The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is like visiting some art-loving person's crowded, huge house that happens to have a big garden inside. In fact that's what you're visiting, and it is really cool. You can go through the whole thing in an hour, but give yourself more time to relax by the courtyard and pause to talk to the employees. The security guards here seem to love working here and are full of trivia, especially about the famous art heist in the early 90s (the spaces on the wall where those pieces hung are still empty - very creepy). Fabulous outdoor gardens in warmer weather. Try to come when it's less crowded - there's a lot to look at in rather small spaces, and the whole place feels holy.
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