843 acres of designed wilderness in the middle of Manhattan — Bethesda Fountain, Strawberry Fields, the Bow Bridge, and the stories of how Frederick Law Olmsted turned a swamp into the world's most famous park.

Stops on This Tour (10)

1. 1
   Columbus Circle entrance (SW corner) Manhattan's grand entrance to Central Park — the marble Columbus column has marked this spot since 1892, and the park beyond required moving more earth than the Panama Canal.
2. 2
   Sheep Meadow A fifteen-acre lawn that hosted real sheep until 1934, Simon and Garfunkel's half-million-strong concert in 1981, and today serves as Manhattan's favourite spot for doing nothing.
3. 3
   Bethesda Fountain & Terrace The heart of Central Park — Emma Stebbins' 1873 Angel of the Waters was the first major NYC public artwork by a woman, and the Minton tile terrace rivals the U.S. Capitol floors.
4. 4
   The Lake & Bow Bridge The most romantic bridge in New York — this 1862 cast-iron span was one of the longest in the world, and a red ball once signaled when the lake was frozen enough for skating.
5. 5
   Strawberry Fields (Imagine mosaic) John Lennon's memorial, directly across from the Dakota where he lived — the Imagine mosaic, crafted by Neapolitan artisans, is never without fresh flowers.
6. 6
   The Ramble A 36-acre designed wilderness and one of the top 15 birding spots in America — 230 species during migration, and Olmsted's paths were designed to make you feel lost.
7. 7
   Belvedere Castle A decorative folly from 1869 that was never meant to be entered — now an official weather station where Central Park's temperature has been measured since 1919.
8. 8
   Shakespeare Garden Every plant from Shakespeare's works grows in this hidden four-acre garden — 120 species, bronze quote plaques, and the Delacorte Theater for free Shakespeare below.
9. 9
   Great Lawn Once a reservoir, then a Depression-era Hooverville, now thirteen acres of lawn surrounded by the most expensive real estate on Earth.
10. 10
    Metropolitan Museum of Art (steps) One of the world's greatest museums — 1.5 million objects across 5,000 years, and the iconic steps where New York gathers to sit, eat, and people-watch.

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