Central Park: the southern loop
The Mall, Bethesda, the Lake, the Ramble — the half of the park everyone means when they say the park. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. The Mall and Literary Walk
Start at the southern end and walk north under the elms — the largest stand of American elms left in the country, planted to make one long cathedral nave. Quietest before the buskers arrive.

2. Bethesda Terrace and Fountain
The Mall delivers you straight to it. Go down the stairs and through the tiled arcade rather than around — the ceiling tiles are the part most people miss. The Angel of the Waters is the only sculpture Olmsted and Vaux commissioned for the park.

3. Bow Bridge and the Lake
The cast-iron bridge that every film uses for the reconciliation scene. Cross it slowly; the view back over the Lake to the West Side towers is the one to keep. Rowing boats from Loeb Boathouse if you'd rather be on the water.

4. The Ramble
Thirty-six acres of deliberately wild wood, laid out to feel lost in. You will lose the path; that's the design. Birders come at dawn — it's one of the best migration spots on the eastern seaboard.

5. Belvedere Castle
A folly on Vista Rock, built as a viewpoint and nothing else. Climb to the terrace for the long look south over the Turtle Pond and the Delacorte Theater. The weather station inside has measured Central Park's official temperature since 1919.

6. Strawberry Fields
The Imagine mosaic, set into the path opposite the Dakota where Lennon lived. Someone keeps it dressed with flowers. Quiet most mornings; busier the closer you get to his birthday and the December anniversary.

7. Sheep Meadow
Fifteen acres of lawn that genuinely held sheep until 1934. Now it's where the whole city lies down on the first warm day. End here, then walk out to 72nd Street for the B/C.

Central Park: the southern loop