I have to confess i love New York,spent an afternoon sun bathing with a picnic here,walked here evey day, loved just people watching.I Went to the John Lennon memorial(a circular mosaic ) and met some interesting hippy types playing guitars.We took an evening ride in a pony and trap ,we had a meal in the famous Tavern On The Green .The place was notorious for drugs,muggings etc ,but with the help of zero tolerance and the conservation society ,has been reclaimed by New Yorkers and tourists a like .Also spent an afternoon in the zoo and at the Metropolitan Art Museum ,hope to be back very soon.

Possibly the most famous park in the world, this huge island of green in the centre of Manhattan has been an essential place for the city’s inhabitants to escape to since it was opened in 1873.

The need for some form of public open space in New York had been identified as early as the 1840s, but it wasn’t until 1857 that a competition was held to choose a design. It was won by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect Calvert Vaux, whose planned but naturalistic design was inspired by contemporary public parks in Europe. At nearly 850 acres, it is more than half as large again as Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

An early innovation was the separation of routes for pedestrians, carriages and horse riders. The design required huge earthworks as well as the eviction of over 1,500 residents in the designated area, and the planting of millions of trees and shrubs from 1,500 different species, so it was not until 1873 that it was finally completed.

The park was an instant success, but over the years suffered neglect, until by the 1970s it had a reputation for muggings and criminality, although in the southern half at least, this was probably exaggerated. Nevertheless, the park was in a poor condition, and it required concerted action, and a new structure of governance and management under the Central Park Conservancy to turn things around. The park is once again thriving and a cherished part of the city, and one of the safest urban parks in the world.

The park contains many attractions in addition to the parkland and sports facilities it is famous for, most notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park Zoo and the various landscaped lakes and ponds, including the huge 106 acre reservoir - itself larger than many city parks; there are also outdoor performance spaces, and theatre and concerts take place regularly in the summer. Many area have been designated as wildlife conservation zones, and the park has a rich flora and fauna.

A unique feature of the park is the ‘rim’ of tall buildings that surround it, which are visible from almost every part of the park. This gives it the feel of a gigantic swimming pool and, indeed, a friend’s description that it looked like a ‘great big green swimming pool’ from the top of the Empire State Building is still to my mind the best description of it!

Lovely no matter what the weather, be it a magical walk in the snow on a quiet winter morning or a pizza picnic on the first sunny day of the year when the whole of New York is out to play.

This place is the heart of New York.

Central Park covers 843 acres and each space covered here is worthwhile space, which is 6% of Manhattan.
Its hours of operation are from 6:00 am until 1:00 am.

The Park stretches from Central Park South (59th St.) to 110th St. at the northern end and from 5th Ave. on the East Side to Central Park West (8th Ave.) on the West Side. A spectacular park to spend an afternoon at

It’s a great place for an easy stroll, stop to watch a street entertainer, take a boatride on the lake and basically forget you are in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world

a wonderful magical place

Go here to see where locals get on with their lives, jogging, dog walking etc

Plenty to do and see a must when in New York