CENTRAL PARK
Central Park is full of delightful surprises throughout its 840 acres - some of the best playgrounds, interesting structures and gorgeous greenery. Visit the Central Park Conservancy website for maps, a guide to fall foliage historical info and lots of great tips.
Also see our guides to other urban oases Prospect Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens and Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx plus escapes beyond NYC.
EVENTS
Central Park Cherry Blossoms
Ranging from deep magenta to pale pink to crisp white, Central Park’s cherry trees are a must-see in spring. Their blossoms are beautiful, but these flowers are fleeting—and with this year’s warm winter, they’re blooming much earlier than usual.
Use this interactive map to track in real-time where the cherry blossoms have peaked in the Park – different varieties blossom at different times. Currently early-blooming Okames are peaking between the Reservoir running track and the bridle path.
Discovery Walks for Families: The North Woods
Learn about the design of the largest of the Park’s woodlands, a 40-acre forest retreat in the middle of New York City, and how the plants and trees contribute to the health of an urban woodland community. Includes hands-on exploration and guided activities in a complementary Discovery Journal.
PLAYGROUNDS
Diana Ross Playground
Summit Rock, the highest natural point in Central Park, provides a shady (climbable) backdrop to this pretty playground. A large wooden climbing structure with multiple levels of platforms and decks links to ladders, slides, and tire swings, all set in a naturalistic sand area. Also enjoy toddler swings and spray showers in the summer.
Named after the famous singer, who funded the construction of the playground following her concert in 1983 on the Great Lawn. No bathrooms, but across the street from the Natural History Museum (where all city kids should be member, not just for the bathroom usage).
Ancient Playground
This big playground invokes Egyptian themes with climbable pyramids, a large sand lot and a spray shower that represents Egypt’s Nile River in reference to the ancient Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art next door. Lots of slides, tunnels and concrete bridges plus bucket, tire and strap swings are perfect for adventurous fun and imaginative play.
Billy Johnson Playground
This rustic playground hosts an amazing 45-foot granite slide nestled into a rocky hill, bucket and tire swings, and an amphitheater and miniature stone bridge made of natural materials like plants, stone, and wood at a child’s scale.
Heckscher Playground
Central Park’s largest playground features a shaded area with swings and slides, a large, maze-like climbers, seasonal water features, sloped turf, a large sandbox area, low monkey bars, tunnels, ramps and (our favorite) giant rocks to climb. Plus a spacious bathroom.
Face painters, musicians and giant bubble makers often congregate at the entrance.
ATTRACTIONS
Conservatory Gardens
Enter the magnificent 1894 Vanderbilt Gate to Central Park’s only formal garden, a six-acre oasis within an oasis with European charm.
Climb onto the wisteria pergola in the Italianate Center Garden overlooking a yew hedges-bordered large lawn and 12-foot jet fountain. To the north, the French-style garden offers spectacular seasonal displays of tulips and Korean chrysanthemums and a fountain featuring the Three Dancing Maidens sculpture.
In intimate English-style South Garden, Mary and Dickon from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved children’s book The Secret Garden stand at the end of a small waterlily pool, bordered by trees, shrubs, and perennial and annual flower beds.
Friendly gardeners are often planting and happy to chat with young nature lovers.
Belvedere Castle
One of the most iconic features in Central Park, this miniature castle is located atop the huge rock outcrop known as Vista Rock, the second highest natural point in Central Park.
The whimsical structure, designed by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted in 1869, provides the highest and best views of the Park and the adjacent cityscape – plus has bathrooms, water fountains, some informational displays plus medieval-esque staircases and doorways for playing princess/knight.
Download the Belvedere Castle Audio Guide (available in English, Spanish and American Sign Language for info about the architecture and history of the castle.
Central Park Zoo
Visit sea lions, snow monkeys, red pandas, turtles, bears and other animals at the cozy Central Park Zoo.
* Watch crowds of penguins and puffins swim and waddle in the indoor Polar circle.
* Warm up with colorful birds and playful monkeys in an indoor rain forest.
* Look for snow leopards, cute red pandas, turtles and more creatures in small outdoor exhibits.
* Watch loud sea lions sunning and swimming framed by the Manhattan skyline (can be see from outside the zoo gates if you’re just passing by).
* Climb, play, pretend to be animals and pet at the interactive children’s zoo across the path, home to sheep, goats, zebu and the only cow in Manhattan.
* Entertaining penguin and sea lion feedings happen throughout the day, or feed the animals at the children’s zoo (10 am-2 pm).
* See an Ice Age themed short film the 4D Theater, an immersive experience featuring the visual drama of a 3-D film with a variety of built-in sensory effects ($7).
* Some food and shopping available
* Don’t miss the Delacorte Clock outside the zoo. The animals statues move and twirl at each quarter hour.
