Manhattan parks and gardens · Parks and gardens in Manhattan
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Parks and gardens in Manhattan
Parks and gardens in Manhattan
Of course, no visit to Manhattan would be complete without a visit to Central Park, by far the largest and most famous park in this borough. Visit the park on a sunny day and join the many New Yorkers and other visitors relaxing on the park benches, biking, looking at the ducks on the pond, boating on the lake, visiting the small Central Park Zoo, sunbathing on the Sheep Meadow, iceskating at the Wollman Rink, or seeing a concert or play. But Central Park is far from the only green space to be found in Manhattan.
In Uptown Manhattan, Fort Tryon Park contains one of the highest points and some of the best views on the island, as well as the Cloisters Museum, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nearby at the northern tip of Manhattan is Inwood Park, the last remaining virgin forest on the island; many arrowheads and other Native American artifacts have been found here. Along the Hudson River is Riverside Park, a long stretch of parkland running from 59th Street all the way to 155th Street which makes for a lovely stroll or picnic overlooking the waters of the Hudson River and New Jersey on the opposite bank. Carl Schurz Park at East End Avenue and 86th Street is the home of the Gracie Mansion, the Official Residence of the Mayor of New York, and boasts wonderful views of Hell Gate and the East River and is extremely quiet compared to other New York parks.
Moving into the bustle of Midtown, the parks get smaller but are no less frequent. Here you'll find the social centers of New York life, like Bryant Park, a small and charming park behind the New York Public Library which has gone through a major renovation recently and has gained a hard-won reputation for being much better. Free movies on summer nights are incredibly popular. Just south of the canyons of Midtown is Union Square, a crowded social center and long the center for political protests, as well as the home of a popular greenmarket and resting visitors and locals alike. Madison Square Park, a lovely oasis in a bustling area, has beautiful flowering trees and bushes in the spring and boasts views of the Flatiron, Metropolitan Life, and Empire State buildings. On the western side of Manhattan is Hudson River Park, whose promenade, still in progress, will run along the Hudson River from 59th Street to the southern tip of the island. Nearby is the new High Line Park, built on a defunct railway that runs 30 feet above the street.
In Lower Manhattan, parks like Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, and Columbus Park in Chinatown are excellent cosmopolitan spaces which are centers of neighborhood life. In the Financial District is City Hall Park, a small but delightful square (most of the grass is fenced off for security) which makes an excellent spot to rest after walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. At the very southern tip of the island, Battery Park is popular with tourists; famous for its great views of the New York Harbor, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. The ferries to the Statue and Staten Island depart from here.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Manhattan
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Manhattan Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.