Must-seeSight · ParkFreeGood for kidsOutdoors

Central Park

Manhattan's great backyard, with lakes, lawns and woodland. Walk from the Plaza at 59th Street up past the Mall to Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge and Strawberry Fields, or rent a bike for the loop road. Pair it with the Met or the Natural History Museum on either side.

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Photo: Anthony Quintano from Hillsborough, NJ, United States · CC BY 2.0

Open: Every day, 6 AM to 1 AM
Price: Free
Time needed: Half a day
Best time: Spring blossom in April and May, and fall color in late October and November. Weekend mornings are lively; weekday mornings are calm.
Address: Bethesda Terrace, Central Park, New York, NY 10024Google Maps Apple Maps
Getting there: 59 St–Columbus Circle (A, B, C, D, 1) at the southwest corner, 5 Av/59 St (N, R, W) at the southeast corner, or any stop along Central Park West for the west side.
Accessibility: Most paths are paved and step-free, though some areas are hilly.
On site: Food carts and kiosks throughout, and public restrooms in several park buildings.

Why go

Laid out in the 1850s and 1860s, the park runs 51 blocks up the middle of Manhattan. It's where New Yorkers jog, picnic and row boats, and it holds some of the city's most photographed spots: Bethesda Terrace and its fountain, Bow Bridge over the Lake, the Mall's tunnel of elms, Strawberry Fields with its Imagine mosaic for John Lennon, and the Sheep Meadow lawn with the skyline behind it.

Tips

Enter at the southeast corner by the Plaza and walk north: the Mall, Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge and Strawberry Fields make an easy two-hour loop.
Renting a bike or rowboat is the quickest way to see more of it.
The Met is on the east edge at 82nd Street and the Natural History Museum on the west at 79th, so cross the park between them.