clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

15 unique spots to propose in the Boston area, mapped

Acorn Street, TD Garden, Fenway Park, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, Butterfly Hollow at the Franklin Park Zoo—these and more are the perfect spots for popping the big question

View as Map

There are plenty of unique spots in the Boston area to get hitched. These are the unique spots to pop the question.

Read More

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

Copy Link

A nature lover your lover? The 281-acre, Harvard-run greensward includes thousands upon thousands of plants and trees in a kaleidoscope of species. Bonus suggestion: Perhaps bike to the big rendezvous.

Colorful trees shading a walking path with a bench next to it. Kevin Fleming/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Copy Link

Specifically here we suggest the complex’s enclosed courtyard. It’s plush year-round with seasonal blooms. There are also other gardens at the Gardner and the rest of its interior—done as if a Venetian palace—is worth considering too for the big ask.

An interior garden with lush trees and grass, and an arched outside hallway with someone reading on one of the hall’s walls. Boston Globe via Getty Images

Fenway Park

Copy Link

Why not? Fenway is America’s oldest Major League ballpark—perfect for sports fans.

Commonwealth Avenue Mall

Copy Link

The 1.3-mile, 32-acre ribbon through bucolic Back Bay is good as a backdrop any time of year; but perhaps try the wintertime, when lights illuminate the mall at night.

People running in a clump through the night between two lines of a lighted-up trees. Boston Globe via Getty Images

Butterly Hollow at the Franklin Park Zoo

Copy Link

This tented spot teeming with butterflies only works in the warmer months—the lepidoptera are not out in the winter. Pro tip: Sunny days draw the most butterflies, cloudy days the fewest.

Boston Public Library

Copy Link

Looking for some grandiosity? The building, which opened in 1895, includes numerous gorgeous features, among them carvings and sculpture by Domingo Mora and Augustus Saint-Gaudens and bronze doors by Daniel Chester French. The coup de grace, though, might be the Bates Reading Room with its barrel ceiling. Try there.

A grand marble entry area, with two seated lions at either side of a staircase. Shutterstock

On the Red Line (including over the Longfellow Bridge)

Copy Link

Because nothing says forever these days like a trip on the T—especially on its busiest line.

An old train going over an old bridge between Boston and Cambridge. There are people walking and biking in a lane next to the train. Shutterstock

Frances Appleton Bridge

Copy Link

This 750-foot steel bridge from Beacon Hill to the Charles River Esplanade opened in 2018, and was formally dedicated in 2019 in honor of the spouse of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The Longfellow Bridge is next to it over the Charles. Get it?

Boston Public Garden

Copy Link

You might think that America’s oldest public botanical garden might not cut it in the winter, but you’d be wrong: It’s especially beautiful that time of year because of the holiday lights. But maybe wait until spring—and pop the question during a swan boat ride.

A person walking between two rows of illuminated bushes at night in a public park in a city. Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Liberty Hotel

Copy Link

The Liberty’s building began life in the 1850s as the Charles Street Jail. The current iteration—a Marriott-operated hotel—retained the original octagonal rotunda, with its 90-foot atrium. It also retained some cell bars. Go to town with the metaphors vis a vis marriage as you see fit.

Acorn Street

Copy Link

If you can finagle some space, use what’s sometimes called the most beautiful street in America as your cobblestone backdrop.

A cobblestone street with leaves on it. Shutterstock

TD Garden

Copy Link

Like with Fenway Park, the arena that’s home to both the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics is perfect if your beloved is a sports fanatic. Plus, if things don’t turn out as planned, the recently expanded coliseum is right above North Station—a (relatively) quick getaway.

The lattice-metal exterior of a major sports arena, with glassy sides on either side of the lattice, which is above the main entrance. Boston Globe via Getty Images

South Station

Copy Link

Yes, it’ll invariably be loud and crowded, but there’s something about dropping to one knee amid all the hustle and bustle of New England’s busiest train and bus hub.

An aerial view of the floor of a busy train station. Craig F. Walker/the Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Institute of Contemporary Art steps

Copy Link

The contemporary art and design museum—the current building for which dates from 2006—is one of the Boston waterfront’s top attractions, and, as such, its water-fronting stairs are particularly prime for proposals.

