The Boston Public Garden is Boston’s most beautiful attraction, located directly across the street from the Boston Common. It is cited as the first public botanical garden in the country. It was built in 1837 during the populating of the Back Bay section of the city. The Public Garden was the first part of the swamp that was filled in to create this iconic neighborhood. The park features many statues, fountains, and a tree from every state and most countries around the world. They even plant palm trees during the warmer summer months. Most notably, the park features a 4 acre pond. Locally known as “the swan pond”, the water attracts many of the city’s duck population as well as 2 swans (Romeo and Juliet) who share a romance during the summer seasons. Be sure to buy a $4 Swan Boat ride around the pond when you visit, it’s the best way to see the small islands and beauty that the park has to offer. See the garden for yourself on the Boston Movie Mile Walking Tour.
The park is also filled with benches, making it famous for walking and having a deep conversation among the botanicals. Many movies depict the Public Garden as the backdrop for heart-to-hearts like these. Good Will Hunting uses this park when Will (Matt Damon) and Sean (Robin Williams) have a meaningful conversation about love, life, and whether or not Damon’s character should continue to seek therapy from Williams. In the movie, they make this “short walk” starting from Bunker Hill Community College, where Williams’ character works as a psychology professor. In reality, BHCC is located closer to Charlestown, which is a little over 3 miles away.
About a 1 minute walk from this bench is another famous bench! This time only 1 actor, Mark Wahlberg, filmed a scene here. This of course was the scene in Ted where John (Wahlberg) talks to the animated bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane about moving out of his apartment. Unfortunately, the bench was removed in 2013 due to its proximity to the swan pond. Boston accidentally received two male swans instead of a male and female swan, and the two would viciously fight near that particular bench.
No matter the season, the Boston Public Garden is a wonderful destination in any visit to Downtown Boston or Back Bay.
* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.