What can be said about Central Park that hasn't already been said? A walk through the famous tree-lined mall continues to amaze tourists and locals alike, and a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art located withing the park is sure to inspire. Leave work and go now.

Central Park is an 843 acre carpet of green. Smack bang in the middle of Manhattan, it is an oasis from the insanity - lush lawns, cool forests, water and wooded paths. In summer it swarms with joggers, in-line skaters, musicians and tourists. In winter snowstorms can inspire cross-country skiing and sledding or a simple stroll through the winter wonderland.

It was laid out between 1859-1870. All the more impressive as the oasis of green is surrounded on all sides by high rise buildings.

It was designated a "people's park" where everyone could come and enjoy it right in the heart of New York.

We took a horse and carriage ride around the park. It had just started to snow, so this made the ride really magical.

We were very thankful in hindsight that we had chosen a carriage with a roof, as this, combined with the green woolly blanket the driver threw over our laps, kept us snug, warm and dry.

The ride lasted about 20 minutes and was a lovely way to travel and see the inside of the park. Our driver - originally from Ireland, was pleasant, friendly and chatty. When we got out, our son enjoyed watching the horses get a drink of water from little stone troughs at Artists Gate on Central Park South.

The Wallman Ice Skating Rink is beautiful. We didn't skate here, but very much enjoyed watching the other skaters on this large rink with its lovely setting.

We had a ride on the carousel. It has been in the park since 1871 and is open daily between April and December. There are 58 beautiful hand-carved horses. It was such a cold day, our hands and faces were frozen as we whizzed round, so it wasn't really a fun experience.

The Heckscher Playground is the largest playground in the park and great for children. It has been recently renovated and has lots of swings, slides, climbing structures and a big sand pit.

Around Conservatory Water are several statues of children from favourite children's stories. Alice in Wonderland is great - a bronze statue of Alice on a large mushroom with the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse. There is also Hans Christian Andersen and Mother Goose.

Strawberry Fields is a lovely landscaped area with the "Imagine" mosiac in memory of John Lennon. He lived just across the road at the Dakota Apartment Building and apparently particularly enjoyed this area of Central Park.

One tip I would pass on if you visit Central Park on a cold winter day is to make sure you are wearing thermals and are well-wrapped up. We were wearing lots of layers and were fine elsewhere in Manhattan, but in the Park the temperature seemed to be about 10 degrees colder than anywhere else. This combined with the wind chill meant we were sooooo cold!

Many things to do from sunbathing, to playing soccer... Yes European fellows who wishes to test the few Americans playing soccer (we call it football), go to Central Park.

There are a few Americans playing, but I must admit that they are rather good at it. It is also a good way to meet other Europeans.

Central Park has provided an oasis of greenery in the big city for 150 years. It has trees, meadows, lakes, sculpture, and all kinds of attractions. My walk covered just a few acres, and I found the park enchanting. I plan to go back for more whenever I have a chance.

We walked into the park at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is an impressive sight, with a large glass wall. We walked around it and saw the obelisk, also called Cleopatra's Needle, which was made in Egypt in the 1500s and transported to the United States in 1879. Just south of that, we stopped to admire some unusual mushrooms that were growing under some trees. We meandered along, enjoying the warm summer day. We stopped briefly at the bronze Alice in Wonderland statue, which includes Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Dormouse, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, and several mushrooms, one of which Alice is seated on. Kids were climbing all over the statues, which I thought was in keeping with the playful theme.

We paused for iced tea at the snack area facing Conservatory Water, a small lake. Kids and adults were renting remote-control boats to play with on the water. It was a weekday, so the park wasn't very crowded, with tourists making up a high proportion of the visitors.

The walkway passed under a couple of very attractive bridges. We saw a couple of cops on small motorbikes. Their main function seemed to be answering questions for tourists.

We walked west around the large lake. Once past that, we reached our final destination in the park, Strawberry Fields. It is named after the Beatles song in honor John Lennon, who lived at the Dakota, which is nearby right across from the park. We walked on a narrow path that wound around among the bushes and trees. For a while, we couldn't see or hear anything but a bird. Consciousness-expanding! We came out at the edge of the park at the Imagine mosaic. A man was placing rose petals all around the mosaic, in memory of John, while his dog lounged on a park bench. A couple of stands sold souvenirs.

And then we crossed the street out of the park. We'd gone the full width of the park, from east to west, and covered not even a quarter of the length. Plenty more left to explore.

Central Park is huge—much bigger then I expected—an oasis in the middle of a bustling Manhattan. There is tons to do there. There is a beautiful rose garden which you can sit in and relax and read a book and take in the city. There is a duck pond—there were people taking wedding pictures there when we were sitting on the bench on a Saturday afternoon and it was quite beautiful and serene. You can take a horse and carriage ride, and it feels like something out of a movie. There is also a great little restaurant overlooking central park, which has decent prices but a fantastic view!

I highly recommend you spend a day in Central Park, wandering around and seeing all it has to see. It's very centrally located so you can do it on your way to do other stuff. I don't think you should go there at night but definitely during the day.