A contemporary art museum with gigantic windows and a prominent overhang lighted up at night. Shutterstock

Piers Park

Copy Link

Want the Boston skyline as your scrim? This 6.5-acre waterside park can provide it.

A waterfront park with a city skyline in the background, and there are people in the park. Boston Globe via Getty Images

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

A nature lover your lover? The 281-acre, Harvard-run greensward includes thousands upon thousands of plants and trees in a kaleidoscope of species. Bonus suggestion: Perhaps bike to the big rendezvous.

Colorful trees shading a walking path with a bench next to it. Kevin Fleming/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Specifically here we suggest the complex’s enclosed courtyard. It’s plush year-round with seasonal blooms. There are also other gardens at the Gardner and the rest of its interior—done as if a Venetian palace—is worth considering too for the big ask.

An interior garden with lush trees and grass, and an arched outside hallway with someone reading on one of the hall’s walls. Boston Globe via Getty Images

Fenway Park

Why not? Fenway is America’s oldest Major League ballpark—perfect for sports fans.

Commonwealth Avenue Mall

The 1.3-mile, 32-acre ribbon through bucolic Back Bay is good as a backdrop any time of year; but perhaps try the wintertime, when lights illuminate the mall at night.

People running in a clump through the night between two lines of a lighted-up trees. Boston Globe via Getty Images

Butterly Hollow at the Franklin Park Zoo

This tented spot teeming with butterflies only works in the warmer months—the lepidoptera are not out in the winter. Pro tip: Sunny days draw the most butterflies, cloudy days the fewest.

Boston Public Library

Looking for some grandiosity? The building, which opened in 1895, includes numerous gorgeous features, among them carvings and sculpture by Domingo Mora and Augustus Saint-Gaudens and bronze doors by Daniel Chester French. The coup de grace, though, might be the Bates Reading Room with its barrel ceiling. Try there.

A grand marble entry area, with two seated lions at either side of a staircase. Shutterstock

On the Red Line (including over the Longfellow Bridge)

Because nothing says forever these days like a trip on the T—especially on its busiest line.

An old train going over an old bridge between Boston and Cambridge. There are people walking and biking in a lane next to the train. Shutterstock

Frances Appleton Bridge

This 750-foot steel bridge from Beacon Hill to the Charles River Esplanade opened in 2018, and was formally dedicated in 2019 in honor of the spouse of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The Longfellow Bridge is next to it over the Charles. Get it?

Boston Public Garden

You might think that America’s oldest public botanical garden might not cut it in the winter, but you’d be wrong: It’s especially beautiful that time of year because of the holiday lights. But maybe wait until spring—and pop the question during a swan boat ride.

A person walking between two rows of illuminated bushes at night in a public park in a city. Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Liberty Hotel

The Liberty’s building began life in the 1850s as the Charles Street Jail. The current iteration—a Marriott-operated hotel—retained the original octagonal rotunda, with its 90-foot atrium. It also retained some cell bars. Go to town with the metaphors vis a vis marriage as you see fit.

Acorn Street

If you can finagle some space, use what’s sometimes called the most beautiful street in America as your cobblestone backdrop.

A cobblestone street with leaves on it. Shutterstock

TD Garden

Like with Fenway Park, the arena that’s home to both the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics is perfect if your beloved is a sports fanatic. Plus, if things don’t turn out as planned, the recently expanded coliseum is right above North Station—a (relatively) quick getaway.

The lattice-metal exterior of a major sports arena, with glassy sides on either side of the lattice, which is above the main entrance. Boston Globe via Getty Images

South Station

Yes, it’ll invariably be loud and crowded, but there’s something about dropping to one knee amid all the hustle and bustle of New England’s busiest train and bus hub.

An aerial view of the floor of a busy train station. Craig F. Walker/the Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Institute of Contemporary Art steps

The contemporary art and design museum—the current building for which dates from 2006—is one of the Boston waterfront’s top attractions, and, as such, its water-fronting stairs are particularly prime for proposals.

A contemporary art museum with gigantic windows and a prominent overhang lighted up at night. Shutterstock

Piers Park

Want the Boston skyline as your scrim? This 6.5-acre waterside park can provide it.

A waterfront park with a city skyline in the background, and there are people in the park. Boston Globe via Getty Images