Central Park – The Lungs of New York City

Central Park – Location

Central Park is aptly named – it is in fact the “center” of New York City! It is located in the heart of Manhattan, and is spread between 5th Avenue and Central Park West (8th Avenue).

Its exact address is:

Central Park S & 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019

 

Central Park – Contact Details

• Phone: 212-772-0210 / 212-860-1370 / 212-310-6600 (Conservatory) / 212-439-6500 (Central Park Zoo)

 

About Central Park

Central Park is a public park at the center of Manhattan in New York City. The park covers 843 acres (3.41 sq. km) of city-owned land right in the middle of the city that boasts of the costliest real estate in the world!

The park is operated by the Central Park Conservancy, which is a private, not-for-profit organization that administers the park under an agreement with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Central Park was planned by landscape designer and writer Frederick Law Olmsted and the English architect Calvert Vaux. Its construction was started in 1857, and completed in 1873.

Since 1963, Central Park has been a National Historic Landmark.

Interesting fact: About 35 million people visit Central Park every year!

 

Central Park in the Movies

Central park has appeared in numerous Hollywood and foreign movies. Some of them are:

• 

  When Harry Met Sally – A Scene from Central Park

  When Harry Met Sally

• One Fine Day
• A Troll in Central Park
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Home Alone 2
• Serendipity
• Ransom
• Date Night
• Hair
• Portrait of Jennie
• Rosemary’s Baby
• Love Story
• Enchanted
• Hannah And Her Sisters
• Kramer vs. Kramer
• The World of Henry Orient
• The Muppets Take Manhattan
• Ghostbusters
• Gossip Girl
• Glee (TV series)

 

What to see at Central Park

The trees and foliage covering much of the park seem to be natural, although the park is almost completely landscaped! There are several natural-looking lakes and ponds as well that have been created artificially.

Central Park has board walks and foot tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks (one of which is a swimming pool in July and August), the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a 106-acre (43 ha) billion-gallon reservoir with an encircling running track.

You can also find an outdoor amphitheater, called the Delacorte Theater, which hosts the “Shakespeare in the Park” summer festival.

Among the indoor attractions, there are Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater, and the historic Carousel.

If you are interested in lawns, you have several options. There are seven major lawns, or the “meadows“. At central park, many small grassy areas are used for casual or team sports. “The Ramble” is popular among birders, which is the wooded section of the park.

For children, there are a number of playgrounds to choose from. Joggers, bicyclists, skateboarders, and inline skaters can use 6 miles (10 km) of drives within the park.

You can hire rowboats and kayaks on an hourly basis at the Loeb Boathouse. There is also a restaurant overlooking the lake at the boathouse.

You will find lots of horse drawn carriages outside the park where you can take a ride and explore the park.

As you can see, there are lots of things to do and see a Central Park – you are guaranteed to have a good time when you visit the park, irrespective of when you visit it.

 

Insider tip: If you are hiring a horse carriage at central park, make sure you take the longer, 40-45 minute trip instead of the more popular 20 minute trip.

Although it costs more, you would be taken to the heart of the park, and you would get good photo opportunities near the Bethesda fountain and the lake at the Cherry Hill. It’s definitely worth the extra cost!

 

Activities in Central Park

• 

  Row Boating and Kayaking – Central Park Fall Colors

  Horse drawn carriage ride

• Boating / Row boats
• Kayaking
• Biking
• Running / Jogging
• Skating
• Skateboarding
• Ice skating
• Shakespeare in the Park – Plays
• Carousal for kids
• Central park zoo

 

Central Park Hours

Central Park remains open to visitors all days of the week around the year.

The park remains closed only for 5 hours each day: in the early morning from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.

 

How to reach Central Park

Central Park runs North to South from 110th street to 59th street, and West to East from Central Park West to 5th Avenue. Therefore, it has numerous entrances, and you are sure to get to one of them using public transport!

 

By Train / Subway

There are numerous subway stops in the Central Park area. You can take the:

• N, R, W trains to the 59th Street Subway station
• 2, 3 trains to the Central Park North /110th Street train station
• B, C trains to the 110th Street, 103rd Street, 96th Street, 86th Street, 81st Street, and 72nd Street Subway stops
• A, D trains to the 59th Street /Columbus Circle train stop

 

By Bus

Although it is easiest to reach Central Park by Subway, there are also several bus options available to you. You can take the:

• M5L bus from W 34th Street stop (near Penn station) heading to Washington Heights, and get off at Central Park South bus stop
• Q32 bus from Madison Ave and E 42 St bus stop (near Grand Central station) heading to Jackson Heights (Queens) and get off at E 59th Street and Madison Avenue bus stop

Alternatively, you can take NYC’s hop on hop off buses to reach Central Park.

 

Central Park Admission Tickets

Central park has no admission tickets – it is completely free. If you want to visit the Central Park Zoo, however, you would need to purchase tickets.

If you are interested in taking a tour of central park, you can check them out here and here.

 

Other Tourist Attractions Near Central Park

• Broadway Shows
• Fifth Avenue Shopping
• Bryant Park
• Ripley’s Believe It or Not
• Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
• Top of The Rock Observation Deck
• Intrepid Air ad Space Museum
• Rockefeller Center
• American Museum of Natural History
• Times Square
• Apple Store on 5th Avenue
• Metropolitan Museum of Art