Hillside Cemetery

This 1798 cemetery could essentially double as an art museum. The graves are not just markers but striking, varied works of sculpture worthy of visits from strangers.

Explore its vast assortment of wild and impressive entries including one shaped like a tree, several statues of people, and the spectacular Tinker Mausoleum, which looks not unlike a miniature Supreme Court building. It’s only fitting that this cemetery is walking distance from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art—and it might even outdo that collection from time to time.

It’s almost more interesting that nobody particularly famous is buried here: The markers are all the more genuine and compelling for it. That doesn’t mean, however, that the Hillside residents have no kind of notability hierarchy. Among those buried here are a noted archaeologist, a Congressman, a Senator, a personal friend of two United States Presidents, and someone in attendance when Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.