New York’s Top 10 : Romantic Settings – Top 10 City Oases

Carriage Ride through Central Park

The
horse-drawn hansom cabs lined up at the edge of Central Park are
romance personified. The driver, appropriately attired in fancy dress
and top hat, will help you up as you nestle in for a 20-minute trot past
park landmarks .

Dinner at the River Café

The
Manhattan skyline is never more dazzling than when seen from this barge
restaurant just across the East River in Brooklyn. The food is worthy
of the setting; the package is worth the price .

View from the Empire State Building at Twilight

It
has been the setting for dozens of romantic movies and countless
proposals have taken place here. At dusk you can watch the sun set over
the city as a million lights go on in its towers .

Drinks at the Top of the Tower

The
26th floor of this Art Deco landmark building affords unsurpassed views
of the city lights and the East River from its wrap-around terraces.
Order champagne and enjoy the scene and each other.

• Beekman Tower Hotel, 3 Mitchell Place at 1st Ave & 49th St

Gondola Ride on Central Park Lake

Relax
aboard the authentic, Venetian gondola as you glide out on the water
and revel in the beauty of the park reflected in the lake and the city
buildings ringing the park like a crown.

• Loeb Boat House, Central Park at East 74th St

• Charge

Walk in the Cloisters’ Gardens

This
branch of the Met is an oasis of serene beauty, a chance to glory in
the past while planning the future. More than 250 kinds of plants grown
in the Middle Ages are found in these gardens. Trie Cloister features
plants shown in the Unicorn Tapestries .

Dinner at One if by Land…

A
restored 18th-century Greenwich Village carriage house, candlelight,
and soft piano music make for Manhattan’s most seductive setting.

• 17 Barrow Street, between 7th Ave South & West 4th St

• 212 228 0822

• 
  www.oneifbyland.com
  

Staten Island Ferry Ride

Stand
on the top deck to watch Manhattan’s skyscrapers recede as you sail
past Liberty, Ellis, and Governors Islands. Take the car deck coming
home for close-up photos of the skyline .

• Whitehall Terminal, White-hall and South Sts

• Boats every 15mins–1 hr, 24 hours daily

• Free

Brooklyn Bridge Stroll

The
walk across Brooklyn Bridge yields thrilling vistas of skyscrapers
through the intricate bridge cable work. Bring the camera to record
unparalleled views.

• The bridge begins behind City Hall, Broadway and Park Row

Concert at St. Paul’s Chapel

Just
to walk into this chapel, New York’s oldest public building, is to
enter a world of grace and reverent serenity. The concerts held on
Mondays at 1pm offer visitors a chance to revel in the setting and the
music .

Samuel Paley Plaza

Respite from Midtown bustle with its own waterfall.

• 3 East 53rd St

Greenacre Park

A “vest pocket” park donated by the daughter of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

• 217–21 East 51st St

Bryant Park

A swath of green with formal plantings behind the Public Library.

• 6th Ave, between 41st & 42nd Sts

Metropolitan Museum Roof Terrace

Have a drink or just admire the prime views of Central Park and city towers beyond.

• 5th Ave and 82nd St

• Open May–late fall

Conservatory Garden

Three formal gardens inside Central Park.

• 105th St and 5th Ave

Theodore Roosevelt Park

A shady patch of green behind the American Museum of Natural History.

• Columbus Ave, between 77th & 81st Sts

John Jay Park

Past the playgrounds is a placid seating area with East River views.

• East 77th St and FDR Drive

Wave Hill

Former estate with gardens and greenhouses.

• 675 West 252nd St, Bronx

Grace Church

A Renwick masterpiece, this beautiful 1846 church is a calm respite in the Village.

• 802 Broadway

St. John the Baptist Church

Sanctuary and Prayer Garden with statuary and fountain.

• 210 West 31st St