Featured image: Charles/MGH station on the MBTA Red Line, across from Massachusetts General Hospital. Photo: Josh Graciano via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Massachusetts General Hospital’s main campus at 55 Fruit St. in Boston’s West End covers nearly 30 buildings, according to Mass General Brigham. Finding the right entrance, garage and visiting rules ahead of time can save patients and families money and stress. This Mass General visitor guide covers transit, 2026 parking rates, visiting hours, interpreters and the Patient Gateway portal, using the hospital’s own published policies as of October 2026.
Getting to Mass General by MBTA
MGH recommends public transportation “whenever possible” because of its daily visitor volume, according to its getting here and parking page. The hospital sits directly across the street from the Charles/MGH stop on the MBTA Red Line. Bowdoin station on the Blue Line and North Station, served by the Green and Orange lines and commuter rail, are a short walk away. Mass Eye and Ear, at 243 Charles St., is next door and served by the same Red Line stop.
Plan for construction on the way in. Work on the new Ragon Building along Cambridge Street brings intermittent sidewalk and lane closures, as described in our update on the MGH Ragon Building project.
Mass General parking rates in 2026
MGH offers patient and visitor parking at four garages: Fruit Street, Parkman Street, Yawkey Center and Charles River Plaza. Valet parking is available at the Wang and Yawkey centers. Rates that took effect Feb. 1, 2026, are:
- Validated (patients and visitors): free for the first 30 minutes, $11 up to 1 hour, $12 for 1 to 2 hours, $14 for 2 to 4 hours, $16 for 4 to 6 hours, $19 for 6 to 8 hours, and $21 for 8 to 24 hours.
- Not validated: $22 up to 1 hour, $36 for 1 to 2 hours, $49 for 2 to 3 hours, and $65 for 3 to 24 hours.
The validation savings are large, so get your ticket stamped. At the Fruit Street, Parkman Street and Yawkey garages, you validate at the cashier in each garage’s ground-floor payment office. There are no cashiers at the exits. The Yawkey cashier is open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The Parkman cashier is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays only, and after hours tickets can be processed at the Fruit Street Garage.
Patients with appointments at 165, 175 or 185 Cambridge St. should use the Charles River Plaza garage, entered at 207 Cambridge St. next to Flour Bakery. You can validate there at the 165 Cambridge St. lobby cashier or the garage cashier office, but not at the exit machines. Cancer Institute patients making repeat visits for chemotherapy or radiation may qualify for discounted parking and should ask their care team. The MGH Parking Office is at 617-726-8886.
One caution: Mass Eye and Ear does not validate parking in Mass General Brigham garages, the system says. Eye and Ear patients should use its Charles Street or Storrow Drive lots.
Visiting hours and rules
Under the Mass General Brigham visitor policy, inpatients may have two visitors at a time from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Support persons for pediatric patients and patients with disabilities have no time restrictions and are counted in addition to those two visitors. Other rules:
- Intensive care units: visiting is allowed 24 hours a day, two at a time.
- Emergency Department: open to visitors 24 hours, with one visitor for adult patients and two for children. Visits may be restricted when the department is busy.
- Labor and delivery: support persons are welcome throughout the stay. Visitors under 18 must be siblings of the infant and accompanied.
- Outpatient practices: one visitor or support person is preferred. MGH’s visiting patients page says up to two may be permitted.
The hospital asks visitors to delay a visit if they have a fever, cough, vomiting or diarrhea, or a new rash with fever. MGH says visitation will not be limited based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Before your appointment: Patient Gateway and interpreters
Mass General Brigham’s portal, Patient Gateway, shows appointment details and offers eCheck-in up to seven days ahead. Patients can update insurance, complete questionnaires and pay co-pays there, according to the system’s plan your visit page. Check in at the front desk on arrival even if you’ve done eCheck-in.
Interpreter services are free, around the clock, for patients and family members. That includes American Sign Language and help for people who are Deaf, DeafBlind or hard of hearing, according to MGB’s language access page. MGB says its interpreters cover more than 300 languages. MGH Interpreter Services can be reached at 617-726-6966; press 6 for a coordinator. The coordinators work 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekends, with Spanish, Portuguese and ASL interpreters on call overnight.
Knowing your rights as a patient
Massachusetts law gives hospital patients specific rights under Chapter 111, Section 70E of the General Laws. They include confidentiality of records, access to your medical records, informed consent, privacy during treatment, prompt life-saving treatment in an emergency, and an itemized bill. To complain about care at a hospital, Mass.gov directs patients to file a complaint with the Department of Public Health, which licenses hospitals. To compare hospital quality ratings, use Medicare’s Care Compare tool.
For more about the hospital, read our guide to Mass General’s history and size and our report on the Mass General Alzheimer’s prevention trial. Policies and rates can change, so confirm with the hospital before you go.
Sources
- Mass General Brigham, Getting Here and Parking
- Mass General Brigham, Visitor Policy
- Mass General Brigham, Language Access Services
- Mass General Brigham, Plan Your Visit
- Mass.gov, M.G.L. c.111 § 70E (patients’ rights)
Additional sources
- MGH, Visiting Patients
- MBTA, Charles/MGH station
- Mass.gov, File a complaint regarding a hospital
- Medicare.gov, Care Compare
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