This page collects The Boston Report’s practical guides for Boston and nearby cities and towns in one place. They cover the rules that change with the seasons, like street cleaning, snow emergencies and holiday trash pickup, along with where to eat and what’s happening across Greater Boston in the months ahead. Each guide links to the official city, town or organizer sources it relies on, and we update them when dates change.
City and town services
These guides explain the 2026-27 rules for parking, snow and trash in each community: when sweeping ends, how snow emergencies are announced, where to park during a ban, and which holidays shift collection days.
- Boston: street cleaning, snow emergencies, discounted garage parking and holiday trash pickup.
- Cambridge: the street-cleaning calendar, snow bans and trash holidays.
- Somerville: street sweeping, snow emergencies and trash holidays.
- Malden: winter parking, snow emergencies and trash holidays.
- Burlington: the winter parking ban, plowing and the trash holiday schedule.
- MBTA: planned service changes and shutdowns this winter, and where to check alerts.
Weather and storms
Our Boston Snow Day & Storm Center shows active National Weather Service alerts for the area and links to every city’s snow emergency, school closing and power outage page, so you can check everything in one place when a storm is coming.
Seasonal guides
From the end of foliage season through Marathon Monday, these guides list confirmed dates, hours and prices. Where an organizer hasn’t announced 2026 details yet, we say so.
- Fall foliage and apple picking: where color remains late in the season, DCR park routes, and orchards in Stow, Ipswich and Peabody.
- Halloween 2026: Boston-area events, Salem dates and getting around on the T.
- Christmas lights: the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, ZooLights at Stone Zoo, La Salette and Edaville.
- Holiday markets and tree lightings: the Boston Common and Copley Square lightings, SoWa and Snowport.
- Hanukkah 2026: candle-lighting times and confirmed public menorah lightings.
- Ice skating: the Frog Pond, Kendall Square and DCR rinks for the 2026-27 season.
- New Year’s Eve and First Night: what’s confirmed, last year’s fireworks, and getting home on the T.
- Boston Marathon 2027 spectator guide: where to watch on April 19, 2027, accessible viewing and the family meeting area.
Where to eat
Our food guides are built from our local business directory and current business listings. They include addresses, phone numbers and hours, which we checked when each guide was published.
- Late-night food in Boston: kitchens open late in Chinatown, Back Bay, Fenway, the South End and Allston.
- Coffee shops in Cambridge: independent cafes across the city.
- Brunch in Somerville: weekend brunch spots and their hours.
- Pizza in Malden: 12 local pizza shops.
- Brookline restaurants: Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village and beyond.
- Newton restaurants: restaurants in each of Newton’s villages.
- Burlington restaurants: from steakhouses to Sichuan.
- Woburn restaurants: local places to eat in Woburn.
- Waltham restaurants: Moody Street and more.
- Lexington restaurants: local dining in Lexington.
Voting and local government
For the Nov. 3, 2026 state election, see our Boston voter guide and the statewide races and ballot questions guide. Background explainers are on How Massachusetts elections work and How to register to vote.
Local business directory
Our local business directory has town pages for Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Newton, Quincy, Malden, Medford, Winchester, Woburn, Burlington, Waltham and Lexington, each listing local shops, services and restaurants.
How we keep these guides current
Seasonal dates, hours and rules come from city and town websites, state agencies such as the MBTA, DCR and the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the organizers of each event. Every guide shows when its information was checked. If you spot something out of date, please let us know through our contact page or see our corrections policy.
Related guides
Sources
- City of Boston
- City of Cambridge
- City of Somerville
- City of Malden
- Town of Burlington
- MBTA
- National Weather Service Boston/Norton
- Featured image: File:Bostonstraight.jpg, Riptor3000 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Featured image: The Boston skyline. Photo: Riptor3000 at English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).