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Photo: Daderot, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
A state-owned park along the banks of the Charles River. Perfect for jogging, cycling, or just strolling and enjoying the view. Home of the Hatch Shell, where live events take place during the warmer months, and where the Boston Pops play their spectacular 4th of July concert. Laze out in the sun on the public dock, or take a gondola ride along the Charles. You'll meet many Bostonians out and about year round, picnicking, reading, or just doing nothing at all. It's easy to get here by walking down the ramp on the east side of the Mass Ave bridge, or the ramp adjacent to the Charles/MGH Red line station. A third option is a footbridge overpass near the northwestern corner of the Public Garden.
The Charles River Esplanade is a park in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it is located on the south bank of the Charles River Basin and comprises part of the Charles River Reservation. The park was dedicated in 1910 as the Boston Embankment. The Esplanade went through a major expansion from 1928 to 1936.
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The Gibson House was one of the first to be built in Back Bay, and has an unparalleled state of preservation that includes wallpaper, textiles, furnishings, and family artifacts and collections. A nice reminder that no matter how rich you were in 1860, you couldn't buy air conditioning!
CBI
A non-profit, CBI offers members instruction for sailing and windsurfing, and allows members to use CBI-owned sailboats on the Charles River. They've also got kayaks and paddleboards for rent. Check out their yearly and monthly memberships if you're going to be in town awhile. Organized in 1946, it is the oldest continuously operating community sailing program in the country.
Brattle Square Church
Admittedly a "deep cut" of Back Bay churches, this building houses a congregation formed all the way back in 1665, during a time when being Baptist was a punishable offense. The current building was opened in 1872 and designed by H. H. Richardson, the very same architect of the more famous Trinity church anchoring Copley square. Another notable element here are the friezes seen ringing the top of the tower. These were carved on site by Frédéric Bartholdi, who would later create the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Established in 1837 by Horace Gray, the Boston Public Garden, formerly an enormous swampy salt marsh, is the largest and oldest botanical garden in the United States. The Garden features a plethora of diverse plant life, including a wide variety of native and foreign trees, and a rotating arrangement of flowers that change with the seasons. It also features numerous statues and fountains dedicated to Boston's heroes throughout the ages. The park is centered on a four acre pond, which is crossed by the world's smallest suspension bridge, and teems with wildlife during the warmer months. During this time the Swan Boats are also in operation, a famous Boston Tourist attraction since 1877. In the northeast corner of the park, tourists can view the wildly popular duckling statues, based on Robert McCloskey's famous children's book "Make Way For Ducklings.".