Five Days in New York City for Free – Central Park

July 27, 2012 - Andy

Today is light on exercise, and your pocket while being heavy on fun. Let’s head to West Village station. The Downtown Boathouse is an all volunteer-run nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free public access to the harbor in New York City through public kayaking programs. Their mission is to encourage safe public use of the harbor waters of New York City and thereby provide residents of this space-constrained city with increased recreational opportunities.

In the afternoon we are headed back to Central Park, in my mind one of the greatest aspects of this monster of a city.

Discover the Park’s history, ecology, and design on volunteer-led walking tours sponsored by the Central Park Conservancy. Year-round, the Conservancy offers free walking tours that highlight several areas of Central Park. These guided tours take place rain or shine, except in extreme weather conditions (heavy rain, sustained winds of 30mph or more, snowstorms, and temperatures 25 degrees and below or 95 degrees and above). All tours are led by experienced guides who are volunteers in the Central Park Conservancy Walking Tour Program. Each tour lasts from an hour to two hours. No reservation is required for individuals or groups of six people or less. Groups of seven or more should call 212-360-2726 or e-mailtours@centralparknyc.org to schedule a custom tour.

Founded in 1986, the SummerStage Festival is a free, outdoor festival of the arts held each year at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park.

Since a few years ago, the Festival now holds events in each of the five boroughs of New York City, though the majority of performances still take place at Central Park. SummerStage 2012 will run from June until September and will include over 100 performances of music, theatre, and dance by more than 300 performers. Amazing!

Truly central to the Big Apple, what always strikes me the most is it has such a feeling of stark contrast. The contrast of a serenely manicured country landscape in the biggest “concrete jungle” known to man.

For those interested in one of the most renowned art museums in the world the Metropolitan museum of Art (The Met) sits majestically on the eastern edge of the park. 2 Million works of art celebrate the finest of 5000 years of human creativity. A little known fact is it has a great roof garden cafe and martini bar with a wonderful view thrown in for free!

Tonight we deserve to stock up on the calories we have burned and for our flight home tomorrow. A wonderful Italian dinner awaits at Becco 3 courses for only $22.95 with a great $25 wine list. Located on New York’s famed Restaurant Row in the heart of the theater district, Becco is open 7 days a week for both lunch & dinner. Remember that for most if not all dining spend the Chase Sapphire Preferred^SM Card is still the best card to use as it gets double points for such. Ultimate reward points offer such great flexibility too for transferring to Hotel and Airlines. Just thinking of our next trip !

This will leave your bellies and your hearts full for a trip to remember in what some people call the greatest city on earth. What do you think?