Central Park, New York, United StatesSimilar to my other biking exploration around the the world today I had arranged to rent a bike to explore Central Park and midtown. There are lots of bicycle rental places available around Central Park Columbus Circle, however I had booked it online for savings. It was $32 USD online vs $40 USD in person.
Entering Central Park there is a circular one way route heading north east. Central Park has been heavily featured in many movies, as well as notorious for muggings in the 70s-80s.
The outer perimeter loop is just parkland but I was trying to get to some of the iconic sights featured in movies and tv shows.
Some of the inner side roads first was the Belvedere Castle overlooking a large lake. Next I had to come south on the outer loop to another intersecting road which led to the Bethesda Terrace.
Now I came out of Central Park and went south a few blocks to explore many of the city streets in midtown to get to some of the historic sights. On Avenue of the Americas was Radio City and I was heading across to the Rockefeller Centre which has a skating rink.
Across was the St Patrick's Cathedral. I was heading eastbound to get to the United Nations building on the east river. I passed Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Tower. I could not go into the UN Building due to my bike and you have to pay for tours.
Returning back along 34th Street I passed the Empire State Building and went across to Penn Station and Madison Square Gardens.
Then I went south along Broadway which is closed to traffic and is two way bike lanes. I made it to the Flatiron Building but it was covered for restoration. I went as far south as Union Square before returning back north on Broadway.
Finally I ended at Times Square before returning the bike. The city is flat and ideal for biking. There are many bike lanes and it was quite safe.
See also Vlog (4 mins) - https://youtu.be/DVuv3qZcki0
2025-05-22