Beacon Hill Walk & Boston Common

Why It’s Worth Your Time

The walk from Boston Common to Beacon Hill is the sequence of images that Bostonians put on postcards — a route that passes through four centuries of American public life in 90 minutes of easy walking without requiring a museum ticket, a reservation, or any prior knowledge. Boston Common (1634) is the oldest public park in the United States: in winter it has a public ice skating rink; in summer it hosts free concerts and Shakespeare performances; in fall the trees provide the most accessible foliage in the city. The adjacent Public Garden (technically a separate park, opened 1837, the first public botanical garden in America) has Swan Boats operating since 1877, the Make Way for Ducklings statues that have been the city's most-visited photo opportunity since Robert McCloskey's 1941 book, and the weeping willows and bridge over the small lagoon that make it the most visually delightful park in New England. Crossing into Beacon Hill: Acorn Street is the cobblestone alley that appears in nearly every photograph of Boston ever taken; Charles Street is the neighborhood's commercial spine with the best independent bookshops and cafes in the city. The State House gold dome crowns the hill at the northern end.

What Stands Out

• Boston Common (1634): America's oldest public park, free ice skating in winter, Shakespeare in summer
• Boston Public Garden: Swan Boats (since 1877), Make Way for Ducklings statues, the finest ornamental garden in New England
• Acorn Street: the gaslit cobblestone alley that is the most photographed street in America — exactly as the photos suggest
• Charles Street bookshops and cafes: the best independent retail street in Beacon Hill, the neighborhood's daily life on display
• Massachusetts State House gold dome: the Charles Bulfinch building (1798) that established American civic architecture