Tanglewood, the spacious estate in Lenox, MA, 130 miles (209 km) west of Boston, 42 miles (68 km) southeast of Albany NY and 144 miles (232 km) north of New York City (map), hosts the summer Tanglewood Music Festival featuring dozens of concerts and performances, especially those of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Alert! Don't Buy Fake Tickets!

The only official ticket-seller for Tanglewood concerts is the Boston Symphony Orchestra website, https://www.bso.org. Don't buy tickets anywhere else!

Searching online, you will see ads and links to other sites for tickets. Don't go there! The tickets may be much more expensive, and may not even be genuine, and you may lose your money and not be admitted to the concert.

About Tanglewood

Since 1934, the number-one summer activity in Lenox MA has been the Tanglewood Music Festival, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Over 50 concerts—by full orchestra, chamber groups, and soloists in recital, of classical, jazz and pop music—take place during the Tanglewood season, including the famous weekend BSO concerts.

The main concert venue is the amusingly-named Koussevitsky Music Shed, a simple but spacious hall capable of holding an entire Mahler-sized symphony orchestra and 5,700 concert-goers—some "shed!"

The Koussevitsky Music Shed at Tanglewood...

Many chamber music and ensemble performances and solo recitals are held in the award-winning Seiji Ozawa Hall on the Tanglewood campus.

In addition to the seasoned musicians from the BSO, there are performances by the young musicians from the Tanglewood Music Center for study and advanced training.

Maestros Seiji Ozawa, former music director of the BSO, and the late Leonard Bernstein of the New York Philharmonic, were once among this young up-and-coming elite.

For the full schedule, see the BSO website.

Transportation

Tours

Various companies organize guided tours of the Berkshire Hills including its many art museums, Tanglewood concerts and other attractions. Taking a tour makes your life easier on a visit to the Berkshires. More...

Car

The Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) passes by Lee, where you exit and follow MA Route 8/US Route 20 north to Lenox. From Williamstown, follow US Route 7 south. See below for driving distances.

Intercity Bus

Peter Pan Bus has daily routes between New York City and Williamstown MA stopping at Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox and Pittsfield MA; and between Albany NY and Springfield MA stopping at the same Berkshire towns. Springfield has bus connections to Worcester, Boston, Hyannis (Cape Cod MA) and Providence RI. More...

Regional Bus

Local buses run by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority connect Berkshire County towns and resorts with one another. More...

Train

A few Amtrak trains between Boston MA and Albany-Rensselaer NY stop at Pittsfield, from whence you must take a local bus, taxi or rideshare-app car to Lenox (map). Trains between Montreal QC and New York City also stop at Albany-Rensselaer NY. More...

Plane

The nearest airports with regular service are Albany International Airport at Albany NY (map) and Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks CT (north of Hartford; map).

Boston's Logan International Airport is 133 miles (214 km) east of Lenox, a 2.5-hour drive or 3-hour and 45-minute Amtrak train trip to Pittsfield, then a local bus, taxi or rideshare app car to Lenox and Tanglewood.

Distances from Lenox MA

Albany NY: 43 miles (69 km) W, 1 hour

Boston MA: 130 miles (209 km) E, 2.5 hours

Hartford CT: 75 miles (121 km) SE, 1.5 hours

Lee MA: 5 miles (8 km) SE, 10 minutes

New York City: 147 miles (237 km) S, 3 hours

Pittsfield MA: 7.5 miles (12 km) N, 15 minutes

Williamstown MA: 28 miles (45 km) N, 50 minutes

Worcester MA: 92 miles (148 km) E, 1.75 hours

Planning Your Tanglewood Visit

With up to 15,000 people attending any given concert, planning is required: transportation, accommodations, tickets, timing, traffic, picnics, where to sit.

Music Shed Tickets

Tickets are sold for seats inside the 5,700-seat Koussevitsky Music Shed, 297 West St, Lenox MA, and for admission to the spacious lawn. Buy your tickets only on the BSO website! Some websites may try to sell you bogus tickets at inflated prices. Be sure you're buying directly from the orchestra! More...

