Boston Common

It's the oldest public park in Boston, and one of the oldest the country - the dignified, tree-shaded Boston Common is presided over on one end by the Massachusetts Statehouse, where same-sex marriage was signed into law in 2004. Several prominent restaurants and hotels (the Four Seasons, the gay-popular Nine Zero) overlook the common, which also borders the lovely Boston Public Garden at one end, and it's close to the historic Granary Burying Ground at the other. The Common is bordered by Tremont, Beacon, Charles and Boylston streets.