The best things to do in Boston this week: August 3-7

Everyone has that running list of Boston restaurants they've been meaning to try. Dine Out Boston is usually the excuse to stop putting it off. For two weeks, restaurants across the city roll out special prix fixe menus, making it a little easier to book the places you've been eyeing or revisit an old favorite without committing to the full menu. Some spots use the occasion to showcase signature dishes, while others see it as a chance to surprise first-time diners who'll inevitably come back. The fun is figuring out where to go before everyone else has the same idea. If there's a restaurant that's been sitting in your bookmarks for months, consider this your sign to finally book the table.

For two nights, Gillette Stadium belongs to ARMY. BTS makes its long-awaited return to the stage with its first-ever shows at the Foxborough venue, bringing the kind of spectacle that's as much about the crowd as the performers themselves. Expect fan chants that shake the stadium, synchronized light sticks that transform the stands into a sea of purple and a production built around a massive 360-degree stage, so there's hardly a bad view in the house. Even if you've never been to a K-pop concert before, this is one of those rare pop culture moments that's impossible to ignore—and unforgettable if you're lucky enough to be there.

Franz Ferdinand’s knack for turning sharp guitar riffs into instant earworms has always set them apart, but catching them live is a different beast entirely. This isn’t nostalgia for the early 2000s—though you’ll probably hear “Take Me Out” sung by a crowd that knows every word. The band’s Boston stop lands at a moment when their catalog feels both familiar and surprisingly fresh, with new arrangements and a setlist that skips the autopilot greatest-hits routine. If you’ve seen them before, you know they don’t coast; if you haven’t, expect a tight, high-energy show that’s more about the music than the spectacle. The venue’s size means you’re close enough to catch every sly grin and syncopated stomp. It’s a rare chance to see a band that still plays like they have something to prove, even after all these years.

Sunset Boulevard isn’t just another big-ticket musical—it’s a rare chance to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s noir masterpiece up close, where every glance and whispered threat lands with real weight. The Rockwell’s intimate stage strips away the usual spectacle, letting Norma Desmond’s delusions and Joe Gillis’s desperation feel uncomfortably close. This production leans into the story’s shadows, making the audience complicit in Hollywood’s twisted glamour. The score’s lushness is still here, but it’s the psychological tension that lingers. If you’ve only seen the film or a touring version, this is a different beast: raw, unsettling, and surprisingly funny in its darkest moments. It’s not about nostalgia for old Hollywood—it’s about the cost of chasing relevance, and the way ambition warps everything it touches. You’ll leave humming, but also a little haunted.

A lot of wine classes lean heavily on prestige bottles or technical jargon. This one takes a more useful approach by asking a simple seasonal question: what do you actually want to drink when the weather is hot? The tasting moves through five French regions, comparing rosés, crisp whites and a lightly chilled red chosen specifically for summer, with each pour illustrating how place shapes style rather than chasing big, bold flavors. That regional focus gives the evening more substance than a standard tasting, while still keeping it approachable for anyone looking to sharpen their palate without feeling like they're back in school. If your default warm-weather bottle rarely changes, you'll leave with fresh ideas for the rest of the season and a better sense of why certain wines belong on a picnic table instead of a cellar shelf.

Kendall Square isn't known for slowing down, which is exactly why these lunchtime concerts feel like such a treat. Every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m., Club Passim's Kendall Square Series transforms the Urban Park Roof Garden into a free outdoor stage, where New England musicians fill the lunch hour with folk, Americana, indie, and acoustic sets. Office workers drift upstairs with lunch, friends spread out on the lawn, and curious passersby often stay longer than they planned. The artists change each week, so every concert has its own personality, but the atmosphere stays the same: relaxed, welcoming, and a welcome excuse to step away from the screen. It's one of those small Cambridge traditions that makes the middle of the workweek feel a little less ordinary.

Boston isn't exactly known for its country music scene, which is exactly why Live Band Line Dancing at Loretta's Last Call feels like such a fun surprise. Every Wednesday, the Lansdowne Street bar swaps the usual playlist for a live country band, turning the dance floor into the city's only weekly live band line dancing party. Beginners are just as welcome as seasoned two-steppers, and before long the room is moving in sync to songs that are even better with a band than a DJ. It's an easy way to shake up your midweek routine, and a reminder that one of Boston's liveliest nights out is happening just steps from Fenway.

There are museums you visit once, and then there's the Gardner. On Thursday nights, Boston's most enchanting museum opens its doors for free, giving you every reason to wander its famously eclectic galleries after work. One minute you're standing beneath the museum's glass-covered courtyard, the next you're ducking into dimly lit rooms filled with Venetian paintings, ancient sculptures, and objects Isabella Stewart Gardner collected simply because she loved them. Creative activities add another layer to the evening, while the first Thursday of each month brings live music, performances, and art making into the mix. Café G stays open for drinks and light bites, making it easy to stretch a museum visit into a full night out. Even if you've been before, the Gardner has a way of making every visit feel like you're discovering it for the first time.

Verdi’s Requiem is not a quiet piece of remembrance. It is a sweeping work of fear, grief and hope, built on the kind of dramatic contrasts that make an outdoor performance feel especially powerful. At the Hatch Shell, the scale of the piece gets a fitting setting, with Boston Landmarks Orchestra joining forces with One City Choir and Cantata Singers for an evening centered on one of the most commanding choral works in the repertoire. The program also includes excerpts from Randall Thompson’s The Testament of Freedom, adding a local connection to the larger themes of reflection and collective memory. For anyone who thinks classical music requires a formal concert hall or a deep background, this is a rare chance to experience a monumental work in a setting that feels open and immediate.

The Tito Puente Latin Music Series has become a summer staple for good reason: it brings live salsa and Afro-Caribbean rhythms into neighborhood parks without the formality of a concert hall. This stop features Kristalis y Las Nenas del Swing, an all-women Latin ensemble led by flutist and vocalist Kristalis Sotomayor, whose sound draws from salsa, boleros, Latin jazz and Cuban traditions. The group’s Mozart Street Playground performance is a chance to hear a newer generation of musicians connecting classic styles with their own perspective. With the series’ free outdoor format, it’s an easy evening plan that feels rooted in the neighborhood rather than staged for it. Grab a spot, settle in and enjoy a summer night shaped by rhythms that have long been part of the local cultural fabric.