If I was any better at skating, I'd come here all the time - free admission, rentals only $5 (CASH…read moreONLY), a pretty view of the harbor, and an absolutely banging playlist, what's not to love? Plus, indoors, a massive boon for when being outside for any amount of time is miserable, which beats Frog Pond. As it were, I spent the first half hour practically clinging to the thin ledge, just trying to stay upright, but still had so much fun. Some tips: 1. Get here early on weekends, right when it opens for public skating - 4pm. You get to be one of the first to get your skates; you can stake out a convenient spot to get on/off the ice; you can have more of an empty rink to play; AND you get dibs on the stacks of crates. 2. Speaking of, the crates are such a genius, low-cost way of helping people get the hang of balancing without having to edge around slowly. As with many things, the stability that comes with skating comes with some amount of speed, which you can't really achieve by pulling yourself along the ledge. 3. Watch out for when it gets crowded, as you have not-so-good skaters like moi, the people practicing spins and jumps in the center, and the speed demons swooshing around. Then you have some random citizen police (who are not the actual rink security keeping an eye on things) trying to convince you to let go of your stack of crates and to practice being out on the open, in the form of an older lady barking orders at me. It was super bizarre. Let me do my thing! 4. The surface got very chipped in a short amount of time, and it was murder on my ankles after a while. 5. Parking is very tricky in this part of the North End. SpotHero or the T are your friend. 6. Whoever was in charge of the playlist, I doff my hat to you. So many bangers, one after the other, to skate to.

Came in for public skating sat 4-9pm. Admission is free and rental skates $5 cash only. Great space…read moreand fun!

How many Boston based professional sports teams can you name?…read more Make a list. Give yourself bonus points if the Boston Blades are on your list. Ever hear of them? Well, they're a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, and guess where they play their home games? Right here at the Lawrence Larsen Skating Rink at the Mike Eruzione Center! We went to the rink on Saturday night to see the Blades lose to the Markham (Ontario) Thunder 8-0. Here are my thoughts on the rink. Pros The rink is very easy to find and is within walking distance of quite a few restaurants. Free parking ! General Admission was a super reasonable $15. The lobby that separates you from entering the rink has a snack bar and a souvenir stand. I also loved their mini museum-like display on Winthrop native Mike Eruzione, the captain of Team USA's 1980 ''Miracle on Ice '' Olympic hockey team. The arena sightlines were pretty good. From our seats we were able to see all of the rink, even the four corners. There was a raffle drawing early in the third period for tickets to the New England Aquarium- that was a pretty nice touch. Cons IT WAS COLD INSIDE. Unreasonably cold. So cold you could see your breath. So cold that you really should have had a blanket, hat, and winter gloves. So cold that an hour and a half after the game, my rear end was still COLD from being parked on those frigid metal benches. If I ever go back, I'll know better. During stoppages in play, the sound system would either play music or someone would make announcements. Once we heard both simultaneously which kind of defeats the option of listening to either. I would have liked to have seen some security presence in the arena. There were three or four older kids running through the stands and stomping around the walkways all evening acting in as an obnoxious manner as I have seen in quite a while. They bumped into people and almost mowed down a few. Its a good thing no one whacked the little darlings on top of their noggins with a goalie stick.

First time I have ever been to a hockey stadium. The place is relatively clean and in a good…read morelocation. Well lit and good sound system. However, instead of using under-ice cooling for the rink they just cool off the entire place making it very cold. You definitely need proper winter clothing or a few blankets when watching a game.

Clean and well-maintained rink with good amenities and heated lobby. FYI no bleachers, only…read morefloor-level benches. We do skating lessons here through The Skating Club of Boston's Skating Academy.

I liked public skate at this place. Limited parking keeps the crowd to a manageable level…read more Note that it's cash only!

This is an older ice rink but it is clean and well repaired. It has 3 full size rinks and (unlike…read moremost of the ice rinks in New England) they are open year round. The pro shop is friendly and well versed in figure skating as well as hockey. There are fairly large stands for spectators. As the name implies this rink is primarily for clubs, classes and leagues. Only limited availability for free skating and walk-in customers.

They have the worst parking lot!! Why they cant spend some money and pave the place??? Terrible…read moremanagement...

