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    James P Kelleher Rose Garden

    4.9 (22 reviews)

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    Emily Y.

    Hidden gem right in the back bay fens. There are roses blooming from summer through fall. Really nice garden to take a stroll and it's completely free.

    Melissa M.

    Late May early June is the ideal time to visit the rose garden for the first blooms of the season.

    Behind the Museum of Fine Arts crossing the River on the way to The James P Kelleher Rose Garden Fall of 2020
    Stephen Z.

    AN ABSOLUTELY MUST DO MUST DO! 4 & 1/2 STARS! A FREE EVENT & FREE PARKING if you come here on Sundays & Park at the meters at the Museum. It's Time to jump into The TimeMobile & scour the Earth & take you to places from a different time that you won't believe still exist. We have set the dial to 1930 in the town of Boston MA @ The James P Kelleher Rose Garden. This is one of Boston's Secret Hidden Gems that is right in the heart of the city but off the beaten path. It is completely Hidden from view that passerby's on foot & by car don't see. This place is part of what's called the Emerald Necklace. It is a great spot to relax, check out the flowers & have a picnic on green grass & trees which are right next door. The Kelleher Rose Garden is located just a few minutes walking distance behind Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in the Back Bay Fens section. You can park at the meters all around the museum for Free there on Sunday. Park & walk across the street behind the museum, across the Bridge & the River & in a few minutes you are there. This is a beautiful medium size Formal English Flower Garden with more than 1500 Roses that was established in 1930. It was designed by Arthur Shurcliff, a Boston landscape architect who had worked for Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed the Fens as well as New York's Famous Central Park. Be sure to check out the wide variety of roses, the greenery, the Arches, the Fountain, & the view of the Museum. There's also a reproduction of the famous Desconsol Statue - a gift from Boston's sister city Barcelona in Spain. It was designed by Catalan sculptor Josep Llimona. Also scope out the Julia Child Flower the famous chef who lived in Boston. She's got her own flower as well as The Home Run flower dedicated to Baseball. You can walk all around the perimeter & see pretty much everything even when the gate is closed. This is a great place to bring a picnic basket or cooler & blanket & have a Spring, Summer or Fall Picnic. There's also a great view of The Prudential Building & The John Hancock Tower 2 of the tallest buildings in Boston. There's green grass & trees you can sit under too - what a picturesque natural setting. You can also walk to the George Robert White Veterans Memorial Park that is a tribute to our fallen soldiers which is right next door which is also a Freebie. And if you want to walk a bit farther down there's the Fenway Victory Gardens which is also another place to check out that's also another Freebie in the Fenway area. Also check out the Agassiz Bridge a beautiful old arched bridge. And yes that's Free too! Check out my individual reviews of each of those places as well. You'll experience Hours of Relaxing, Picnicking, Looking at Beautiful Flowers & Nature Walking for Zero Dollars for the whole day. It used to be, you had to have Mega Bucks & be really rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget!

    Sean P.

    Free garden that's nearby the Isabella Gardner museum & Museum of Fine arts. Make sure to make a detour when you are around the areA Currently (June 23rd) the roses are in bloom and the small area looks great! Stop by, smell the roses and take some pictures underneath the rose laden walkways.

    Melissa Y.

    Gorgeous rose garden. People were respectful and distancing and/or wearing masks. Flowers were fragrant and colorful. Love the little placards with info about the flowers. FYI no dogs allowed inside, unfortunate but understandable!

    The one who bestowed the name was a foodie.
    Yuka Y.

    Beautiful rose garden situated next to the park in Back Bay Fens. I am happy to bestow my 100th review to the James P Kelleher Rose Garden :) Pamphlets are available at the entrance which was informative and surprisingly offered. Apparently the area used to be wetlands and it was only after the damming of the Charles River in 1910 that changed the entire landscape of the area. There's a circular courtyard once you enter with a fountain in the middle. Around the courtyard are multiple metal arches with gorgeous assortments of roses and flowers draping over them. Last time I was here was 2 years ago and the flowers appeared to be in peak bloom in July. It's June now and a lot seemed to be withering or dying off. Not sure when is the peak time, but my best bet is probably March-May. I'd say this is a perfect place for a proposal. It oozes romance. Wish I had a boy friend to come here with hehe! There was a couple doing engagement shots. Each flora has a metal name tag and some of them have interesting names. Refer to my pics and you'll know what I mean. I have a hunch some of the people responsible in naming them were foodies. There are volunteering opportunities available if interested to tend to the garden @ www.emeraldnecklace.org/volunteer This place is a gem.