Sitting in the front part of the vast Music Shed, you can hear the authentic sound of the orchestra unamplified. In the back part, the sound is amplified by loudspeakers. On the lawn, the music is conveyed by loudspeakers.

Especially for performances featuring famous soloists and conductors, and the most popular musical works, you should buy seats in the Music Shed well in advance, as they may sell out.

Lawn Tickets

Lawn tickets can usually be bought at the gate on the day of the concert. You may buy a lawn ticket and upgrade it to a seat in the Music Shed on the day of the concert if seats are available.

The crowded lawn outside the Music Shed on concert day.

Children aged 17 and younger can get free lawn tickets on the day of the concert (up to 4 tickets per family). Children under 5 years of age are not admitted to the Music Shed, and should use the rear half of the lawn.

Accessible Services

Parking, wheelchair escorts (with your own chair) and listening devices are available at the Tanglewood Main Gate, 297 West St, Lenox MA. Jitney service is available from the Handicap parking area to the Main Gate; and there is accessible seating in the Shed (for Shed-seat ticketholders); and on the lawn near the Shed Snack Bar and First Aid Station for Lawn ticketholders.

Tanglewood Music Shed & Lawn Map

Food & Beverage Services

Concert-goers who buy lawn tickets usually bring their own picnics, sometimes elaborate, with tables, chairs, wine glasses, etc.

If you don't, a Shed Shack Snack Bar, Tanglewood Café, Tanglewood Grille, Ice Cream Stand and Beer Garden are located near the Music Shed; and Meals-to-Go can be ordered and picked up at the Grille. Cindy's Café offers full sit-down meals in the Linde Center for Music and Learning.

Inside the Music Shed itself, no food or beverage (except water) is allowed.

Chair & Cushion Rental

Lawn chairs ($7) and seat cushions ($3) are available for rental at the Beer Garden near the main entrance (297 West St, Lenox MA.) Of course, you may bring your own portable chairs, cushions, etc.

Tanglewood Lawn Tips

• Tanglewood concerts take place rain or shine. Be prepared for weather according to the forecast. In case of lightning, follow staff directions to the Severe Weather Shelters.
• Don't plan to arrive at Tanglewood in time for the concert, arrive several hours early for a picnic. If you come just before the concert, all the good spots on the lawn will already be covered. Parking, tickets, and finding a good spot on the lawn are all easier if you come very early. The l-o-n-g stream of cars filling the parking lots will begin 3 hours before concert time!
• Regular Tanglewood concert-goers bring folding chairs, umbrellas for protection from sun and rain, blankets to spread on the grass, even small tables and coolers for their picnics.
• Lawn chairs ($7) and cushions ($3) are available for rent at the Beer Garden.
• Alcoholic beverages are tolerated if consumed discreetly, without any disturbances.
• Preferred spots on the lawn are in the shade of one of the trees (particularly the massive old oak) or, for the best sound quality, as close to the Shed as possible. (Farther out on the lawn you hear only the speakers, not the orchestra itself.)

The great oak tree on the lawn at Tanglewood. Note the shade.

• Take the movement of the sun (and the shade) into account when you select your listening spot, as they will change as the afternoon progresses.
• Plan to picnic and chat before the concert, and to listen quietly during the concert. Even on the lawn, respect for the music, the performers, and the audience, is expected and appreciated.

Getting to Tanglewood

Tours

Various companies organize guided tours of the Berkshire Hills including its many art museums and other attractions. Taking a tour makes your life easier on a visit to the Berkshires. More...

Car

The Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) passes by Lee, where you exit and follow MA Route 8/US Route 20 north to Lenox. From Williamstown on MA Route 2, follow US Route 7 south. See below for driving distances. Your GPS destination is the Koussevitsky Music Shed, 297 West St, Lenox MA.

Follow the signs and traffic officers' directions to the parking areas.

After the concert, the 15,000 attendees will be leaving in thousands of vehicles. West Street (MA Route 183) becomes one-way, two-lane north/eastbound (map) for the 1.7 miles (2.74 km) from Tanglewood into the center of Lenox to facilitate the mass of traffic. You may beat some of the rush by running out after the last note sounds but before the applause. Even so, the massive exodus takes time. You may decide to relax awhile on the lawn instead of waiting in line in your vehicle for the traffic mass to budge.

