BOSTON — People in Boston apparently are loving more than just that dirty water.
New research reveals the top 10 U.S. cities with the most romantic places to visit, and Boston features 9th best in the nation.
A company called FROM MARS narrowed down the best cities for a date to award an overall score of 9.34 out of 10 to the Hub, with 172 romantic spots and 27,800 date idea searches. New York City ranked first, with only 8,980 searches but 745 romantic places.
Here are some of Boston’s, each steeped in history:
The Public Garden
Have a picnic in the Public Garden, the first public botanical garden in the United States, established in 1837. Stroll along its meandering pathways past exquisite flowers and fountains. Or walk around the garden’s pond, which two swans and a bevy of ducks and geese call home, as the weeping willows’ leaves rustle in the air. Finish the afternoon with a relaxing ride on one of the Swan Boats, created and operated for more than 100 years by the Paget family.
Castle Island and Fort Independence
Castle Island offers beautiful views of the Boston Harbor islands, and you can follow the shoreline to a series of parks and beaches. It’s a 22-acre outcropping and site of Fort Independence, which was rebuilt after it was abandoned by the British during the Revolutionary War. Both are located at 2010 Day Blvd. and are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit nps.gov/places/fort-independence-castle-william.htm.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Of all of Boston’s museums, this may be the most romantic, unlike any other perhaps in the country, with its beautiful courtyard and often dimly lit galleries.
In 1901 and 1902, Isabella installed her collection of paintings, sculptures, furniture, tapestries, rare books and decorative objects, inspired by Palazzo Barbaro, a Venetian palace, according to the museum she had built.
The 1990 theft of 13 works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s collection remains a source of intrigued as the largest unsolved art heist in history. The museum is offering a $10 million dollar reward for information leading directly to the safe return of the stolen works.
The Emerald Necklace
Designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and completed in 1896 after almost 20 years of work, the 1,100-acre park system includes Franklin Park, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Jamaica Pond, Olmsted Park, the Riverway, the Back Bay Fens, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, the Public Garden and Boston Common — each a thing of beauty. Located in Boston’s Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods, the arboretum alone is a 281-acre free public park and botanical research institution featuring more than 15,000 plants, three ponds and abundant wildlife. It’s open daily and offers virtual walks and guided tours. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in North America. Visit emeraldnecklace.org.
The Charles River Esplanade
The Esplanade stretches for 3 miles one way on the Boston side between the Museum of Science and the Boston University Bridge. It’s home to beautiful waterfront gardens, historical monuments, recently renovated playgrounds and multiple walking and biking trails. Community Boating offers sailing, kayaking and windsurfing lessons and activities from April 1 to Oct. 31. And when it’s warm, hundreds of people head to the Hatch Shell Oval for picnics and Free Friday Flicks.
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