Boston Common is the first gem in the city’s so-called Emerald Necklace, a series of linked green spaces. Come November, the Frog Pond (on the Beacon Street side of the Common, 617-635-2120) fills with ice skaters. The rink makes its own ice, so skaters can glide even in relatively balmy temperatures (admission is $3 for adults; skate rental, $7).

If the ice seems too crowded, pause for a moment to gaze at the Common from Boylston and Tremont Streets: the gauzy, lamplight scene inspired Childe Hassam’s ”Boston Common at Twilight,” which you can catch indoors at the Museum of Fine Arts the next morning.