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The entire string of parks is about 10 miles (and popular as a biking route), but it’s easy just to choose a few portions of it and explore those on foot. You can continue along the Emerald Necklace visiting the other linked parks, including Olmsted Park in Brookline, the Riverway, the Back Bay Fens (where you can access the outstanding Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts), Commonwealth Avenue Mall, and finally the Public Garden and Boston Common. Especially if you’re visiting during the fall foliage season, this funky, progressive neighborhood with a solid gay and - particularly - lesbian following merits a visit.īoston’s famed Emerald Necklace - a string of dozen green spaces laid out by eminent 19th-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted - has several significant sections in Jamaica Plain, including Franklin Park (with its historic zoo), Arnold Arboretum (with 280 acres of plants and trees connected by well-marked paths), Jamaicaway (a tree-lined parkway), and Jamaica Pond. Slightly out of the way Jamaica Plain, or JP as it’s affectionately known, is a few miles southwest of downtown Boston, in a relatively residential part of Boston that tourists sometimes miss. But in recent years, quite a few other culinary stars have helped shine a light on the neighborhood, including Coppa ( where you’ll find superb charcuterie and cheese plates, wood-fired pizza, and wines by the glass, and newcomer Estelle’s ( which earns raves for its updated take on Southern cuisine, from crispy catfish burgers to buttermilk fried chicken. Longtime favorites of the gay community, like Franklin Café ( and Tremont 647 ( are as popular as ever both for dining and drinking.
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This upscale district is very much the heart of Boston’s gay scene, and it’s home to several long-running LGBT nightspots - the endearingly dive-y Boston Eagle, the classic dance club and video bar Club Café ( the friendly sports bar Fritz ( A favorite pastime around here is dining out, with most of the top restaurants along the main thoroughfares of Tremont Street, Washington Street, and Columbus Avenue. This handsome neighborhood of narrow, tree-shaded streets lined with Victorian bow-front, redbrick townhouses has steadily evolved over the years into one of the city’s favorite destinations for an afternoon stroll, whether to admire the architecture, duck into tony boutiques, or seek out trendy neighborhood bistros and cafes. But you’ll find tips here on things to do, cool inns and hotels, and hip dining and nightlife that should come in handy no matter what time of year you visit. Here’s a look at one of the nation’s gay-friendliest destinations, with a particular eye toward what to see during the fall months. At this time, the city comes alive as students return to the area’s many colleges, the leaves turn bold shades of orange and crimson in gardens and parks around town, and restaurants and bars with terraces and sidewalk seating entertain fans of alfresco dining for a few more weeks of warm weather. Summer may signal the end of high season at New England’s beach resorts, but September and October are the perfect months for visiting the region’s largest metropolis, Boston, along with its smaller neighbors, Cambridge and Somerville.
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The iconic Massachusetts State House rises over the Boston Common, part of the city’s beautiful Emerald Necklace park system.