Strategically located just six miles northwest of Boston in Middlesex County, Watertown enjoys the advantages of this metropolitan commercial, residential, and social community while maintaining its own local characteristics and unity. Watertown is located in Middlesex County in Eastern Massachusetts, six miles northwest of Boston on the Charles River. It is bordered on the North by Belmont and Cambridge, on the South by Boston and Newton, and on the West by Waltham. Although densely settled, there are many open areas, i.e. parks, cemeteries, and riverbanks.