* Consider an annual zoo membership that includes admission to the Bronx and other NYC Zoos.
Ancestor
Artist Bharti Kher connects New Delhi and New York City with this nearly eighteen-foot-tall bronze universal mother figure, an enlargement of a miniature assembled by recomposing broken clay figurines. This colossal sculpture reflects Kher’s cross-cultural identity and her appreciation for India’s rich material culture. Every meaning-laden detail and distressed surface of the original hand-crafted object has been meticulously magnified to reflect the journey of this matriarch’s creation.
Wake Up, Daisy!
The historic, cozy Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre is back in action with modern take on Sleeping Beauty. Marionettes and music tells the story of Daisy, a lively little girl living in the heart of New York City in an apartment overlooking Central Park. At Daisy’s much-anticipated birthday party, she encounters three special guests, known as her “Squad-parents”, from Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx who grant her the gifts of courage, knowledge, and a second chance. When an unwelcome guest shows up and casts a curse on her, Daisy’s life is forever changed, but through the support of her friends and an adventure throughout the city, Daisy’s strong self-determination and vivid imagination may be all she needs to break the curse.
Unassigned seating on benches in a small theater (grown-ups are encouraged to sit in the back). Stroller parking available in the lobby. Near the lovely Shakespeare Garden.
Fri-Sun 11 am & 1 pm
Central Park Cherry Blossoms
Ranging from deep magenta to pale pink to crisp white, Central Park’s cherry trees are a must-see in spring. Their blossoms are beautiful, but these flowers are fleeting—and with this year’s warm winter, they’re blooming much earlier than usual.
Use this interactive map to track in real-time where the cherry blossoms have peaked in the Park – different varieties blossom at different times. Currently early-blooming Okames are peaking between the Reservoir running track and the bridle path.
Discovery Walks for Families: The North Woods
Learn about the design of the largest of the Park’s woodlands, a 40-acre forest retreat in the middle of New York City, and how the plants and trees contribute to the health of an urban woodland community. Includes hands-on exploration and guided activities in a complementary Discovery Journal.
NEARBY
Museum of the City of New York
Explore the greatest city in the world at this small museum with a big collection of theater artifacts, furniture, toys, paintings, sculpture and photos arranged into exhibits that entertain and educate all ages.
HIGHLIGHTS:
✨ Dangling light installation above the spiral staircase
🌆 Multimedia New York at Its Core
🪧 Inspiring Activist New…
The Met
Explore a vast collection that spans millennia and continents. You might get lost searching for iconic favorites in the grand halls, and you’ll definitely discover fascinating art that appeals to all ages.
HIGHLIGHTS:
🏺 Gorgeous Greek and Roman Galleries
🎨 Must-see Van Goghs, Monets and Degas ballerinas in 19th- And Early 20th-Century European Paintings…
Cooper Hewitt Design Museum
Explore innovative design through the centuries, play designer on high resolution touchscreen tables with very cool electronic ‘pens,’ in a stunning 19th-century mansion turned into a high-tech, interactive dream for all ages.
HIGLIGHTS:
🎨 Create and go inside digital wallpaper in the Immersion Room
🌀 Rock around in the Spun chairs in the basement
CURRENT…
The Jewish Museum
Explore the global Jewish experience through works of fine art, Judaica, antiquities, folk art, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media intelligently organized in gorgeous galleries.
HIGHLIGHTS:
✡️ Centuries spanning, thematically grouped Scenes From the Collection
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
🏙 Pop-art & groovy fashion in New York: 1962-1964(closes Jan 8)
⭐️ Pick up Kids Gallery…
Guggenheim
See exciting, well-designed exhibits in the striking Frank Lloyd Wright–designed landmark modern museum with an iconic spiral.
HIGHLIGHTS:
🖼 Impressionist & Modern masterpieces by Degas, Gauguin, Picasso, Kadinsky & more.
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
꩜ New Yorker cut-outs in Alex Katz: Gathering
🧵 Elaborate installations and textile works in Nick Cave: Forothermore
⭐️ Pick…
American Museum of Natural History
This giant (45 fascinating halls) treasure trove of wonders delights lovers of animal & nature of all ages.
HIGHLIGHTS:
🪐 Rose Center for Earth and Space
🐋 94-foot-long blue whale in the Hall of Ocean Life
💎 Sparkly Halls of Gems and Minerals,🦖dinosaur fossils galore
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
🦈 Interactive Sharks
…
New-York Historical Society
Learn about the layered, diverse history of NYC at this fascinating museum.
HIGHLIGHTS:
🇺🇸 Hand-on Children’s History Museum on the bottom floor
🔆 Digital design-your-own Tiffany lamp
🎥 Multi-media films New York Story and We Rise
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
🥯 Interactive, immersive “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli
⭐️ Join weekly…