Best of Boston

Located a few blocks from JFK’s birthplace, this 2-acre courtyard-style park beckons with inventive climbing structures, sandboxes, a pair of swing sets, a spray pool, and an adjacent soccer field. It’s also surrounded by stately oaks that create a shady refuge on sweltering afternoons. But perhaps its finest feature is the gorgeous Minot Rose Garden: Marked by a turn-of-the-century trellis taken from the Larz Anderson estate, it hosts 70 varieties of roses, lovingly tended by a neighborhood alliance.