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Best Holiday lights in Boston—a walk around the city...

14 Dec, 2021
Best Holiday lights in Boston—a walk around the city...

Kings Boston Teacher and Student Experience Coordinator, Benjamin Gross, shares a walking trail that takes in the best holiday lights in Boston this year.

During the darkest months of the year, Boston becomes a city lit by holiday sparkle. From candles in windows, colorfully lit arbors, elegantly shining trees, there are so many locations that will simply wow you. (A personal favorite is a part of the South End just south of the highway where community gardens light up the long nights.).

For those who are new to or simply haven’t spent much time in the city, I’ve put together an extensive tour of the must-see holiday lights of Boston.

Commonwealth Avenue

The trees on Commonwealth Avenue in Back Bay sparkle behind crawling white string-lights wrapped around the trunk from root to crown. Stroll the promenade between lanes of one of Boston’s oldest streets beginning, really, anywhere headed east toward the Public Gardens.

Public Gardens & Boston Commons

Passing the George Washington statue marking the western exterior of the Public Gardens, amble up and over the bridge spanning the shallow pond below. Colorfully lit branches will flank the path further up the Shawmut Peninsula to the Boston Commons.

Featuring prominently in the center of the Commons, the massive gift from Halifax, Nova Scotia in return for supplies being sent from Boston to support the recovery effort following an explosion in 1941. Skate at the Frog Pond if you so desire—rentals are cheap & the lights surrounding offer a cozy winter wonderland.

Seaport

Newly built-up, the Seaport Commons host another tree in Boston. With one of the best views of Downtown Boston, across the Fort Point Channel, the coastal Seaport is lit up for more than just the winter holidays.

Waterfront Park Trellis

Back across the channel and through the financial district, the waterfront park north of the aquarium hosts a brilliantly lit trellis with a view of the harbor. Adjacent to the Harborwalk and North End, there is plenty to explore outside of its holiday brilliance.

Macy’s Holiday Tree

Downtown Crossing offers a more bustling winter lights experience with its frequent foot traffic and abundance of retail stores. Macy’s famously hosts a tree lighting, which peers from upon the awning over Summer Street.

Copley Square

Host to numerous attractions, Back Bay’s most central plaza truly lights up the night. With the Public Library & Menorah across Dartmouth Street, Trinity Church, the Hancock Tower, (New) Old South Church and dazzling hotels, the area is a must-see on your holiday lights journey.