Truly a nice breath of fresh air amidst the skyscrapers and large crowds. Although to some it may seem small, there some very interesting spots here!

You have a lot to do here--you can take a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride, see the ducks and birds on the water and running streams, lots of walking trails, and an oversized merry-go-round ride too! Musicians play here, and of course, depending on the time of year, there may be a festival or live entertainment.

Don't forget the hot dog vendors and others along the edges of the park too!

Central Park is a behemoth of a park. On any given day, you can see police on horses, joggers, bikers, skaters, and people reading and relaxing during their lunch breaks. There's a lot of ground to cover (840 acres), so bring a water bottle and perhaps a sandwich. It's so wonderful to have a place where you can go that is the complete opposite of the skyline that surrounds it.

The grand oasis in a sea of concrete

My first sight of New York City besides the subway was Central Park. After getting off the subway with all my luggage, I spotted the park and all the trees. After dropping off my luggage I grabbed my friend and we started to explore the park.

We walked from 106th Street all the way down to the end of Central Park. There were so many children running around, playing, as there are many playgrounds in the park. We continued to walk, past the reservoir (which is the giant lake you see on TV and in the movies) - it is huge and very beautiful. Great views. Other sights we saw were:

The Great Lawn - great place to play volleyball, soccer, softball etc.
Belvedere Castle - a fairy-tale castle in the park that offers great views of the skyline, the great lawn, turtle pond
Strawberry Fields- beautiful part of the park where you can sit and relax. It is named after the song Strawberry Fields Forever in honor of John Lennon. There is a mosaic tile with one word, Imagine, in the center of black and white tiles. There is also a plaque that lists the countries that endorsed Strawberry Fields as a Garden of Peace.

Central Park is amazing. We stayed right by the park and walked through it every day. It’s a wonderful place to relax and sit on the grass, go for a jog, play Frisbee, walk your dog or anything that your heart desires.

In a city of chaos and non-stop action, this is the one place that allows the city to stay sane.

Central Park is one of the landmarks of New York – it is hard for me to remember a single film or TV series with at least some action located in New York that does not have some shots of Central Park in it. "This vast rectangle of green (it measures as much as 843 acres – my commentary) is a welcome contrast to the concrete and traffic mosh of the rest of Manhattan. Inevitably the city's commotion does seep in, through skaters, joggers, musicians, and tourists, but there are quieter areas to be enjoyed, along with free theatrical performances in summer." -- a guidebook. This sounded pretty inviting to me and I decided to spend a part of a nice summer Saturday in the park. I struggle to think of something one can not do there: you can exercise in any running/gymnastics sports or take your laptop with you to surf the Internet gratis at one of Central Park’s free WiFi spots. You can sunbathe, take your dog for a run – just anything that suits you in that particular moment. Personally, I opted for a pc, Internet, sunbathing, and a picnic with fresh food you can purchase nearby.

Of the four days that I was in NY, I visited Central Park three of those days – and each time found a new path to walk and discovered a new piece of the 250 acres of lawn or the 150 acres of water. br>
I loved discovering the park, and found myself wishing we had something similar back home. Everything was blooming – crab apples, cherry blossoms, tulips, etc. Birds were singing (we saw the fattest robins ever – they must get fed well.) The park was alive with people – oh and we can’t forget the dogs. Apparently, if you don’t have a dog to walk in Central Park, well then you’re nobody! I found myself wondering how these big dogs could be happy in the small NY apartments I’ve heard so much about.

One of the highlights was seeing the model boat pond – where you can rent a sailboat and become captain for an hour (as seen in Stuart Little). Another was seeing the Belvedere Castle (as seen in a recent ABC Family movie, the name of which escapes me), which was completed in 1872 and situated right next to the turtle pond – appropriately named, as several turtles poked their head out of the water to greet me. Everything looked familiar – it seemed everywhere I turned was a scene out of a movie or TV show – You’ve Got Mail, The Apprentice, etc. It was like coming home, but having never been there.

I also learned in my conference of an art project to take place in the park for nearly three weeks in February of 2005. Artists Cristo and Jeanne Claude (famous for their "wraps" in fabric of the Pont Neuf in Paris 1975-85, the Reichstag in Berlin in 1995, and other projects such as The Umbrellas in Japan and the US, 1984-91) will create their next work, The Gates. They will create 7,500 "gates", 16-feet high, will follow the walkways and footpaths in Central park. From these gates will hang the most beautiful saphron-colored fabric. (See their site for more on the artists.)

I could get lost for days inside Central Park and be happy as a lark. It’s a beautiful place, and probably one of the best ideas the city planners had for New York. It’s a must see – but it’ll never be the same experience twice.