The Complete Detailed List of Everything To Do in Central Park

If you are an avid reader of this blog, you will know that I provide two versions of posts like this for your convenience:

Click Here if you want the List Lover version

a simple list (with no information) that you can print out or use as a tick list

However if you are a Detail Lover carry on reading..

The first thing to note about Central Park is that it is HUGE! (843 acres to be exact). Looking back on my time in New York, I wish I had had a list / map of everything to do in the Park because I truly underestimated how large it was, how much there was to see and how long it would take. So I have compiled a list for you.

The Great Lawn

In the center of Central Park lies the Great Lawn, a green pasture of 55-acres that is considered one of the most famous lawns in the world. The juxtaposition between this huge stretch of lush green and then the New York skyline is something you must see.

The Mall

A beautiful place to sit reading a book on a bench that one of your most beloved actor's bottoms may have also sat. You may have seen the iconic tree covered walk and it's famous benches in many a movie such as Kramer vs. Kramer, Enchanted, Home Alone, Serendipity, Maid In Manhattan, Friends with Benefits and Definitely Maybe.

Alice in Wonderland Statue

Located just north of the Conservatory Water at East 74th Street

The iconic Alice and Wonderland Statue depicting the characters from Lewis Carroll's 1865 classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Alice, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire cat, the dormouse, and the Mad Hatter. Publisher George T. Delacorte Jr. ordered the sculpture from José de Creeft, in honour of his late wife, and to the enjoyment of the children of New York. Margarita's favorite poem, "The Jabberwocky" is chiseled in a granite circle surrounding the sculpture:"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe."

The millions of hands and feet that have climbed the sculpture in the last 150 years have effectively been polishing it, hence it's bronze sheen.

Strawberry Fields

Central Park West between 71st and 74th Streets

Strawberry Fields is a 2.5 acre area of Central Park that pays tribute to the late Beatle, John Lennon, named after the title of the Beatles' song "Strawberry Fields Forever". John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono lived in the Dakota Apartments adjacently located to this area of the park. It was here, walking into his home, on December 8, 1980, that John Lennon was murdered and shot dead.

The iconic black and white Imagine mosaic lies in the center of Strawberry Fields, named after another famous song by John Lennon, "Imagine".

Shakespeare's Garden

Shakespeare's garden covers four acres of Central Park and is a place you can simultaneously learn about botany and the classics. There are flowers and plants mentioned or alluded to in the plays of William Shakespeare and lore tells of a white mulberry tree in the gardens coming from a graft of a tree planted by the poet himself. Shakespeare's garden is located near the Delacorte Theater, the open-air amphitheater which puts on the Shakespeare in the Park series every summer. Shakespeare Garden truly is a place of serenity, a place to escape to from the craziness of Manhattan.

Horse Drawn Carriage Ride

There is something quintessentially New York about a carriage ride - seen in hundreds of movies and TV shows and insanely expensive. When walking around the border of the park expect for many carriage drivers to come up to you with a large card with all the places they will take you to (which are amazing) and then they flip over to the prices - the starting price is well over $100. If you want to see all of Central Park and have the money I would advise it as Central Park is so big that even locals have not seen it all. After doing some research I found that this family business offer much cheaper prices than those offered to you on the day.

Tavern on the Green

67th Street & Central Park West, NY 10023 212-877-8684

Originally the Tavern on the Green was built in the 1880’s to house the 700 Southdown sheep that grazed in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow. The building was then transformed in to a restaurant in 1934. The iconic view of the park, and the addition of a dance floor, outdoor seating, and lavish menu, kept prominent actors, musicians, and public figures coming back to the restaurant to dine, drink, and celebrate.

Belvedere Castle

79th St, New York, NY 10021

Just looking at this picture summarises to me why I am so in love with New York. The castle is a folly but offers the most beautiful panoramic views of the park and the city (hence the name which means beautiful panoramic view in Italian).

Carousel

$3 a ride

The current Central Park Carousel, installed in 1951, is one of the largest merry-go-rounds in the United States. The fifty-eight hand-carved horses and two chariots were made by Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein in 1908.