NYC Four Seasons of Central Park

I wanted to share this magnificent park in all it’s glory all year round, as I enjoy it all year round. It’s always beautiful for me and for everyone living in Manhattan it’s our sanctuary of nature at it’s best, it has SO much beauty. They say healthy cities need healthy parks and with more than 750 acres of park in Manhattan, we concur. Landscape architects Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park in 1857 as a way to improve public health and water features were a key component. They did a magnificent job.

We have so many wonderful places to visit in the park, the Great Lawn, The Lake, Strawberry Fields, Belvedere Castle, Sheep Meadow, Bethesda Terrace, Shakespeare Garden, the Reservoir. The old Dairy, even an amazing small zoo, a wonderful Carousel and I love the Literary walk which has a collection of statues of famous writers starting with William Shakespeare and at the end it has the magnificent area around the Bethesda Fountain, with its Angel of the Waters statue, this is the only statue in the park that was specifically commissioned for the park and the designers wanted the formal terrace area to be the heart of the park.

And the man made Ramble which was built to resemble a wild forest and a place where you can truly escape the city and I say, also get lost which I have done a few times. LOL. And lest we forget Cleopatra’s Needle. It’s the oldest object in the park. The obelisk was constructed in Egypt in 1400 BC. The name is misleading because the obelisk was 1000 years old by the time Cleopatra began her legendary reign and did you know it’s a twin, the other can be found on the Thames River in London, there is another in Paris, but it is not a matched set with these two.

After twenty years living in Manhattan, I have walked and biked every part of this wonderful park, and a few times with a friend, we started at the beginning on 59 street and went to the other end on 110 Street, I was living in the city for years before I discovered the magnificent Conservatory Gardens on Fifth Avenue and 105 street, it’s a secluded Oasis a must see.

There are many tours available to do in the park, but I think it’s easy to explore on your own and at your own pace, get a map and go and enjoy and if you have time head to the Loeb Boathouse on 75 street east side of the park for a drink or it’s also wonderful for Lunch, Dinner or Brunch, but you must make a reservation.