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There's a conception of touristy things to do in NYC as being not very New York at all. And while I generally agree with that idea, there are exceptions to the rule: the Strand is considered one of the most important bookstores in the city and I find it to be a must-visit every couple of months, a reminder of how shops like this define the culture of a place, even when swamped with tourists snapping photos of its “18 miles of books.” Biking along the Hudson River falls into that category as well, and so does visiting Central Park—because a man-made park in the middle of the urban palace that is NYC cannot be just a sight for tourist eyes. It belongs to everyone.
I’ll say even more: even embarking on a pre-planned tour of Central Park—and even doing so in a pedicab mostly frequented by tourists—should not be considered a “just for tourists” pursuit because, let’s be honest, how many New York residents can say they've gone through the perimeter of their own local giant park?
So when I was told that TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice for best thing to do in NYC was a pedicab guided tour of Central Park, I told myself there was no way I was not going to do it. And I am so glad I did.
There are three tour options, ranging from one to three hours and priced between $96 and $198 (plus tip) for two people. I opted for the 90-minute ride, which officially includes five stops—Wollman Rink, Bethesda Fountain, Cherry Hill, Strawberry Fields and the Alice in Wonderland monument—but if you’re lucky enough to land AJ as your driver, you’ll see far more than that. All the while, he’ll casually rattle off nearly 100 movie locations filmed in the park: he is a 23-year-old human encyclopedia of all things Central Park.
I met AJ at the designated meeting spot just outside the park and immediately got comfortable in the back of the pedicab. I had the tour to myself, and the weather was cooperating: not too cold, not quite warm. Just pleasant enough to toggle the provided blanket on and off depending on the wind.
AJ asked if it was my first time in Central Park and, in true New Yorker fashion, I scoffed. Of course not—I’ve been there a million times. I just wanted to “see what the tour was about.” He humored me, throwing out a few “you probably already know this” facts before it became abundantly clear that, despite all my visits, I didn’t know even 10% of the park’s history.
And I’m not talking about the obvious trivia, like the fact that the loop around the park is 6.2 miles or that cars were officially banned in 2017 but that the traffic lights are still there. AJ got into all sorts of details: did you know, for example, that the first structure built in Central Park was a Catholic church by Irish immigrants, constructed using the park’s own rocks (among the only truly natural elements in the park) and that it now functions as a gift shop? Or that 70% of the park’s soil was imported from New Jersey, a fact that sounds almost blasphemous considering New Yorkers' usual disposition towards all things Jersey.
The tour wasn’t just a history lesson, though. At one point, overlooking Billionaires’ Row, AJ pivoted into real estate mode, telling me all about air right rights. By The Plaza, he mentioned that the over-the-top ice cream sundae famously featured in Home Alone 2 is currently being served for $950 (it’s closer to $400, but I’ll let it slide), claimed the Upper East Side famously rejects celebrities (debatable) and correctly noted that some hot dog vendors pay close to $200,000 a year for the privilege of operating inside the park.
And while there were moments I wished for a bit of quiet—to just take in the ride (it’s an e-bike, so I didn’t feel too guilty about the two bags I had with me)—I have to admit that spending 90 minutes with AJ was part of the charm. Hearing about his girlfriend, his life in the Russian enclave of Sheepshead Bay, his whole orbit: it all added to that very specific, only-in-New-York kind of experience. I started to wonder whether AJ himself was the reason why the tour ranks so high on TripAdvisor.
Among the many stops where AJ urged me to hop off and explore, Shakespeare Garden and Belvedere Castle, perched at one of the highest natural points in the park, stood out the most. The climb took about five minutes and, from the top, the city suddenly felt distant, miniature and absolutely gorgeous. The view had the same oddly calming effect as catching the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn or the BQE, breathtaking but in a familiar way.
When the tour ended, AJ rode me back to our original meeting point on 56th Street and, after waving goodbye to him, I started walking downtown, casually listening to a woman arguing on the phone while a delivery guy cut off a cab. The usual stuff, you know? And, yet, after 90 minutes of being told things about a place that I thought I already knew, it all felt a little bit different... perhaps deeper? Clearly, there’s always much more to New York—and our tourists might actually be the first to know about it.