Central Park, New York

New York's Central Park is a network of meadows, gardens and lakes which spans more than 50 city blocks. Central Park was America's first great urban park, created as a place where people from all walks of life could mingle and meditate.

Central Park, New York

150 years on, and surrounded by wall-to-wall skyscrapers of Manhattan, Central Park now attracts over 30 million visitors a year. From wild, rambling paths to manicured avenues and lawns, Central Park is a place of many moods. It offers generous open spaces, like the Great Lawn, and smaller treasures too, like the many sculptures and bridges which dot the park.

 Follow The Mall to the park's elegant centerpiece, the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, a location made famous by countless movies. Nearby at the Loeb Boathouse, hire a boat and take a romantic row around the lake, or rent a remote control sailboat and cruise the Conservatory Waters with New York's model boat enthusiasts.

Rising over the woodlands, Belvedere Castle offers great views of the park. While right next door is the Shakespeare Garden, where many of the plants and flowers from the playwright's works spring to life. Join Beatles fans in the Strawberry Fields Memorial Garden which celebrates the life of one of New York's most famous residents, John Lennon.

 Before you leave, say a little thank you to New York's city fathers for their enduring vision - a vision which has made this dynamic metropolis so livable. Central Park, a place where New Yorkers and visitors alike can breathe, and simply be.