Why you should experience Forest Hills in Boston, Massachusetts.
Forest Hills is a historic Jamaica Plain neighborhood where landscape architecture, transportation heritage, and garden cemetery traditions converge around one of Boston's most distinctive districts.
Positioned between Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, the Arnold Arboretum, and Franklin Park, this picturesque neighborhood combines landmark parks, historic transit facilities, celebrated civic institutions, architecturally significant residences, beautifully landscaped public spaces, and enduring community character that collectively showcase Boston's extraordinary blend of natural beauty and urban planning. Tree-lined residential streets, thoughtfully preserved historic buildings, welcoming neighborhood businesses, thriving public spaces, celebrated green landscapes, and enduring civic traditions create an environment where generations of horticulturists, commuters, educators, residents, and visitors have shaped one of New England's defining garden neighborhoods. Forest Hills has continually evolved while preserving its longstanding relationship with Boston's Emerald Necklace and transportation network. The result is a neighborhood defined by landscape beauty, historical significance, and lasting civic importance.
What you should know about Forest Hills.
Forest Hills is best known for housing Forest Hills Cemetery, where landscape architect H. W. S. Cleveland and architect Gridley J. F. Bryant created one of America's finest rural garden cemeteries in 1848, establishing a nationally influential model that blended grand funerary art with picturesque parkland.
Conceived during the rural cemetery movement, Forest Hills Cemetery introduced winding roads, dramatic topography, ornamental plantings, and exceptional memorial sculpture that encouraged visitors to experience the landscape as both a place of remembrance and public recreation. The cemetery became the final resting place of numerous prominent Bostonians while influencing cemetery and park design throughout the United States. Its extraordinary combination of landscape architecture, horticulture, and sculpture continues to define the neighborhood's identity. That remarkable achievement has established Forest Hills as home to one of America's great nineteenth-century landscape masterpieces.
How to fold Forest Hills into your trip.
Forest Hills is best experienced as an exploration of Boston's landscape architecture, horticultural heritage, and historic park system.
Begin in Forest Hills, where the neighborhood's verdant landscape immediately establishes its defining identity. Continue toward Forest Hills Cemetery, where one of America's finest rural garden cemeteries provides broader perspective on the area's extraordinary landscape legacy. From there, make your way to the Arnold Arboretum, where one of the world's leading botanical collections provides a memorable conclusion while celebrating Boston's enduring leadership in horticulture, conservation, and public landscape design. Along the way, you'll encounter beautifully designed cemetery landscapes, welcoming neighborhood streets, architecturally significant memorials, thriving green spaces, celebrated botanical collections, and vibrant public destinations that reveal Jamaica Plain's exceptional depth. The progression moves naturally from a historic garden neighborhood to a nationally significant rural cemetery to a world-renowned arboretum, demonstrating how Forest Hills connects landscape innovation, community life, and cultural discovery.
Where your story begins.
Start the planning journey with Foresyte Travel.
Experience immersive stories crafted for luxury travelers.
