Central Park is obviously one of the most popular spots in New York City, but it’s actually HUGE and has so many different parts of it. The park is 2.5 miles long ways, about 50 blocks starting at 59th and ending at 110th.
In my personal opinion, the best parts of the park are above the MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) which isn’t until about 80th street.
The MET
One of my all time favorite parts of the park is The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is an amazing museum with new exhibits all of the time. It is very big though, so give yourself lots of time to take a look around. Grabbing a map, and figuring out which exhibits you’re most interested in is the most efficient way to use your time since you could literally spend days there and not see everything. It’s also kinda easy to get lost or turned around the museum, which can be fun to get lost among the artwork.
The museum used to have an open “pay as you wish” admission price, but has since changed its policy. Now, if you are a resident of New York, or a student in New York, Connecticut, or New Jersey, it is still a “pay as you wish” program, with suggested prices of $12 for students and $25 for adults. They encourage visitors to be as generous as you can with your admission fee. For anyone outside of New York state residents, you do have to pay the full admission price.
The Great Lawn or North Meadow
The Great Lawn (between 80th and 85th) is awesome to bask in the sun, sit and read a book, or have a picnic, it’s right next to the MET so a quick easy walk to check out the art and then have lunch on the lawn. It’s so big that I’ve never been there when it was too crowded, but there is usually lots of children, lots of dogs, and people playing sports, so it’s not always the most peaceful part of the park.
The North Meadow is the same kind of situation only much further up in the park which kind of guarantees a bit less tourist traffic. It is closer to where my dad lives, so I would end up choosing the North Meadow to spend more time in rather than The Great Lawn.
The Jackie Kennedy Reservoir
The Reservoir is a massive body of water taking up a little more than 10 blocks of the park. It’s perfect to go for a stroll around and is super popular for runners. I love walking the reservoir around sunset to see the reflections of the buildings in the water. When I was living in New York, this was one of my favorite things to do to get some seemingly fresh air and “escape some of the city atmosphere”.
It is a great walk for some relaxation as well as for catching up with friends or getting some exercise. In the summer, be careful because there’s not a lot of shade unlike most of the city and the park, so you can burn easily without sunscreen.
The Conservatory Garden
The garden is so meticulously cared for by the gardeners and it shows! It is so beautiful in peak times like spring and summer. The flowers are so beautiful, and there’s a couple of different fountains as well. It’s one of my dad’s favorite places in the park, and it’s one of mine as well. A perfect place to sit with a book, and even better spot to take photos or just be surrounded by nature. Something that is hard to find in the city!
There’s multiple fountains, walking paths, and benches that help to really enjoy all of the garden. It’s just about between 103rd and 106th street, so almost at the end of the park, and I’ve never seen more than a handful of people strolling through at any given time.
The Harlem Meer
The Harlem Meer is a perfect place to see some cute ducks and fish in the water, and to go for a stroll around. It’s at the top edge of the park, and is very low key.
In the summer there’s a pool and in the winter an ice rink, at Lasker Rink and Pool.
The pool is free in the summer, while the ice rink charges admission. I haven’t gone swimming or ice skating there myself, but it’s always nice to stroll by and see everything going on. For ice skating, it is usually much less busy than the Rockefeller Center is at holiday time.
http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/lasker.html