The festivities on the 4th take place on the Esplanade, which is along Storrow Drive. The renowned Boston Pops play the 1812 Overture in the Hatch Shell Memorial, which is at the end of the esplanade closest to downtown. It's not too far from Copley and the Commons, and one can easily walk from many of the hotels to the esplanade and back. The Esplanade gets very crowded on the 4th, and it's hard to actually see the Pops, but they have speakers and large TV screens set up along the grass so revelers are able to hear the music and watch the screens.

Past performers on the 4th have included LeAnne Rhimes and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir one year and David Lee Roth another.  It is recommended to get there early in the day, about noon, and just sit and picnic all day (take along blankets, folding chairs, and food and drinks) to make sure one has a good spot and enough room. There's usually music playing in the speakers and lots of people around, vendors set up, etc. (As a tip, they'll have port-a-potties set up along the esplanade, but if you walk over to the Commons there's a Starbucks there and I've used their facilities on the 4th to avoid having to go in one of the port-a-potties.) The fireworks are set off from barges on the Charles (the Esplanade is a strip of grass that runs between the Charles and Storrow Drive), and one has an excellent view from the grass (just make sure to pick a spot that isn't behind trees).  The city in past years has closed parts of Storrow so people actually walk to and from the esplanade right down the middle of the road.

"Boston is a wonderful place to spend the 4th."  

** Note:  The original information for this thread came from the following forum thread: