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Boston Public Garden & Swan Boats, Boston, MA

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorFamily FavoriteIconicDate Night

Boston Public Garden & Swan Boats

Bounded by Arlington, Boylston, Charles & Beacon Streets · Boston, MA

Why you should go…

America's first public botanical garden is 24 acres of Victorian loveliness: weeping willows over a lagoon, formal flower beds, and the bronze Make Way for Ducklings statues that every child in Boston has ridden. In warm months, the pedal-powered Swan Boats have been gliding across the lagoon since 1877 for pocket change. Pure, free, postcard Boston.

  • #park
  • #gardens
  • #swan boats
  • #photo spot
  • #picnic

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Boston Public Garden & Swan Boats, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Eat & Drink
    Iconic

    Cheers Beacon Hill

    $25–$50

    The real Beacon Hill bar whose exterior inspired the TV sitcom Cheers, tucked beneath the historic Hampshire House.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink

  • Sightseeing
    Free Entry

    Boston Common Visitor Center

    Free

    Meet Boston's walk-in visitor center on the Tremont Street edge of Boston Common, beside Park Street station, with maps, brochures and attraction tickets.

    0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Tours
    History Buff

    Tour of the Freedom Trail

    $25–$50

    Costumed guides lead a walking tour of Boston's Freedom Trail from Boston Common past the State House, Old South and Faneuil Hall.

    0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Local Gem

    Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park

    Under $25

    Ferry from Long Wharf to Civil War-era Fort Warren on Georges Island or Spectacle Island's beaches and skyline-view trails. Ferries run mid-May to October.

    1.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Free

    Arnold Arboretum

    Free

    Walk 281 acres of trees, shrubs and lilacs in Harvard's arboretum, a free link in Boston's Emerald Necklace.

    4.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Walden Pond

    $25–$50

    Swim, hike the shore and visit a replica of Thoreau's cabin at the pond that inspired Walden.

    15 mi awayMore like this