Walking tours

Morning

Central Park stroll
Start Columbus Circle
Finish Roof Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Distance About 1.5 miles
Time About 3 hours

Winners of the modestly named ‘Central Park Design Competition’ in 1857, Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted set about creating a park where ‘every tree and bush, every arch, roadway and walk, has been fixed where it is with a sense of purpose.’ Welcome to New York City’s own 843-acre backyard, where history, scenery and boundless opportunities for ‘leisurely contemplation’ await.

Columbus Circle

Your day begins at Columbus Circle, located at the southwest corner of the park. This 1892 monument got a makeover in 2005, but the real reason to celebrate is the (newish) neighbor to the west—the Time Warner Center—a hub of shops including a Whole Foods market in the basement and Bouchon Bakery on the third floor: perfect for coffee and croissants before setting off into the woods.

Enter the park through its southwest gate (called the Merchants Entrance), diagonally across the street from the statue of Columbus (look for the welcoming arms of a gilt-covered woman atop the imposing entry monument). Walking straight ahead (east) you’ll hit the roadway that snakes through much of the park. Follow this to the right until you come to Heckscher Playground, the city’s largest and oldest playground. Head past the restrooms and go north (a left turn), and you’ll soon hit another kid-friendly attraction, the Friedsam Memorial Carousel, which has operated on the same site in one form or another since 1871. A masterpiece of 1900s folk art, it sports 58 of the largest hand-carved horses ever constructed. The original calliope still cranks out organ music, and there’s a psychotic frieze of Cupid shooting rabbits.

Sheep Meadow

Leave the spinning horses behind, make a sharp left, and head north up a small hill where you will soon discover the park’s undisputed spot for great city views—Sheep Meadow. The sheep were evicted in the 1930s, replaced by city sunbathers who pack in, sardine-like, on warm days. Follow the meadow around to the west and you’ll find the Mineral Springs Café, a snack bar. Passing by the café, stay to your right and soon enough you’ll come to a roadway. Cross over, and look for the statue of 19th-century American statesman Daniel Webster, before you come to the celebrated Strawberry Fields, memorial to one of the world’s most adored cultural icons, John Lennon. Just up the hill you’ll find the marble mosaic (a gift from Naples, Italy) inscribed with one word: imagine.

Strawberry Fields

A short walk west takes you out of the park and straight up to the Dakota apartment building. Built in 1884, it was the last home (and murder site) of John Lennon. The German Renaissance-style structure isn’t only notable for its famous residents (which have also included Lauren Bacall), it also served as the exterior for Roman Polanski’s film Rosemary’s Baby and a crucial setting in Jack Finney’s beloved novel Time and Again.

A jaunt up Central Park West will take you past the New-York Historical Society, where exhibitions celebrate the city’s fascinating past. But if you like your history to come with more bite, keep looking for the medieval turret of the American Museum of Natural History, with its celebrated collection of dinosaur skeletons.

Dip back into the park at 77th Street and follow the entry path down to the roadway, then cross it and head south (a right turn). You’ll be treated to a view of water opening up on your left-hand side and you can follow this around for quite some time until you arrive at Cherry Hill Fountain. Head down to the water’s edge to witness the park’s most expansive panorama: the lake.

Bethesda Fountain

In the distance you’ll see the graceful cast-iron Bow Bridge. Stroll past it down to the undisputed heart of the park, the Bethesda Fountain, with its winged Angel of the Waters statue. The only statuary commissioned for the original park’s design, it is also featured in the film Angels in America. Pause to admire the recently restored Minton-tile ceiling of the terrace.

Following the path closest to the water’s edge, head up and over a small hill leading to the Loeb Boathouse. Boat rentals and a famed restaurant (plus a cheaper snack bar) can be found; it’s also the spot where Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw made a big splash attempting to kiss Mr Big. A bench in the snack bar area is the designated location for the Central Park Bird Log—an obsessive communal diary recording sightings of everything from warblers and green herons to red-tailed hawks.

Stuffed and sated, exit the Boathouse, heading straight down to the roadway. Cross over and follow the small footpath to another icon of the park’s seemingly endless supply, the Conservatory Water, better known as the Boat Pond. Used by generations of Manhattan’s children to sail toy ships, it is flanked on two sides by well-loved statues. One is Hans Christian Andersen (a venue for Saturday-morning storytelling sessions in summer), but it’s the other—featuring a certain Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and a famous blond—that gets worldwide attention.

Make a beeline north and follow the path to the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Turn right and exit out on to Fifth Avenue—the museum is just north. Once inside, head to the Roof Garden (ask the nearest guard for directions; open late April to late October, weather permitting), where you can sip a glass of wine. The view is every Woody Allen movie rolled into one impossibly long Manhattan panorama of trees, buildings and a seemingly endless sky.

Next: Afternoon >>