Intercity Bus

Peter Pan Bus has daily routes between New York City and Williamstown MA stopping at Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox and Pittsfield MA; and between Albany NY and Springfield MA stopping at the same Berkshire towns. Springfield has bus connections to Worcester, Boston, Hyannis (Cape Cod MA) and Providence RI. More...

The bus drops you at Lenox Town Hall, 5 Walker Street, in the town center (map). The Tanglewood entrance is 1.6 miles (2.6km) to the west, a 40-minute walk.

Regional Bus

Local buses run by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority connect Berkshire County towns and resorts with one another. More...

Train

A few Amtrak trains between Boston MA and Albany-Rensselaer NY stop at Pittsfield, from whence you must take a BRTA local bus, taxi or rideshare to Lenox and the Tanglewood entrance. Trains between Montreal QC and New York City also stop at Albany-Rensselaer NY. More...

Plane

The nearest airports with regular service are Albany International Airport (ALB) at Albany NY, 50 miles (80.5k m) northwest, and Bradley International Airport (BDL), Windsor Locks CT, 57 miles (92 km) southeast (north of Hartford).

Boston's Logan International Airport (BOS) is 133 miles (214 km) east of Lenox, a 2.5-hour drive, or a 3-hour and 45-minute Amtrak train or Greyhound bus trip from Boston's South Station to Pittsfield MA, then a local bus, taxi or rideshare to Tanglewood.

Distances from Lenox MA

Albany NY: 43 miles (69 km) W, 1 hour

Boston MA: 130 miles (209 km) E, 2.5 hours

Hartford CT: 75 miles (121 km) SE, 1.5 hours

Lee MA: 5 miles (8 km) SE, 10 minutes

New York City: 147 miles (237 km) S, 3 hours

Pittsfield MA: 7.5 miles (12 km) N, 15 minutes

Williamstown MA: 28 miles (45 km) N, 50 minutes

Worcester MA: 92 miles (148 km) E, 1.75 hours

Where to Stay

All lodgings in or near Lenox are filled to capacity on every summer weekend, be they luxurious mansion inns or budget motels. You should make lodging reservations far in advance if you hope to stay overnight anywhere in the Berkshire Hills on a weekend in July or August. Expect very high room rates, even in other Berkshire towns.

Also, many of Lenox's charming, luxurious inns will not accept one-night reservations on summer weekends. You may be required to reserve a minimum of two nights (Friday and Saturday). Even so, most hotels, motels, inns and B&Bs will be fully booked, perhaps days or weeks in advance, on all summer weekends.

Inns in Lenox

The Constance is conveniently central in Lenox, as is the 4-star, 14-room Hampton Terrace Inn.

Want to go way upscale? That would be Wheatleigh, the 5-star, 19-room super-luxury estate on 22 acres (9 hectares) a mile and a half (2.4 km) from the town center. More...

Hotels & Motels

The richest concentration of budget motels is a few miles north of the Lenox town center along US Route 7 (Pittsfield Road) clustered near the Pittsfield-Lenox town line (map), a drive of 5 minutes or less. They offer low to moderate prices for adequate to comfortable accommodations.

Some of these hotels and motels have addresses in Lenox, others in Pittsfield.

The rooms are comfortable and convenient, if uninspired, and—like all Berkshire lodgings—their rates double or even triple on Friday and Saturday nights, but for other nights, they offer the best value for money in the region.

A few miles farther north along US Route 7 are four moderately-priced motels all together. Perhaps the best for comfort and value is the 3-star, 92-room The Yankee, Trademark Collection by Wyndham in Lenox just south of the Pittsfield town line, with a variety of rooms and rates, an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi and fitness room. Right next to it is the more expensive 3-star, 79-room Hampton Inn & Suites Berkshires-Lenox. Across the highway on the east side is the 3-star, 36-room Howard Johnson by Wyndham Lenox.

If you find no availability at these places, try the 50-room Econo Lodge Pittsfield, or look for hotels in Lee or another Berkshire town.