Central Park and Upper East Side Morning Walk with a Native New Yorker

New Yorkers treat Central Park as their front yard and the Upper East Side as the house behind it, and this morning walk covers both in two to three hours at an easy, unhurried pace. The guide is a native New Yorker, and the tone is closer to a neighbor showing you around than a lecture. The tour starts at the Sherman statue on Grand Army Plaza, with the Pulitzer Fountain, the Plaza Hotel and the story of a building that once stood nearby. Then it goes into the park: Wollman Rink, where depending on the season you watch skaters or kids on carnival rides; Bethesda Terrace, whose fountain angel was the only sculpture in the park's original design; and a stretch of woodland that feels a long way from Fifth Avenue before you come out at Belvedere Castle, Calvert Vaux's restored folly above Turtle Pond and the Great Lawn. Along the way the guide explains how the park was designed and who keeps it going now. On the Upper East Side the walk passes the Cook Block and a few townhouses built for serious money, the New York Society Library (founded in 1754 on Nassau Street and now in its third home, with a story about one very overdue book) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, seen from outside. The neighborhood turns out to be more mixed than its reputation. The walk usually ends at Three Guys Restaurant on Madison Avenue, a reasonably priced spot for lunch, though the end point can change. Hotel pickup and tips are not included. A minimum number of travelers is needed; if it is not reached, you are offered an alternative or a full refund.