Exploring Central Park New York | Tours, sights & tips

The Bethesda Terrace and Fountain is often considered the heart of Central Park New York. It has been featured in countless films and television series ( Sex & the City, Avengers, Enchanted & Elf to name a few) and it is most likely that you have been this fine structure through your screen at some point in life. It's always bustling with people and those who like people watching can sit here for hours together. The central feature is the Bethesda Fountain also known as the Angel of the Waters statue, a biblical allusion and a celebration of the development that first brought water to New York City way back in 1842. The angel in the statue has her hand out which denotes blessing the water for New York and the lily in her other hand represents the purity of the water.

Belvedere translates to beautiful view in Italian and it is rightly called so. It sits atop the Vista Rock and offers great views of the Delacorte Theater, Turtle Pond and the Ramble from its vantage point. The Belvedere Castle was built in 1869 for decorative purposes and served the purpose of a lookour over the Croton reservoir to the north and The Ramble to the south. For a while it was also used by the National Weather Service to take weather readings for New York City. The Belvedere castle was renovated in 1983 and is now a Nature Center which displays information about the flora and fauna of Central Park. If you're a bird watcher, you have the option of rent bird watching kits at Belvedere Castle.

Belvedere translates to beautiful view in Italian and it is rightly called so. It sits atop the Vista Rock and offers great views of the Delacorte Theater, Turtle Pond and the Ramble from its vantage point. The Belvedere Castle was built in 1869 for decorative purposes and served the purpose of a lookour over the Croton reservoir to the north and The Ramble to the south. For a while it was also used by the National Weather Service to take weather readings for New York City. The Belvedere castle was renovated in 1983 and is now a Nature Center which displays information about the flora and fauna of Central Park. If you're a bird watcher, you have the option of rent bird watching kits at Belvedere Castle.

It is said that the Central Park Zoo happened by accident. New Yorkers kept leaving exotic animals around Central Park and soon the Park was taken over by swans, bears and rabbits. This led to the need for a zoo to house all these animals and hence the Central Park Zoo came about. This zoo's shot to fame was the Madagascar movie. Don't forget to see the Sea Lion Pool which happens to be a central feature of the zoo. On your way out, check out the Delacorte Clock which features animals that move in a circle to nursery rhymes every half-hour.

The Wollman Rink lies to the Southern Part of Central Park. The rink remains open for ice skating during the winter months - October to April, and in summer it transforms into Victoria Gardens, an amusement park. During the months that the Wollman Rink remains an ice rink, skating schoools, ice hockey games, film shoots and photo shoots happen full swing making it crowded almost always.

A gigantic green area that gets crowded in the warm months. People come here for picnics, play, tanning, etc. This grassy meadow gets its name from the sheep that once grazed here. New Yorkers flock in to bask under the sun, enjoy a picnic and casually laze on dewy grass. It can get so crowded in summer that you may have to carefully hunt for a spot. Check out the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant while you're here.

Boating in this bucolic lake on a bright sunny day is sure to lift your mood up a couple of notches. There are boat rentals ( Loeb Boathouse is to the east side of the lake ) that allow you to rent rowboats for $15 per hour with a $20 cash deposit and gifts you an hour of bliss. Most boat rentals provide lifejackets too allowing the experience to be safe and fun.

The Delacorte Theatre is a open air theatre renowned for its free Shakespeare in the Park shows, a favourite New York summer tradition. All theatre enthusiasts come together to enjoy free Shakespeare and the tickets remain free as long as you're prepared to stand in queue for tickets for a good while. While this Public Theatre is known to provide a footing to new talent, it frequently employs famous actors like Meryl Streep and Al Pacino among others. The Delacorte Theatre boasts a capacity of 1,872 with each seat offering splendid views.

If you've seen Night at the Museum and Spider-Man 3, you're likely to have seen the Bow Bridge. It stretches 60 feet from Cherry Hill to the Ramble and is one of the most beautiful cast iron bridges in the world. It is a romantic spot and if you're lucky you'll see a proposal here, because they happen a lot! Amongst the many bridges in Central Park New York, this is the most famous one of them all.

Bang in the middle of a bustling Central Park is the 6 acre Conservatory Garden, a quiet hidden oasis. It is the only formal garden in Central Park and its tranquil atmosphere free from runners and bicyclists, makes it an ideal spot for relaxing strolls and both weddings.The Garden was designed by Gilmore D. Clarke, and composes of seasonal plants arranged into three styles: English, French, and Italian. Entry to the Conservatory Garden is through the Vanderbilt Gate and from here, you can amble past the magnolia and lilac trees of the English garden to the rest of this well-manicured garden.