Meet Boston in Springtime

This spring, take some time to Meet Boston, a beautiful American city that unleashes a pastiche of color, brightness and brilliance from April to June, when the city comes alive with special events that draw visitors from around the world.

So many iconic Boston events happen during this season, including Red Sox opening day at Fenway Park, the Boston Marathon, Patriot’s Day, Memorial Day and Bunker Hill Day.

Perhaps the highlight of the spring season is Patriots Day Weekend, April 19-21,when Bostonians roll out the green carpet and return to the outdoors with vigor and verve. First up is the return of the Swan Boats to the Public Garden on April 19, when the majestic boats are put back in the lagoon, where they’ll glide thousands of happy visitors around through Labor Day. The Paget Family, whose ancestors from Ireland launched the first swan boats in 1877, have carried on this cherished tradition for nearly 150 years.

Boston is also filled with sports activities that weekend, leading up to the 129th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 21. Created in 1897, the famous race goes 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston’s Copley Square, as 30,000 international runners are cheered on by half a million spectators along the course.

Patriots Day also has deep historical significance to New Englanders. Designated as an official holiday in Massachusetts in 1894, Patriots Day commemorates the confrontation between American colonists and British troops in Lexington and Concord that took place on April 19, 1775, which became the first battle of the American Revolution.

2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the famous battle, when Bostonians Paul Revere and William Dawes rode out to warn, ‘The British are Coming.’ Numerous cities and towns are marking the occasion all through April. On Monday, April 21, the Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington holds a special commemoration at North Bridge, where the first shots were fired, to mark ‘the shot heard round the world.’

For sports fans, Boston is brimming with sports, including the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Free Jacks Rugby championship at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, and New England Revolution Soccer at Gillette Stadium.

Open Space

A favorite pastime in spring is to explore greater Boston’s historic parks, open spaces and waterways. Among the treasures to explore are the Boston Common, the nation’s oldest public park, formed in 1634, and right next to it is the Public Garden, the nation’s first botanical park, created in 1839.

The Emerald Necklace, created by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, is a series of 1,100 acres of open spaces encircling the city, from Back Bay to Jamaica Pond to Franklin Park in Dorchester.

The Charles River Esplanade has 3 miles of parkland along the Boston side of the river, perfect for walking and running, biking and skating, or just relaxing with friends.

Boston Harborwalk is a 43 mile linear park that connects Boston’s waterfront neighborhoods to Boston Harbor.

And finally, explore the 34 islands and peninsulas that make up the Boston Harbor Islands. Getting to these national and state parks are easy, with ferry boats leaving daily from Long Wharf in Boston and from Hingham Shipyard, May through October.

meetboston.com