Where to meet up in Harvard Square

People walking and sitting along a brick sidewalk lined with shops in Harvard Square, Cambridge — Shops and a small plaza in Harvard Square. Photo by John Phelan (CC BY 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Harvard Square is where Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and JFK Street meet, beside Harvard Yard in Cambridge. Bookshops, cafes, restaurants and bars fill the blocks around it. It suits a coffee catch-up, a casual dinner, or a walk to the Charles River with friends coming from Cambridge, Somerville or the towns to the west.

Places that work as a meeting point:

the Harvard station entrance in the middle of the square
the gates of Harvard Yard on Massachusetts Avenue
Brattle Street, which runs west from the square
the riverbank along Memorial Drive, at the bottom of JFK Street

Getting around

Harvard is on the Red Line. Park Street is four stops south, after Central, Kendall/MIT and Charles/MGH. To the north, the Red Line goes on to Porter, Davis and Alewife.
Many bus routes stop at Harvard station. They include the 66 to Nubian Station, the 71 to Watertown Square, the 77 to Arlington Heights, the 86 to Reservoir and the 96 to Medford Square.

The Red Line keeps the typical subway hours in the MBTA's subway guide. That's 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Thursday, 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday. Anyone who changes to another line downtown should reach Park Street or Downtown Crossing by 12:35 a.m. Sunday to Thursday, or by 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, to make the last connections.