Best of Boston

When arts patron Isabella Stewart Gardner unveiled her meticulously curated Venetian palazzo Fenway Court in 1903, she did it with a New Year’s Day soiree featuring doughnuts, champagne, and Mozart. More than 120 years later, her namesake museum still hosts an exquisite black-tie dinner, illuminated by candlelight and attended strictly by A-listers. It’s possibly the most elegant evening anywhere in town, as guests gather for cocktails in the courtyard and then dine in the galleries with Old Masters hovering over their shoulders.