Best picnic tour new york with wallpaper : Picnic Town

Our favorite green acres from the Battery to Washington Heights, plus what to put in those wicker baskets.

(Photo: Jed Egan)

(Photo: Tara Kilachand)

FOR MAKING BELIEVE YOU'RE AT THE BEACH
Go here: A shady spot on the grass of secluded Rockefeller Park (located west of River Terrace at the north end of Battery Park City).

(Photo: Jed Egan)

FOR RELIVING FRESHMAN YEAR
Go here: The lawn behind the Garibaldi statue in Washington Square Park.

Immortalized in such disparate works as Washington Square, Henry James’ novel on 19th-century New York high society, and the nihilistic '90s teen flick Kids, Washington Square Park has long been a crossroads of unusual paths. Before it became a park in 1828, the 9.75-acre area was used as a cemetery, an execution site and a parade ground. Today, a new procession passes through the area, including artists, writers, musicians and other assorted Greenwich Village locals. Surrounded by New York University, the Park serves as a favorite meeting spot for college students who make up the majority of the bench sitters and lawn loungers. Of course, a few marijuana peddlers hocking their wares and some of the most well fed and least timid squirrels also add to the flavor. But they’re all in the shadow of the Park’s most famous landmark, the Washington Arch, designed by architect Stanford White and erected in 1885 to commemorate the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration. In warmer weather, park-goers recline near the central fountain, which serves alternately as a wading pool, a stage for street performers, or simply a spot to take in the sun. — Andrew Wang

The Arch
Modeled after the larger Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Washington Arch is located near the intersection of Fifth Ave. and Washington Square Park North. After withstanding more than a century of seasonal changes and air pollution—Fifth Ave. traffic passed through it until 1958—the arch underwent a nearly $3 million renovation from August 2002 to January 2004. Now visitors can clearly make out the features on the two statues of George Washington—“Washington as Commander-in-Chief” and “Washington as President”—that face uptown on the Fifth Avenue side of the arch.

Chess
In the southwest corner of the park, chess games go down just like the ones that were prominently featured in the film, Searching for Bobby Fischer. Most players are regulars out there every day testing their mettle against their opponents and the clock in fast-paced battles that are often decided in a matter of minutes. There are always a few hustlers, however, looking for the unsuspecting tourist to swindle.

Small Dog Run
The Robin Kovary Run for Small Dogs near the center of the park features rough-and-tumble steel-cage matches between small-breed dogs in a space about the same size as a generous Manhattan studio apartment. Watch as hyperactive pugs, French bulldogs and Scottish terriers scamper about and tussle while overprotective owners snipe at each other.

(Photo: Jed Egan)

FOR USING PUBLIC ART AS A BACKREST
Go here: A patch of green next to the silver boulder sculpture by artist Roxy Paine near 24th Street in Madison Square Park.

A major restoration project—spearheaded by the Madison Square Park Conservancy then completed in 2002—gave this petit, 6.2-acre park a push into modernity. The playground at 25th Street now sports brightly-colored jungle gyms and slides with an onsite monitor in summer. At the other end, a well-used dog run competes for your attention along with the Shake Shack, Danny Meyer's outdoor café serving smallish, L.A.-type burgers, Chicago-style hot dogs, and Grape Crush shakes. In between, a moderately-sized oval lawn and benches shaded by large trees provide a serene retreat for Gramercy locals and workers on lunch breaks. Although a sculpture of 19th century Governor William H. Seward and a rehabilitated fountain make oblique nods to history, this small sanctuary actually does have a rich past. It was the inaugural location of Madison Square Garden and the temporary resting place for the arm of Lady Liberty. (From 1876 to 1882, while money for the statue was being raised, the torch and appendage served as fundraising attractions here in the shadows of the Flatiron Building.)

(Photo: Jed Egan)

FOR PEOPLE-WATCHING ROMAN STYLE
Go here: The tables on the fountain terrace in Bryant Park.

Bryant Park, backyard to the main branch of the New York Public Library, has established itself as one of the city’s foremost outdoor cultural hubs. In warm weather, the centerpiece football field-sized Great Lawn teems at midday with thousands of nature-starved office workers. Fashionable lunch groups nosh on salads/wraps at sun-soaked tables on the fountain terrace while industrialists clack away on their laptops—thanks to free wireless internet. Stroller pushers and neighborhood old-timers lounge in green wooden folding chairs that are strewn about the graveled promenades and the shady flowerbeds west of the lawn. Often overlooked are the Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe bust, hidden by the park's carousel on the south side, and the Gertrude Stein sculpture, which overlooks the lawn from the upper terrace. On summer evenings, the enormously popular HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival attracts a blankets-wielding mob to the lawn for free screenings of classic movies. In spring and fall, the park is transformed into a tented fortress for Fashion Week. The holidays also bring a caravan of more than 200 seasonal gift shops. Between the manicured landscape, free summer concerts/films, and the eats offered at the Bryant Park Grill and Café, the neglect and petty crime that characterized this park in decades past has become a distant memory. — Elizabeth Cline

Le Carousel
If you've got kids in tow or you live in midtown, it's a cheap thrill. Daily, 11:30 a.m.—7 p.m., weather permitting; one ride, $2

Outdoor Reading Room
An extensive selection of books, periodicals, and newspapers are available for kids and adults. Apr-Oct: daily, 11 a.m.—6 p.m., weather permitting.

