Central Park Experience: A Scenic & Historical Walking Tour

Experience the ultimate lower Central Park tour.  Whether you are a first-time visitor or have visited the park numerous times, you’ll make discoveries and learn the intricacies of this urban artistic masterpiece.  

Indulge in the spectacular scenery, hidden gems, history, and original motivations for creating the first large-scale public park in the United States.  Experience the park with a New York City historian and Licensed New York City Tour Guide with over twenty years of experience in educating and entertaining.  

This walking tour traverses Central Park from 59^th Street through the Pool, Mall, Bethesda Terrace, Angel of the Waters statue, Lake, Bow Bridge, Ramble, Belvedere Castle, and Shakespeare Garden.  You will overlook the majestic Great Lawn, the Delacorte Theater, and Turtle Pond.  You’ll also discover the pre-park history, including an African American and immigrant community that thrived for thirty years before the park’s construction. 

The tour is conducted by Bruce Racond, a historian and licensed New York City tour guide with over 20 years of experience.   Please see the current TripAdvisor reviews.

You will be captivated as you . . . 

• Discover secrets of the park with a New York City historian and licensed tour guide with over twenty years of experience
• Encounter breathtaking vistas throughout the tour
• Learn about Central Park’s fascinating history, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s design and objectives, and the ambitious fifteen-year construction
• Walk through the exquisite Bethesda Terrace, Bethesda Arcade, and see the glorious Angel of the Waters statue and Jacob Wrey Mould’s delicate stonecutting designs
• See the Dairy, a wooden Victorian structure first built in the 1860s and the surrounding children’s “Kinderberg”
• Delight in the spacious fifteen-acre Sheep Meadow and learn about the Southdown sheep that once grazed there
• Traverse over the elegant cast iron Bow Bridge seen in numerous classic movies
• Depart the chaos of the city as you walk through the tranquil and mystical landscape of the Ramble
• Stand before the Gothic Revival Belvedere Castle and take in impressive views of the famous Great Lawn
• Stroll along the Mall surrounded by rows of magnificent American Elms and pay homage to “Women’s Rights Pioneers” in the recent monument
• Discover life before Central Park, including the remarkable African American and immigrant community named Seneca Village . . . and so much more!

This tour is for first-time and experienced visitors and native New Yorkers alike.  Rest assured, there’s much more to Central Park than meets the eye!  Delights and surprises await you in the most famous and most visited urban park in the United States. 

NOTE: This tour does not visit Strawberry Fields, which is only nine blocks from where we finish.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The tour is conducted in the rain, snow or shine.  Some locations may not be open or accessible depending on weather conditions and/or park closings.
The tour is approximately 3 miles and takes about 2.5 hours.  Dress for the weather and wear suitable shoes.  

The tour meets around 59th Street and Fifth Avenue.  The location and tour details will be sent after you register.

Best Central Park Walking Tour in NYC