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Charles River Esplanade, Boston, MA

Photo: bynyalcin, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Charles River Esplanade

Riverside green space on the south bank of the Charles River in Boston's Back Bay.

Boston, MA

About Charles River Esplanade

The Charles River Esplanade is a riverside park in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, on the south bank of the Charles River Basin. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts owns it, and it forms part of the Charles River Reservation. The Esplanade Association, a nonprofit founded in 2001, works with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to improve the park and offer educational, cultural, and recreational programs to visitors.

  • #riverfront
  • #urban park
  • #Back Bay
  • #community programs

What's around here?

The closest stops to Charles River Esplanade, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing

    Arthur Fiedler Memorial

    Check prices

    A memorial portrait of the longtime Boston Pops conductor, installed on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston.

    Right next doorSwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums

    Gibson House Museum

    Under $25

    A preserved 1860 Victorian rowhouse in Boston's Back Bay that shows domestic life across three generations of one family and their staff.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Charles River Reservation

    Check prices

    Walk, run, bike or paddle the riverside paths of the Charles, from the Esplanade in Back Bay upstream past Cambridge and Watertown.

    Steps awayMore like this

  • 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.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Family Favorite

    Boston Public Garden & Swan Boats

    No admission fee

    America's first public botanical garden, weeping willows, the Make Way for Ducklings statues, and famous Swan Boats.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.3 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Boston Public Garden

    No admission fee

    A 24-acre formal park in central Boston, recognized as the first public botanical garden in America.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.3 mi awayMore like this

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