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 Over 50 fountains, monuments and statues are scattered
through Central Park for your viewing pleasure, including Cleopatra’s Needle,
which once graced the Heliopolis in Egypt around 1450 B.C.
Central
Park's Strawberry
Fields is New York's memorial to John Lennon and is one of
the most visited locations in the Park. It's located across from the Dakota
Building where John and Yoko lived and where John was assassinated.
To a large extent, the glory of Central Park is the opportunity it provides
to escape the fast pace of New York. A recent
poll conducted by the Central Park Conservancy, the organization that
administers the Park, revealed that the canopy of leaves produced by the Mall’s stand of
American Elms (one of the largest and last remaining in North America) was
voted by New Yorkers as one of the most enjoyable and memorable sections of
the Park.
 The
official website of Central Park can be found
here and includes details on the park and its many attractions.
While roaming Central Park, you might want to visit the
compact but interesting Central Park Zoo located at 64th
Street and Fifth Avenue.
The Zoo's collection includes over 150 species of
animals including sea lions, polar bears and snow leopards. The Central
Park Zoo is open year round from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and slightly later
in the day from
April to October. The official website of the Central Park Zoo is
located
here.
 Founded in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
is one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located in a sprawling
campus in Theodore Roosevelt Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side
across from Central Park. T he AMNH has a large number of interesting permanent
exhibits and numerous periodic exhibits, so check with the Museum’s website
to see what’s on during your visit. Be sure to ascend to the fourth floor to
see the Fossil Halls and the world-famous Dinosaur Halls that draw
particular attention from most visitors.
Other favorites include: 1) the Arthur Ross Hall of
Meteorites that contains a number of superb specimens, including a massive
34-ton meteorite fragment, 2) the 94-foot blue whale model in the Milstein
Hall of Ocean Life, while 3) those interested in geology should plan
to spend time in the Gottesmann Hall of Planet Earth.
The Rose Center for Earth and Space, one of the most
interesting sections of the Museum, is on the north side of the Museum at West 81st Street (just west of Central Park West). Its Hayden
Planetarium currently hosts a show about space titled “Journey to the Stars”.
It is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and is a fabulous presentation
focused on the origins
of the universe. We recommend this show to all visitors to the museum (and
it is
included in price of entry, but you need to have a ticket for a specific
show time).
"Journey to the Stars" is a popular venue and tickets may be scarce,
especially on weekends. You can reserve seats in advance by
calling 212-769-5200 or clicking this link to the
Space Show. Tickets are available at the museum every day,
but when crowds are large, the available tickets may have been claimed
shortly after the Museum opens. The Space Show is scheduled every half-hour starting
around 10:30 a.m. and continuing until closing.
The American Museum of Natural History is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. For
information on visiting and the types of tickets, as well as their cost, see
this page of the
official AMNH website. While you can buy tickets online at the
museum website, you will also be tagged with a service charge of $4 for each
ticket, a fee that can be avoided by buying your tickets at any of the
admission desks at the museum. Remember though, that buying in advance on
the web can help you see "Journey to the Stars", rather than be disappointed
if you wait to purchase your tickets at the Museum.
The Museum is located at 79th Street and
Central Park West and reachable by public transportation. The main
entrance for the Rose Center for Earth and Space is located on 81st
street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.
If you need information about another travel destination, try
our
Destination Guide Index
or Googling ThereArePlaces.
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