This is a quaint little park, conveniently located near Bay Village, Chinatown, and the Theatre…read moreDistrict in Boston. It is very nicely kept, has a cute little playground, and has plenty of places to sit and relax (in addition to the grassy areas). I have walked through this park countless times on my way to catch the T (it is next to the Tufts T stop), and when the weather is nice, it is a great place to take a quick break, catch some sun or eat your lunch. I often see many dog owners bringing their dogs here, although there is a small little, fenced-in dog park right around the corner. This park may be tiny, and lives in the shadow of the neighboring Boston Commons, but it really adds value to the neighborhood and is a wonderful little addition to the area.

A park for solitude when the Common is too full…read more Small park, a bit of green space, a weird cylindrical church, a little shade. It's a good place to stop for a quick break, to sit in the shade on a hot day or to watch little sparrows fight over crumbs.

The Greenway is such a breath of fresh air. So crazy how the highway used to be in its place. There…read moreis quite a bit to look at while walking - pop up art pieces all along the way, beautiful trees, and even some wildlife - mostly birds and rabbits, but every now and again, I'll see a turkey. Toward the North End, there's a carousel and often there is at least one food truck - usually a sweet treat. Luke's lobster is nearby the carousel too. During the summer, they have an artisan market and even some food trucks. There aren't any bathrooms but right across the street - Atlantic, there are a few options--the Marriott at Long wharf, Boston Harbor Hotel, and the Intercontinental.

A beautiful park in the middle of one side of the city. A great place for pictures. It had a…read morecarousel and a rose garden in the center. The rose garden was not very big. It was nice. It was an area fenced in. It had benches inside, and it smelled wonderful. Right at the entrance of the garden, a round fountain stood. To the sides, two large walk-in canopies were surrounded by green. The park was nice. I liked my time there. It was a family-friendly place.

Maybe the horses (all named and either perpetually or seasonally "adoptable") are cracked for wear,…read moreshowing signs of their 90-year-old senior citizen status. Maybe they don't have the admittedly flashy variety of animalia found in newer carousels. Looking at you, grasshoppers and ostriches of the Greenway. Maybe they don't have the bronze rings of Oak Bluff's game. And luckily, that means you don't have jammed fingers or hyperextension pains. Maybe that'll have you proclaiming, "No gimmicks? It's not worth the $3 fee!" But these maybes just make you a fuddy-duddy. This covered delight is five minutes of innocent fun that'll put a priceless grin on your two (or 22) year old. Extra love for charging only a single admission when the parent has to stand with their kid. Safety first!

Another spectacular visit to the Paragon Carousel. Still a wonderful summertime tradition. For…read moreeveryone young and old alike.

I sat here at Dewey Square for ninety minutes in the sun, Memorial Day Weekend. I love public…read morespace. We should celebrate these venues. People of all ethnicities and faiths can and do gather as equals. I had taken the train in from New York City, where I live, the early morning run that is priced so temptingly that I select it even though I regret that when I must arise at 3:30am to make my way in the dark to catch it. Others like the option as well. Every seat was taken. That also meant, however, arriving far too early to check into the hotel. My wife and her college roommate were coming in from Cape Cod. Their ETA was after lunch. I was wondering what I would do on my own. It was a mile hike to where we were staying. This place is very close to South Station. They had all these Adirondack chairs. Only a few people were out. The weather was perfect: not cold, but not yet hot. You could sit out in the sun comfortably. That is a limited season, meant to be savored while it lasts. So I sat down to write and "people watch." A group of German tourists showed up. I should say German speaking; they could have been Austrian or from elsewhere. One of them, a woman, was coughing so much, it was one of those she's losing a lung sounds. I considered alighting from my perch. I figured we were outdoors and she was facing in the other direction. As of 24 hours late, I have not come down with anything. So that risk turns out to have been worth taking, though it is an indication of my laziness (it also would have seemed rude, since I would have settled down a greater distance away, and it would be apparent why I had departed, and people interpret these gestures differently, which is to say many are quick to take offense). Others were hanging out, reading, one sketching.

The tail end of the Greenway, Dewey Square Park is a small piece of green right under the start of…read morethe tunnel in front of South Station and the iconic Federal Reserve building. More than just grass, the Park is a little bit of rolling hill and grassy treed areas that isn't flat like the rest of the Greenway. Almost a proper forest, if you can turn out the sirens, honking horns and skyscrapers. It's a little bit of nature in the middle of a very big city.