Gardner Gala
When arts patron Isabella Stewart Gardner unveiled her meticulously curated Venetian palazzo Fenway Court in 1903, she did it with a New Year’s Day soiree featuring doughnuts, champagne, and Mozart. More than 120 years later, her namesake museum still hosts an exquisite black-tie dinner, illuminated by candlelight and attended strictly by A-listers. It’s possibly the most elegant evening anywhere in town, as guests gather for cocktails in the courtyard and then dine in the galleries with Old Masters hovering over their shoulders. gardnermuseum.org.
Museum of Science
Unlike the Boston Children's Museum over in Fort Point, the Museum of Science offers parking—a not-insignificant bonus to the many family-friendly charms of this 230,000-square-foot institution. For preschoolers, there's the Discovery Center, full of stuffed animals, things to crawl on and fidget with, knobs to turn, and levers to tug. For older kids, there are exhibits about dinosaurs, lasers, and other gee-whiz subjects. And for parents? The profound joy of nobody whining about being bored. 1 1 Science Park, Boston, MA 2114, mos.org.
Bodega
Is it uncool to call this store cool? Regardless, it’s hard not to get excited once you open the door camouflaged as a vending machine and step inside the sleek, well-lit space, where the latest and greatest styles from Nike, Adidas, and Puma are lined up like artifacts in a museum. And just to ensure Bodega continues its reign of cool, the brand opened Series, a constantly evolving micro art space just a couple of doors down that offers buzzy limited releases and serves as a mecca for local sneakerheads. 6 Clearway St., Boston, MA 02115, shop.bdgastore.com.
Kelly Horan, Jack Rodolico, and Stephen Kurkjian, Last Seen
Mobsters, drugs, priceless art, and an unsolved mystery: This riveting capsule podcast about the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist has it all. Meticulously crafted by WBUR’s Horan and Rodolico and the now-retired longtime Globe staffer Kurkjian, Last Seen’s twists, turns, and revelations are something you have to hear to believe. wbur.org/lastseen. wbur.org/lastseen.
Trefler's
It's unfair to call the artists at Trefler's mere restorers. In fact, they are museum-level art conservators who perform miracles on ancient porcelain, paintings, antique furnishings, gilded frames, and books. These artisans will rescue your First Period blanket chest from the ravages of time, or save you much heartacheif a careless elbow sends your Ming dynasty vase tumbling. 29 Tower Rd., Newton, MA trefler.com.
Childs Gallery
Since 1937 Childs has been a flagship of Boston's fine art market. Specializing in pre-World War II American and European paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture, Childs is where you go to find treasures ranging in importance and price from a small thing of beauty to a centerpiece of an established collection. Owner Roger Howlett's knowledge of his expansive inventory makes Childs nothing short of a museum with price tags. 169 Newbury Street, Boston, MA childsgallery.com.
Barbara Krakow Gallery
Buckminster Fuller architectural prints. Richard Serra silkscreens. Works by Jenny Holzer, Bruce Nauman, Tara Donovan, and Ellsworth Kelly. Over the past 12 months, all have graced Barbara Krakow's stark white walls. That caliber of contemporary and modern art would be the envy of many museums, but this little gallery manages to pull it in and keep it coming. Bonus: With its annual exhibition that raises tens of thousands for AIDS relief, the gallery is a good citizen as well. 10 Newbury St. #5, Boston, MA 2116, barbarakrakowgallery.com.
Institute of Contemporary Art
The ICA is on a run that would be the envy of any museum: In the past year alone, it hosted a range of dynamic exhibits, including Pakistani artist Huma Bhabba’s massive and haunting sculptures, and opened the Watershed, a 15,000-square-foot satellite across the harbor in Eastie. And with the high-profile acquisition of one of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s famed Infinity Mirror Rooms, on view beginning this September, it seems the best is yet to come. 25 Harbor Shore Dr. , Boston, MA icaboston.org.
Peabody Essex Museum
The key to the PEM's brilliance is its diversity. In the past year alone, it put on exhibits from titans such as Alexander Calder and J.M.W. Turner; displayed worldly treasures, from abstract Indian art to imperial Chinese ceramics; and stayed true to its New England roots with a survey of 18th-century local furniture maker Nathaniel Gould. The coming year promises shows covering Dutch kinetic sculptures, Native American fashion designers, and everything in between. And with a $650 million expansion under way, this Salem institution is only going to get better. East India Square, Salem, MA 01970, pem.org.
Elizabeth Murray
The 10-year retrospective of New York artist Elizabeth Murray at MIT's List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge. The paintings were there, the drawings at the MFA. Murray kicked off her career at the Whitney and has been represented in hundreds of important shows. But Boston gave her her first retrospective. MIT's List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames St., Cambridge, MA .
The Sonnabend Collection's Visit to the MFA
Overdue exposure for Bostonians to key pop and minimalist works from the fifties and sixties.
The Computer Museum
Now you can double-click before you buy. On June 29, this museum opened a wonderful gallery that houses 14 terminals, all of which have access to 50 unabridged CD-ROM titles for children, plus plenty of additional recommendations. Families can peruse all the latest software for kids 2 to 12 years old for as long as they like. The excellent selection is the work of author-experts Cathy Miranker and Alison Elliot. 300 Congress Street, Boston, MA .
Peabody Essex Museum
For any Bostonian in search of beauty during a year of social isolation, the PEM’s fresh, eclectic slate of programming was well worth the trip up north. A survey of women who revolutionized fashion stood beside documentarian Peter Hutton’s film of a globetrotting container ship’s journey from construction to junkyard. Meanwhile, painter Jacob Lawrence’s landmark series The American Struggle shared a building with Indian street art, Zarah Hussain’s sound-and-animation exhibit detailing human breath, and Alexis Rockman’s collection of hyperreal paintings of famous shipwrecks. 161 Essex St., Salem, MA 01970, pem.org.
Pousette-Dart Band
With its relaxing acoustic sound and a new contract from Capitol Records, this upbeat group has a clear shot at the national charts. MA
Fruitlands Museum
Who says "rustic wedding" has to mean campy barn party in some far-off locale? Perched above the Nashua River Valley, the grounds of the Fruitlands Museum, in easy-to-reach Harvard, are naturally pastoral, featuring views of rolling hills, forests, and mountains beyond the cliff where couples tie the knot. 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451, fruitlands.org.