you book the hotel. Every restaurant in town is full that weekend.

Airport to Tercentenary Theatre, Harvard Yard

Logan (BOS) has free Silver Line buses to South Station and the Blue Line subway; downtown is 15 to 30 minutes away.

Red Line to Harvard; Cambridge streets close around the Yard on the day.

Public transport directions to Tercentenary Theatre, Harvard Yard

Where to stay by budget

Three hotels we would book

• Budget: Freepoint Hotel Cambridge
• Mid-range: The Lenox Hotel
• Splurge: Fairmont Copley Plaza

Links search the nights from 26 May to 28 May. Event weekends sell out early and prices rise as the date gets closer: book a cancellable room as soon as you know you are going.

Day plans for the free hours

Built around the usual graduation weekend schedule for Thursday, 27 May 2027. Session times change: check the official timetable and move the blocks around.

Family-friendly picks

• New England Aquarium.
• Museum of Science.
• Boston Children's Museum.

Evening and day-trip tours

After dark

• Fenway bars and Seaport rooftops.

8 tours worth booking for Harvard

Event weeks sell out. Book tours with free cancellation as soon as the session times are published.

Where to eat

• Neptune Oyster Lobster rolls in the North End
• Mike's Pastry Cannoli
• Quincy Market Food hall
• Union Oyster House Oldest restaurant in the US
• Mr. Bartley's Burgers by Harvard Yard

Reserve dinner for the nights around the event: restaurants near the venue fill up days ahead.

Rainy-day backups

• Museum of Fine Arts.
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
• MIT Museum.

Getting around on event days

• MBTA subway (the T) takes contactless; the Green Line serves the marathon finish area.
• The marathon closes streets from Hopkinton to Copley: plan cheering spots near T stations.

Day trips from Boston

• Salem: 30 minutes by train
• Cape Cod: 1.5 hours
• Newport: 1.5 hours

Questions people ask

When is Harvard Commencement 2027?

The next edition is Thursday, 27 May 2027, following the usual pattern. The organiser has not confirmed it yet.

How do I get from the airport to Tercentenary Theatre, Harvard Yard?

Logan (BOS) has free Silver Line buses to South Station and the Blue Line subway; downtown is 15 to 30 minutes away. Red Line to Harvard; Cambridge streets close around the Yard on the day.

Where should I stay for Harvard Commencement?

For most visitors the best base is Back Bay: Walk to the marathon finish and Newbury Street.

What else can we do around Harvard Commencement?

Good short outings in Boston include Freedom Trail walking tour, Harvard campus tour, Whale watching from Boston harbor. See the day plans on this page for a full schedule.

What is there for kids and families near Harvard Commencement?

Family-friendly picks: Freedom Trail walking tour, Harvard campus tour, Whale watching from Boston harbor. New England Aquarium.

How far is Tercentenary Theatre, Harvard Yard from Boston centre?

About 5 km in a straight line. Red Line to Harvard; Cambridge streets close around the Yard on the day.

More events in Boston

More University graduations

Everything we cover in Boston