9 Must See Items In Central Park

Central Park is 6 miles in perimeter. There is so much space to cover, so here are some must see items on your trip to Central Park.

Hi everyone! I can't believe our trip in NYC when by so fast! It was a truly incredible 3 weeks and will be something that we never forget. We have tried so much amazing food, done things you can't do anywhere else in the world, and did the must do items when you come to NYC. One of my favorite parts of the entire trip was visiting Central Park. It was a nice retreat from the busy city life, and I loved being surrounded by nature (and all of the cute squirrels too, of course). Here is a list of must see items when going to Central Park.

The Mall and Literary Walk

This is one of the most iconic spots in Central Park. I also think it was one of the most peaceful places in the entire park. It is a great open area for walking, where you are surrounded by large trees. You can enjoy nature here, see squirrels running around, or even just sit and relax for awhile. I would love to see what this area looks like in the winter too, I bet it is so beautiful!! Also in this area is statues of Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott, and other famous literary people. It is a short walk through the mall, and has to be on your list of must see items in Central Park.

Sheep Meadow

I feel like I have seen this park in movies before, and I remember coming to this area when I was younger and loving it then too. It is one of my favorite spots in the entire park. When you go through Central Park, it was easy for me to forget that we were in NYC. You are surrounded by trees and quietness, but coming to this park helps you remember where you are. The view of the city is incredible from here since you get an up close view of some of this tallest buildings in the entire city. It is also a great place for people to meet up with friends, sun bathe, play catch/frisbee, take a picnic, etc.

Conservatory Water

This was one of my favorite spots in the whole park. It was absolutely beautiful. The water looked so blue with the sun reflecting off of it, and the view of the large skyscrapers were so cool from here as well. We saw a few model boats being sailed on the water as well. I saw online that there are races on the weekends sometimes here. It reminded me of Stuart Little from when I was younger :D

Bow Bridge

This is such an iconic, must see place in Central Park. We had just watched Night The Museum in preparation for going to the Museum of Natural History and they walked across this bridge many times in the movie! I am sure there are several other movies that take place here as well. It really is such a beautiful bridge and a relaxing place to see the paddle boats going through. We were even lucky enough to catch the end of an engagement that as going on at the bridge. There was a lot of love at this bridge and it should be near the top of your list of must see spots in Central Park!

Strawberry Fields

A memorial to John Lennon and is an area where people can go to to see "Imagine" written into the ground. This was based off of his song from 1971. In this area there are 161 species of plants, with all coming from its own unique country. I also saw a plaque saying a quote from John Lennon, "Imagine all the people living in peace". It then had all of the world's countries on it. It would be beautiful if this could be a reality.

Balto Statue

Togo was a movie that we watched on our very first day of quarantine so this statue made us excited to see! I didn't know this statue was here and we just stumbled across it, but it was fun to see! A fun fact is that it has been in the park since 1925. I can only imagine how many times this statue has been hugged over almost 100 years!

Alice In Wonderland Statue

Right before we came to NYC, we watched some movies that are based in the city to get us extra excited to come. One of my long time favorite movies is Remember Me. I got Vince to watch it with me and we really loved it! One important scene from the movie takes place at this statue. We set out to find it and it was really cool to see in person, especially after just seeing it in the movie. The line was pretty long to get a picture with it, due to its popularity in the park.

Bethesda Fountain And Terrace

There was a lot going on around this area. There was always someone blowing giant bubbles for kids, someone playing music, and we even saw a wedding going on there. We sat and people watched here for awhile since it is such a popular area. It was great place to come and relax and take in the 1800 design of the fountain and terrace.

Loeb Boathouse On The Lake

This was a really unique area that had was so beautiful to see. This is where you can rent a boat to take out on the water and see parts of Central Park by water. The line was so long to do this, so we decided not to do it, but I bet it would be so fun to try it out! This is an area that is more on the busier side, but if you are willing to wait in line, you should definitely try it out!

Two items we didn't see that I would love to see if we come back would be the Belvedere Castle as well as the Central Park Zoo. You can also see Central Park by renting a bike, and I would love to try this out next time as well! There is so much to see and do in Central Park, that you need to set out at least a whole day for it. And make sure to wear your comfortable shoes because you will be doing lots of walking! :)