Every year couples set out to have the perfect romantic dinner at one of the many great Boston restaurants. But what if you (or your significant other’s) perfect night doesn’t involve white linen and expensive wine?

For those people who want to try something new, romantic and fun, check out these five Valentine’s Day events around Boston:

If you’re a little short on cash (who isn’t) for the upcoming holiday, try bringing your date to the Commons for some frog pond skating. On Sundays the skating rink is open all day (10am – 9pm), so you can start your night, or end it, here. Skating with couples and singles alike can give you a little more lighthearted fun then the quiet of a high-end (and expensive) restaurant. When you’re done you can go for a walk in the Boston Public Gardens which beautiful even in winter.

Fore more information on the frog pond head to http://www.bostoncommonfrogpond.org/

If skating isn’t your thing, and you want a more relaxing adventure, travel back to the ’40s with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Berman for the Brattle Theatre’s showing of Casablanca. Show times are at 4:15, 7:00, and 9:45. After the show walk through beautiful and bustling Harvard square to check out some of the Valentine’s events that are taking place during the day.

Tickets are available from Brattle Theatre here: http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/index.html

For animal lovers out there, The New England Aquarium presents the perfect opportunity to meet anything from a penguin to a seadragon. The Franklin Park Zoo, on the other hand, affords couples that are sick of the cold with the chance to visit the tropics through their 72 degree tropical forest exhibit.

New England Aquarium: http://www.neaq.org/index.php

Franklin Park Zoo: http://www.zoonewengland.org/

The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum’s Venetian Valentine Evening Soiree is a chance for those of us with a little more money to spend to explore real romance while supporting a good cause. The evening features Jazz music and a romantic tour of the museum, followed by cocktails and dessert in one of Boston’s most beautiful venues. This should make for an unforgettable night.

ISGM Venetian Valentine: http://www.gardnermuseum.org/valentine.asp

Whatever your plans are for Valentine’s day, its sure to be romantic in Boston. If none of these fit you style, and you’re looking for a great seafood restaurant, check out the Westin Copley’s Turner Fisheries for their award winning presentation of New England favorites.

February 8th, 2010