Where-To-Go Wednesday - Central Park Tour: West Side Stories

There is so much to see and do in Central Park. However, it is so big that it is easy to get lost especially if you are unfamiliar with the park. If you really want to get an overview of the park, you might want to take a tour. If you are very ambitious, you might want to attempt to tour the whole park in one day. However, if you have the time to take more than one tour either at different times or on a different days and/or if you are particularly interested in a particular section or aspect of the park, you might want to take a tour that covers a particular area. The Central Park Conservancy offers a variety of different tours. Many of these tours are free. Below is a review of one of the free tours offered by the Central Park Conservancy. These tours are offered year-round.

What: West Side Stories Tour

Where: Central Park
             Starts at 81st St and Central Park W.
             New York, NY

When: For dates and times click here

Who: Teens and Up
  
Me - West Side Stories was a tour of Central Park. It was interesting. Our guide was very informative. We learned things about different areas on the West Side of Central Park. I like learning things about Central Park. I liked visiting different areas of the park too. On our tour, we saw the Swedish Marionette Cottage. They do puppet shows there. We also went by Shakespeare's Garden. We couldn't really see the garden because it was covered with snow. We saw a bunch of other things too although there was a lot of snow everywhere so you couldn't really see everything. We passed a lot of arches. There are a ton of arches in Central Park. We saw the Dakota. It is not really in the park. It is across from the park but you can see it from the park. A lot of famous people have lived in the Dakota.  All in all, it was a fun tour. People  who are interested in learning about Central Park would really enjoy this tour.
 
 
Mom - If you are interested in learning about the West Side of Central Park, a West Side Stories tour is perfect for you. This is also a great tour if you are interested in theatrical venues because you will see both the Delacorte Theatre, home of Shakespeare in the Park, and the Swedish Marionette Cottage on this tour. Other highlights of the tour include Shakespeare's Garden, Belvedere Castle, and the Ladies Pavilion. You will also  see several arches and waterways including Ladies Pond. You will learn about some of the history of these historic landmarks as well as other fascinating history about Central Park including the story of  the lost village of Seneca. If you are looking for an up close visit to some of these venues you will not necessarily find that here. You will get up close to some of the venues on the tour, but not all. For instance, you will not be going into either the Delacorte Theatre or the Swedish Cottage although you will get up close to them, and you will you not  get a good view of nor get very close to Belevedere Castle. Also, although these tours run all year long, we would recommend going in the warm weather when you can get a nice view of the Spring, Summer or Fall foliage instead of in the winter like we did when parts of the tour, such as, Shakespeare's Garden may be covered with snow and not as pretty to look at.
 
For more information about the West Side Stories tour or other tours offered by the Central Park Conservancy go to http://www.centralparknyc.org/tours/

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday.