Thursdays at the Gardner

There are museums you visit once, and then there's the Gardner. On Thursday nights, Boston's most enchanting museum opens its doors for free, giving you every reason to wander its famously eclectic galleries after work. One minute you're standing beneath the museum's glass-covered courtyard, the next you're ducking into dimly lit rooms filled with Venetian paintings, ancient sculptures, and objects Isabella Stewart Gardner collected simply because she loved them. Creative activities add another layer to the evening, while the first Thursday of each month brings live music, performances, and art making into the mix. Café G stays open for drinks and light bites, making it easy to stretch a museum visit into a full night out. Even if you've been before, the Gardner has a way of making every visit feel like you're discovering it for the first time.