Public Garden & Swan Boats
America's first public botanical garden, with Victorian plantings, a willow-lined lagoon, and the pedal-powered Swan Boats running since 1877.
The call
Worth it if you are watching the budget and you only have one day.
Why
- 01
Genuinely the prettiest patch of central Boston — manicured beds, the little bridge, the 'Make Way for Ducklings' statues, and a postcard romance in bloom season.
Our read - 02
The catch: the Swan Boats are a charming but very brief, slow, kid-pitched ride, and the whole thing is small enough to exhaust in half an hour.
Our read
Is it a fit?
Go if
You are watching the budget
Public Garden & Swan Boats earns the spend, even on a tight budget.
You only have one day
Short trip or not, keep Public Garden & Swan Boats.
You are traveling with kids
With kids, Public Garden & Swan Boats is an easy yes.
You are traveling as a couple
As a couple, Public Garden & Swan Boats is an easy yes.
Think twice if
The main downside would spoil the experience
The catch: the Swan Boats are a charming but very brief, slow, kid-pitched ride, and the whole thing is small enough to exhaust in half an hour.
Plan it well
- Cost
- Free; Swan Boats ~$4.50
- Timing
- Spring bloom through early fall; Swan Boats run mid-April to Labor Day.
- Booking
- No booking; Swan Boat tickets are bought on site (~$4.50).
- Allow
- 30-60 min
- Accessibility
- Paved, level paths make it fully strollable.
- Getting there
- Arlington station (Green Line) is at the garden's edge.
Consider instead
Sources and method (3)
- Established in 1837, it is the first public botanical garden in the United States. boston.gov ↗
- The pedal-powered Swan Boats have run on the lagoon since 1877, launched by shipbuilder Robert Paget and still operated by the fourth generation of his family. swanboats.com ↗
- friendsofthepublicgarden.org ↗