10 Great Things to do in New York's Central Park

It's almost impossible to see all of New York's Central Park in one visit, but this 843-acre landmark offers an abundance sights and activities, along with helpful tours that can give you a proper introduction to the park.

A great way to see this enormous park is to take a free guided walking tour offered by the Central Park Conservancy. The Conservancy offers different tours that take from 1 hour to 90 minutes. No reservations are required, unless you're in a group of more than six. Groups can call (212) 360-2726 to schedule a custom tour. Check the Conservancy website for more information about its tours and meeting places.

You can also conduct a self-guided tour of Central Park if you own an MP3 player. Centralpark.com offers podcasts, maps and interactive guides for visitors who want to tour on their own. You simply download ithe tour of your choice, then upload it onto your MP3 player.

If you like exercise, Bite of the Apple Tours offers a Central Park Bike Tour for $40 adults, $20 children 15 and under, which includes the bike rental and your tour guide. Tours take place at 10 a.m. and 1 and 4 p.m. seven days a week. Call (212) 541-8759 to reserve by phone or you can reserve online.

Any visit to the park should include the ancient Obelisk, also known as Cleopatra's Needle, a landmark you can't miss that's located behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The 71-foot-high Obelisk was constructed in Heliopolis around 1500 B.C., and was moved to Alexandria by Augustus Caesar in 12 B.C. It was shipped to New York in 1897.

Definitely squeeze in a vist to Strawberry Fields, a 2.5-acre section of the park dedicated to the memory of Beatle John Lennon. Dedicated in 1981, the area includes the moving mosaic medallion inscribed with the word "Imagine" in the center. You can find Strawberry Fields on the West Side, just south of 72nd Street, near the Dakota, where Lennon and wife Yoko Ono lived and where he was killed in December 1980. 

Look for the Delacorte Theater, summer home of the Public Theater & New York Shakespeare Festival, and the place where you can see Shakespeare in the Park productions for free in the summer. This summer, the Delacorte staged "Hamlet" and "Hair," starring Jonathan Groff of "Spring Awakening." If you're lucky enough to be visiting New York in the summer, be sure to wait in line for a ticket at the Delacorte, which distributes them at 1 p.m. on the day of each performance. Most people start setting up in line first thing in the morning. 

So what if you're not going to be there in the summer? If you're in New York for the winter holidays, why not go ice skating at the Wollman Rink? This rink is much more low-key and a lot less crowded than the Rockefeller Center rink, so try out your skating legs. Wollman is open from Nov. 1st through April 1st from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., so you can skate under the stars, which is nice. Admission is $9.50 for adults, $12 weekends; and $4.75 for children, $5 weekends. Skates can be rented for an additional $5.

Your children will love Central Park's beloved sculptures of Alice in Wonderland, along with her friend Hans Christian Andersen, both of which are located near the Great Lawn. The sculptures are made to be climbed on, and perfect for photos. Central Park also holds children's story hours on weekends during the summer at Hans Christian Andersen -- naturally! 

Take everyone to the Central Park Zoo and to the Tisch Children's Zoo. The five-acre zoo is a short walk from the Fifth Avenue entrance to Central Park and will delight you with more than 130 different animal species In the three different "zones" -- the Polar Zone, the Temperate Territory, and the Tropic Zone. You'll see polar bears, monkeys, red pandas, harbor seals, and the cutest penguins ever. Admission, which includes the children's zoo, is $8 adults, $4 senior citizens, and $3 children up to age 12.

Belvedere Castle, located near the Great Lawn, is another Central Park landmark worth visiting. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux as a fantasy building, the castle can be explored on your own. Inside, you'll also find the Henry Luce Nature Observatory and its nature displays. If you have kids with you, they might enjoy borrowing the observatory's binoculars and maps, which they can take out to explore Turtle Pond or the Ramble, which are nearby. 

The Central Park Carousel is a landmark and has been in its present location since 1950. An earlier carousel operating since 1871 was destroyed in a fire. This marvelous carousel features the largest hand carved and hand-painted horse figures ever constructed. You'll ride along to the music of an antique Wurlitzer band organ.

This is a great spot to chill out, play and just people watch. The Great Lawn attracts hundreds of New Yorkers and tourists, especially on nice weekend days. it's easy to find, at the front of Belvedere Castle. You'll see people playing softball, shooting hoops at the basketball courts, and lounging, suntanning and playing frisbee on Great Lawn itself.