(Photo: Tara Kilachand)

FOR PRETENDING YOU'RE IN A SEURAT
Go here: The lush green triangle right by the Pond on the southeast corner of Central Park.

(Photo: Jed Egan)

FOR HAVING AN ILLICIT RENDEVOUS
Go here: The slope on Central Park's Cherry Hill (west of Bethesda Fountain near 72nd Street). For something more private, stroll further west to Wagner Cove's rustic wood shelter.

Stretching from Midtown to Harlem, Central Park's green hills, rocky bluffs, and dense woodlands annually host countless free diversions, from concerts and protests to tai chi and tennis. Work on the first major park built in America began in 1858, when Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a public competition for its design. Fifteen years and 14 million dollars later, the city's bucolic playground was unveiled. While the park has seen its share of ups and downs—shantytowns sprang up during the Depression; crime blossomed in the 1960s and 1970s—the Central Park Conservancy has assured its present-day beauty after a renovation that included architectural restoration; regreening and horticultural upkeep; special programs; and increased security. In its renewed state, 58 miles of pedestrian pathways lead 25 million visitors around such cinematic scenes as the placid reservoir, perpetually fringed with joggers; skaters speeding through cones or wheel-dancing near the bandshell; couples and families paddling the lake by the Loeb boathouse; youngsters tossing Frisbees and soaking up rays in Sheep Meadow; and baseball fans shagging flies in two dozen ballfields. Such harmonic beauty has earned the Park cameos in more than 200 films. Without such splendor, New Yorkers would hardly be able to tolerate the rest of Manhattan's concrete grip. — Kathleen Squires

Bethesda Terrace, Fountain and Mall
Overlooking the Lake, Bethesda Terrace is one of the most popular parts of the park. Visitors to the structure's upper terrace can look across the Lake to the Ramble. The area's signature fountain, "Angel of the Waters," is a common meeting place and was the only sculpture commissioned as part of the original design. Mid-park at 72nd St.

Obelisk
Also known as Cleopatra's Needle, this 71-foot, 244-ton Egyptian monument was created in 1500 B.C. and presented to the City in 1881. It's part of a pair—the other one was sent to London. It took less than a century of New York air pollution to dramatically erode the ancient hieroglyphics. But it's the oldest thing you'll find in the park that isn't located inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Tours
The Central Park Conservancy sponsors a variety of free, volunteer-led walking tours, which take place rain or shine and do not require reservations.

Weddings
Central Park has lots of possibilities for weddings, but you’ll need a permit for a party with more than twenty guests (call 212-310-6600), and even for those with fewer people, a permit is recommended. The Bethesda Terrace has a fountain and looks across the Lake. Cherry Hill has a smaller fountain surrounded by cherry trees that bloom in the spring. The Conservatory Garden’s three gardens, at Fifth Avenue and 105th Street, are in bloom from early spring through late October.

(Photo: Tara Kilachand)

FOR HOSTING A BONA FIDE BANQUET
Go here: The cordoned-off parts along the promenade in Carl Schurz Park.

This picturesque Upper East Side park, once the private garden of Gracie Mansion next door, was named for Evening Post editor and New York Senator Carl Schurz and is a popular destination for families and fitness fanatics. It’s also a favorite spot for movie location scouts. The park has a large playground, outfitted to satisfy most kids. The middle of the park is filled with meandering paths, trees and flowerbeds. To the far east, a broad promenade attracts joggers and dog walkers (there are also two dog runs in the park) and sightseers gathering to take in the excellent panoramic view of the East River, the Triborough and Queensboro bridges, and Randall’s and Roosevelt Islands.

Peter Pan
This statue of Peter Pan lives in the northeast of the park. The bronze likeness is set in a circular courtyard, with benches and shrubbery surrounding it.

Gracie Mansion
Built in 1799, Gracie Mansion became the official mayoral residence in 1942 when LaGuardia was mayor. Mayor Bloomberg prefers his own apartment, so now the big white house serves as a crash pad for visiting dignitaries. The common folk can get in too: There are free tours of the restored building every Wednesday.

(Photo: Jed Egan)

FOR BONDING WITH THE FAMILY
Go here: The wooden tables around the Little Red Lighthouse, right below the George Washington Bridge.

This diminutive 40-foot tall lighthouse was installed on Jeffrey's Hook in 1921 to warn ships of a treacherous spit of land. In the early 30s, however, the lights of the George Washington Bridge made it redundant. Decommissioned in 1948, the nautical structure would have been dismantled, if not for a beloved children's book inspired by its story: Hildegarde Swift's The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge (with illustrations by Lynd Ward). A public outcry, generated by thousands of children's letters, saved the lighthouse which was thereafter deeded to the city. Still, hard times lay ahead. After decades of neglect and vandalism, this quirky tourist site underwent a renovation in the mid-80s and then a full restoration in 2000. Today, the last remaining lighthouse on Manhattan looks as good as new, with a fresh coat of the bright red paint that made it famous. — Simon Spelling

Extra
A few tables and benches have been set up next to the lighthouse for those looking to have picnic lunches.

Tours
The Urban Park Rangers offer afternoon tours of the interior of the lighthouse approximately once a month in the spring and summer and fall.