Central Park & Empire State Building

As we mentioned before, we had briefly cut through Central Park and now it was time to return to spend a full day here. We had great luck with the weather whilst here and the day we decided to go to Central Park was no different, it was roasting.

The park is in the heart of Manhattan. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year making it the most visited city park in the US. It was opened in 1859, completed in 1873 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.

Central Park covers an area of 843 acres (3.41 km2; 1.317 sq mi). It is 2.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide. It is similar in size to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park which we visited almost 10 weeks ago.

The park contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds, extensive walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks (one of which is a swimming pool in July and August), the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a 106-acre (43 ha) billion gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, and an outdoor amphitheater called the Delacorte Theater which hosts the "Shakespeare in the Park" summer festivals. Indoor attractions include Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and the historic Carousel. In addition there are numerous major and minor grassy areas, some of which are used for informal or team sports, some are set aside as quiet areas, and there are a number of enclosed playgrounds for children.

We had a great day here lying around in the sun and exploring the park. The parks natural scenery makes it a nice place to be and the sun made it even better.

















































The Empire State Building:

Next on our list was The Empire State Building. We had heard mixed reviews about going up to the observation tower here as we had heard that it was far too crowded to get a decent view and that there were better places to go to get a view over the city. However we thought that we would give it a try anyway.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark Art Deco skyscraper in Manhattan. Its name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York, The Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City and New York State.

The Empire State Building is the third tallest skyscraper in the Americas (after the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and Trump International Hotel and Tower both in Chicago), and the 15th tallest in the world. It is also the fourth tallest freestanding structure in the Americas.

We ended up getting talked into taking a combined package that involved us getting a 15 minute simulator ride of a helicopter flying over the city. It was quite good and showed us a lot of areas that we would not be able to see from the observatory deck, as well as a preview of some of the sights we would see, however it was nowhere near worth the money.

From the simulator we were taken to the 86th floor observation deck. This is one of the most popular outdoor observatories in the world, having been visited by over 110 million people. The 86th-floor observation deck does offer impressive 360-degree views of the city but it was far too busy to appreciate it fully. We did get some great views over Manhattan though and it was worthwhile coming up to see it.