    Cyan Y.

    Delicate rose garden in twin. Each kind of roses has their own names! How amazing Love the way they structured the arches around the fountain and you could walk it through. With all those definitely a nice place to photograph as well!

    Roberta M.

    Just a beautiful place,so calm and peaceful!! I love the flowers and the fountain!! If you're in boston you have to go!!!

    Qasim R.

    Hidden gym in the Fenway area... It's secluded and if you don't know where it is u won't find it... From outside looks like any other part of the park (and most ppl just go to/walk-about the Fenway Victory Gardens and/or Back Bay Fens and think that's it) and the actual inside view is blocked by pretty high hedges... On the inside it's a superb garden of flowers (90% roses), maintained exceptionally well & a small park with walkways all around the garden to catch the amazing blooms.. A very intimate, personal setting, great for dates, me time, painting/sketching or photography... A must visit during summer times (especially April)...

    Double delight
    Sondra L.

    This is a great romantic place to discover. It's full of roses and it even has labels. It feels like it was a secret garden in the middle of the city. It has benches around so you can be comfortable with a book or a meal. Great new find!

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    Beautiful roses- recommend early summer for peak blooms. Would be a good picnic spot also.

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    Review Highlights - James P Kelleher Rose Garden

    And if you want to walk a bit farther down there's the Fenway Victory Gardens which is also another place to check out that's also another Freebie in the Fenway area.

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    The Esplanade

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    4.8
    (100 reviews)
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    The Esplanade is always beautiful, it doesn't matter the season. This is the perfect time of year -…read morewell now thru Fall to visit. Winter is nice too but they lock up the bathrooms which can be annoying if you're taking a super long walk and trying to stay hydrated! If you're looking for something to do on the weekend, look no further. The park is so big - you can listen to music or maybe even see a movie at the Hatch Shell, have a picnic, hangout on the dock, or even have a beer at Night Shift. Oh and if you have kids, there are a few different playgrounds. Let's not forget, it's super dog friendly. Oh and get your cameras ready for various birds and sometimes turtles in the lagoon.

    The Esplanade was a revelation, one of the highlights of my trip to Boston!…read more We took the T-red, got off Charles/MGH and it was a short walk to the Esplanade, a few miles alongside Charles Rivers with beautiful views of the river, wild life, the bridge and the city! We went on a Saturday morning, locals were walking, jogging, sitting on a bench drinking their coffee. Teams were out in the water roving, a nice visual Boston cliche that you see in movies, but I got to see for real. You can walk for miles here, till you get to the BU Bridge in parallel with the beautiful houses of Beacon Hill. Nice nature, cute bridges, birds, peaceful spots to stop by and look at the water, enjoy a book or a coffee. Nice locals offered to take our photos and we enjoyed chatted with. Beautiful sculptures, clean restrooms, lots of greenery. Great spot for a picnic also. I am sure it's pretty here at sunset. I am sure they have events here as well. My husband regrets not knowing about it. He went to Boston University and walked the BU Beach and the Bridge, but wasn't aware of this part. He would have loved to come here for peaceful walks and some reading. We didn't want to leave. A must see place in Boston!

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    I love well planned green spaces in the central areas of big cities, some of the most famous of…read morewhich are Central Park in NYC and of course, Boston Commons. Tonight after our dinner we enjoyed walking through here and Boston Public Gardens for a good 1.5 hrs catching up with our daughter. There was a growing crowd of happy people (families and children too) cheering the Iraq World Cup team who will play their first match tomorrow against Norway here in Boston. About a dozen Boston police were watching from the sidelines on their motorbikes and I prayed all would stay peaceful. Meanwhile, pedestrians, dog walkers, families were enjoying the fresh cool evening amidst the grandiose trees, lawns, ducks, fountains, and historic statues. If you're in the area, definitely stop by, and also check out the Boston Public Gardens, which are even more landscaped and welcoming!

