Touring Fenway Park
Get to know America’s oldest ballpark
Fenway Park, built in 1912, is the oldest major league park in the country. Fans can see the ins and outs of the historic venue by taking one of many guided tours offered by the Red Sox. Photo courtesy of the Red Sox Media Relations
With the Red Sox currently duking it out with archrival New York Yankees for first place in the American League East, scoring a ticket to a Fenway Park game is tough. But fans who can’t get a ticket can still visit the ballpark with a guided tour that offers a fascinating overview of the country’s oldest major league ballpark (opened in 1912).
Tours are held daily, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on non-game days and 9 a.m. until three hours before the first pitch when the Red Sox are in town, as they are today, hosting the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:10 p.m. So the last tour leaves at 4 p.m.
The hour-long tour focuses on the history of the team and the ballpark. Visitors will learn what makes Fenway unique, about baseball’s oldest manual scoreboard, view the lone red seat in the right field bleachers section 42 commemorating Ted Williams’ 502-foot home run in 1946, and sit in the park’s oldest seats, dating from 1934 (the original left-field wooden bleachers burned down in 1928), and in the park’s famous Green Monster (at 37 feet, 2 inches, the highest wall in baseball) seats. You’ll also stroll down a hallway showcasing pictures of the 10 most memorable moments in Red Sox history and meander through the Budweiser Right Field Roof Deck before ending the tour at the Fenway Archive, a room displaying baseballs, bats, and uniforms used by the team over the decades.
Spanish and Japanese bilingual tours are available upon request.
For those in a hurry, the Red Sox also offer a Fenway in Fifteen experience on weekends and game days, where visitors are escorted to the Right Field Roof Deck for a quick photo op and some amazing views of the Boston skyline. The tour departs every 15 minutes from Gate B from noon to 3 p.m., noon to four hours prior to first pitch on game days.
Die-hard fans will want to sign up for Fenway’s special pregame tours, three hours before a home game starts. In addition to all of the features of the regular tours, fans get to visit the warning track and watch a Red Sox batting practice.
Note to fans: the Fenway Park tours are very popular so it’s best to buy tickets in advance, either at the stadium or online. And while everyone is welcome regardless of what team they root for, don’t be surprised if your guide pokes a little good-natured fun at the non–Red Sox fans on the tour.
Tours are held daily on the hour from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on nongame days and from 9 a.m. until three hours before the time of a home game. Find prices and directions and buy tickets here. Tickets can also be purchased at the Gate D ticket booth, at the corner of Yawkey Way and Van Ness Street. Tickets for the day of a tour are first-come, first-served.
This story was updated June 18, 2017.
Taylor Raglin can be reached at traglin@bu.edu.
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