Located just a couple blocks south of the Boston Public Garden, Bay Village lies between Back Bay, South End, and the Theatre District. Inside these six square blocks is Boston’s smallest neighborhood officially recognized by the city. For data tracking purposes, we file it within the South End.

Bay Village is the type of neighborhood you can really dive into. Its borders are represented by much busier streets but once you leave Arlington or Charles Street, you enter into a world where the buzz of city fades away. A strategic system of one way streets keeps cut through traffic at a minimum. With easy access to excellent restaurants and downtown Boston, generally, many suggest, that this location is hard to beat and real estate pricing comes at a relative value.

This neighborhood is home to several periods of classic Boston architecture that line Bay Village’s narrow, tree-filled streets. Many of the area’s Federal style townhouses imitate larger Beacon Hill mansions since the carpenters and craftsmen who built the grand houses on the hill erected smaller versions for themselves in this nearby neighborhood. While prominent, this is not the only architectural style featured in the neighborhood. Turn the corner on Fayette Street, to find examples of English Neoclassic architecture or head to Melrose Street and find larger Greek Revival townhouses. In 1865, the City of Boston decided to raise the neighborhood by jacking up the streets, houses, and stores 18 feet above sea level. However, the city decided that back yards only needed to come up to 12 feet. As you walk through the quiet streets, you can find these sunken gardens (6’ below street level) throughout Bay Village.