    This review is separate from the Boston Public Gardens which is just across the street and pretty…read moremuch connected. Boston Commons is a normal urban park in some ways with a playground for kids, a pond, park benches, a carousel, baseball stadium, and food vendors. It's also part historic park with monuments including one of the 54th Civil War all black regiment, a plaque saying this is the oldest park in America and others. It's also a part of the Freedom Trail. There's also a small cemetery in the park. The park is both busy and relaxing. It's smaller than I expected but that may just be because it felt like I went through it quickly. Time flies when you are having fun so maybe distance does too. Boston Commons is a must stop on any trip to Boston.

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    The Lawn On D

    The Lawn On D

    4.0
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    While in Boston a family friend took us here. Two kids altogether had real fun, a pleasant place to…read morehangout with or without kids. Huge space with the swings (the ultimate thing in this park), ping pongs, corn holes, big screen... It was free admission when we were here and a lot of people were there on the swing, we had to wait for sometime for our turns, but it was fun. If your around this park, just stop by for a while and enjoy the swing. Parking was on street!

    First time here and all I can say is WOW!! Beautiful space! They've done a really amazing job with…read morethe renovations to this space! From the green 'grass' to the swings to the greenery and the lighting and the huge stage with an awesome sound system - really great! We went here for live band karaoke with our favorite band called Five Minutes of Fame - they're playing every Thursday night from 7-10 pm. So if you're into singing with a live band go on over and live out your rockstar dreams! They had the food truck called The Grove which I think has a very limiting menu - in terms of healthy and tasty - which is my requirement. I got the grove salad with chicken and it was just ok - nothing to write home about. The hubs had the BLT sandwich which he liked but also found it quite greasy. There are restrooms which are these portable ones in these trailers and they're very nice and clean but the individual ones on the opposite end of the stage was very smelly. The ones behind the stage were better. Running water, flush everything- like a proper restroom. So that is good. We got parking through SpotHero at a nearby parking lot - it was $26 but we didn't want to take chance looking around for parking that is why. But our friends said they found street parking so it's possible to find free parking too. Overall we had a great time, the weather was perfect beautiful summer evening - and great music! We'll be back for more live band karaoke!

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    Hanging out on the swings
    Hanging out on the swings
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    Arnold Arboretum

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    My daughter recommended us to visit this fantastic arboretum. It was super worthwhile! Just to get…read moreout of the city first a bit into a well-preserved and landscaped beautiful lush green space with evergreens and oaks and gardens. It's free every day! There's a visitor center, where they have clippings of flowers that are labeled for easy identification and appreciation. Also throughout the arboretum are little plaques identifying flora. We went up to see the view of Boston from Peter's Hill and walked alongside the blooming mountain laurel bushes. Walkable paths are asphalt or wood chips. We saw a wild turkey, several robins, and occasional people. Super glad we explored this wondrous place!

    It's been quite some time since i stopped by the arboretum. As a kid my grandma and mother used to…read moretake us there and take photos in the summer. I have some very good child memories here. They used to have hedge? Carvings of animals and stuff which was super cool. Didn't see that today but not sure, we didn't have time to check the whole arboretum. I think this place is so cool, there's families walking, roller blading, skating, biking etc dog walking you name it. It's clean in there so please keep it that way if visiting. There are ample signs of the types of trees, plants, and different zones. Porta potty available on the paths, resting chairs, benches and even spreads for a picnic. Friend had his wedding there not long ago. Easy commute from Forrest Hills train station on the orange line and walk up the street. Multiple gates to go in from, but main gate closed to cars at 4pm i think. The arboretum is closed at dusk. Beautiful walk on a beautiful day.

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    James P Kelleher Rose Garden - parks - Updated July 2026

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