The Gardens of New York City
In New York, central hotels sometimes provide panoramic views over this awe-inspiring city landscape, but often, what is overlooked is that the vista also offers some incredible green spaces.
If you are spending a few days here, and would like to escape from the sight of vertical steel, concrete and glass, you may wish to stretch your legs a little and discover some of the city’s best displayed trees and plants.
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
Sometimes affectionately known as simply “BBG”, this 52-acre site has a history going back to the early 20th-century. Easily reachable from New York central hotels, it offers some truly beautiful vistas and individual gardens. Well worth visiting are the Japanese Hill-and-Pond garden (a little piece of Japan in the heart of New York) and The Cranford Rose Garden – where you will be able to see something in excess of 1,400 varieties of rose.
The New York Botanical Gardens
Occupying approximately 250 acres in the Bronx, this is a world centre of excellence for the study of horticulture, and a simply fascinating day out. There are dozens of individual gardens offering the chance to see some rare and unique plants. Of particular interest, if you enjoy history and using your imagination, are the 50 acres of old forest. This has never been logged or forested since the time of the first European settlers, and allows a unique insight into what New York City would have looked like prior to the first Dutch and eventually English/British settlement.
Wave Hill
This is an exceptionally interesting old mansion (started in the 1840s) that sits on the very edge of the city overlooking the Hudson River. There are some very picturesque woodland walks and gardens surrounding the mansion, and you may also be able to catch some of the regular exhibitions that are held there. Less formal than some other gardens, it is a chance to feel as though you have escaped the city and are in the heart of the countryside.
The Queen Elizabeth II garden
This is a smaller area located in Hanover Square. It may lack the size and splendour of some of the other major parks within the city, but it has a certain poignancy due to the fact it is a memorial to the Commonwealth victims of the attack on the World Trade Centre.
Finding them
This is just a small sample of the green spaces of the city and we haven’t even mentioned Central Park! All of the above spaces are easily reached from New York central hotels and directions will typically be available from tourist centres or through the local press.
Of course, as in any other city, things change regularly in New York. Central hotels will usually have experts that are fully ‘plugged-in’ to the city’s events so asking their advice as to what’s on in the parks and when, may be a smart idea.
