Boston Public Garden, Boston

Operating since 1877, the swanboats take you on a 15 minute ride through the pond in the Public Garden. It is surprisingly peaceful, surrounded by ducks and the swans, as the busy traffic speeds close by.

Open from mid-April to mid-September, they run daily, except during bad weather.

Hours are 10-4 through June 21, then 10-5 until Labor Day, then 12-4 through the end of the season.

Fares are $2.50 for adults, $1.00 for children, and $2.00 for seniors.

Do you remember the children's book....Make Way for Ducklings. Well, that book's setting is Boston, in fact a park in Boston. The park has iron statues of the momma duck and her babies.

These ducks are one of the prize posessions of the citizens of Boston. A while back some vandalism happend to the ducks, and the city was FURIOUS.

Boston has the only swanboats in the world. I haven't a photo of them, but easy enough to find using an image search on Google. Better yet, come to Boston and see them yourself. Robert McCloskey made them famous in his children's classic Make Way for Ducklings, another must read for those planning a trip to Boston.

The graceful necks of the swanboats have been a fixture of the Public Garden for ages. For $1 you too can glide across "Swan Lake". Don't expect anything too exciting, however. If anyone asks, you can always say you did it for the experience.

Boston doesn't aspire to be a garden city like Victoria or Portland. Yet its many parks and green spaces explode with colors with the arrival of Spring. You don't have to look far. On the banks of the Charles, along the streets of Back Bay, indeed throughout the city you can see the whirling kaleidoscope of colors. The dreariness of winter is completely replaced by the exuberance of Spring. It's almost as if the city and its soul experience a rebirth.

The showpiece of the springtime metamorphosis is the Public Garden. The stars of the show are the carpets of multicolored tulips, but others are no less lively. Pink and white cherry blossoms adorn one side of the park, while weeping willows festooned with yellow blossoms dip their droopy branches into the lake. Colorful mallards create crisscrossing trails on the water. The elegant statues and monuments of the garden become winsome ornaments for this colorful display.

If you happen to be in Boston during a spring snow, head down to the Boston Common or Boston Public Garden and stroll around. The scenery is nice and peaceful despite the busy city all around you. My favorite time to go is at night when the snow and city lights turn the ground a pale gray and the sky a deep gray.

Public Garden - facing Hancock Tower (tallest office building in Boston) is highly recognizeable by the tremendous number of blue windows which illuminate the city skyline in a vast, ever-changing display of reflected brilliance. One walk around this mighty structure is not enough, and, for those seeking lofty gains, the Hancock Observatory is a pinnacle. I prefer even more bang for my buck, and the Prudential Tower just a few blocks away provides both a formal drink, a 'best of Boston' dinner, dancing, and a 'high point' to one's palate. The city views are just astounding from the top floor 'Pru' restaurant called Top of the Hub, and is again, a must see experience for all tourists. Before or after dinner, both Copley Square shopping and Mall are all accessible from inside the Prudential Center. Business Travellers are apt to find their next meeting a few steps away in the Hynes Auditorium and Conference Center.
Unfortunately, in my photo (a cold/windy day in March), the swan boat ponds look rather gloomy. Even the willow trees looked weeping. But did you notice the bulbs in the soil? :)

Boston Public Gardens and Boston Common. An absolute MUST see park. This near 50-acre park is the oldest public park in the United States of America. It is a thriving green haven from the modern high rise office towers that shelter its borders. Historically, in 1830 cattle grazed upon its pastures, and up until 1817 it was used for public hangings. Prior to the revolution the British camped on Boston Common and left from here to face the colonial resistance at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. It is bordered by Tremont, Beacon, Charles and Boylston Streets.
In late spring/early summer, both swans and swan boats are returned to their respective landscapes.
Park Rangers patrol on horseback.