Central Park Tours in Manhattan
- Central Park is America's oldest public park.bridge in central park image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
A visit to New York City would not be complete without a trip to Central Park. Central Park, the first public park in the United States, is an oasis of green in the concrete jungle, replete with a zoo, a castle and a carousel. The park's 843 acres encompass seven bodies of water, 250 acres of lawns and 136 acres of woods. There are dozens of ways to tour Central Park, and here are a few. - rowboating in central park image by Erin Cadigan from Fotolia.com
Central Park.com offers free self-guided walking tours. You can download a PDF, maps and MP3s and explore the park on your own time and schedule. Park officials offer a family tour, just over a mile long, which includes the zoo, statues of Alice in Wonderland, Hans Christian Andersen and Baldo the sled dog and Conservatory water, where local enthusiasts sail miniature sailboats.
They also offer a two-and-a-half-mile tour which focuses on art and architecture. This includes many of the same things as the family tour. Additionally, it includes Cleopatra's Needle, Belvedere Castle and the Swedish Castle.
These self-guided tours are both free from CentralPark.com - ride bicycle image by apeschi from Fotolia.com
Central Park is an enormous place; visitors can cover more ground on a set of wheels. Central Park Bicycle rents mountain bikes and hybrids for $15 dollars for a single hour or $20 for two hours.
Central Park Bicycle
250 W. 49th St.
New York, NY 10019 (Between 8th Ave. & Broadway)
(347) 713-0013 - If biking sounds like too much work, let someone else do the pedaling for you. They offer Pedicabs (bicycle-powered rickshaws) at the same location. These take about two hours and in addition to statues and ponds, their guide will point out the houses of famous people and movie locations.
Central Park Bicycle
250 W. 49th St.
New York, NY 10019 (Between 8th Ave. & Broadway)
(347) 713-0013 - Horse-drawn carriagecentral park carriage horse image by Wimbledon from Fotolia.com
A horse-drawn carriage is a quaint and picturesque way to see the beauty of the park.
Standard carriage rides cost $34 for a 17-minute ride. You will see the Sheep Meadow, the Pond and the Carousel over this one-mile trip.
You don't need reservations for the standard ride. You can find the carriages lined up on Central Park South between 5th and 6th avenues.
If you want something longer or more specifically directed than the standard ride, call (212) 664-1149 for reservations (office hours:10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) . - Big Onion Tours offers a highly rated walking tour. The tour covers the usual attractions and more, including the Bow Bridge, Sheep Meadow, the Casino and the site of the "rocking chair" riot.
Big Onion Tours
1317 3rd Ave.
New York, NY 10021-2995
(212) 439-1090
