Springtime in Central Park

While Central Park offers a welcome respite all year round from the surrounding cacophony of urban life, it is during spring that the park really sparkles.  Starting at the middle of March, sometimes before the snows of winter have even completely disappeared, you can find snowdrops and crocuses poking up between the leaves and tree roots.  These are soon followed by daffodils and tulips as the entire park erupts in a fragrant display of early flowering pastels.  By mid April the Central Park landscape is awash in cherry blossoms and magnolia flowers that signal the completed transformation from dreary winter to spring celebration.  Here is a countdown of our picks for the ten very best places in the park to view this amazing floral display.

Shakespeare Garden

“Away before me to sweet beds of flowers. Love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers.”
– Count Orsino in Twelfth Night, Act I, Scene I
A fitting quote to introduce our next pick, one of Central Park’s hidden gems: the Shakespeare Garden. Nestled between Belvedere Castle and The Swedish Cottage, the Shakespeare Garden first came into existence in 1913. Known as the Garden of the Heart, it was patterned after Victorian era rock gardens. Then, in 1916, to celebrate the tercentennial of Shakespeare’s death, it was rechristened in honor of the Bard and only plants mentioned in his plays were planted there. These include columbine, primrose, wormwood, quince, lark’s heel, rue, eglantine, flax and cowslip, many of which sound as if they would be right at home boiling and bubbling in a cauldron. It is in the spring and early summer that the garden comes into its own, bursting with blooms and fragrant blossoms. The Shakespeare Garden also offers a variety of secluded rustic benches, perfect for the timeless art of canoodling.

Top Ten Attractions in Central Park

Angel of Waters – Bethesda Fountain

Central Park features an amazing array of attractions and points of interest that engage and inspire the over 25 million annual visitors.  Bethesda Fountain rises high above Bethesda Terrace, looking over the hundreds of visitors that come every day to enjoy the view of the Lake and relax at the “heart” of Central Park. The sculpture that tops it, Angel of Waters, was designed by Emma Stebbins in 1873 and is one of the most recognizable icons in the entire park.  It is also number four on our list of the top ten Attractions in Central Park.

From Columbus Circle to Grand Army Plaza to Duke Ellington Circle the park features gardens, world famous performance venues, historic statuary, lakes, ponds and pools.  There are more than thirty bridges and arches, two iconic restaurants, a wildlife refuge, a marionette theater and a real life castle – not to mention the Central Park Zoo.  Trying to pick a top ten from the myriad of choices is next to impossible, but here is our list of the Top Ten Attractions in Central Park.