The least expensive way to see the Central Park Zoo is with a General Admission ticket. A General Admission ticket provides access to the main zoo and the children’s zoo, but does not include the 4-D Theater (that’s $7 extra for General Admission ticket holders). If you want to include the theater in your visit to the zoo, the Total Experience Ticket is the way to go (see below).
General Admission tickets are not available for advance purchase online and must be purchased in person at the Zoo’s ticket window, located across from the Dancing Crane Cafe. Total Experience tickets can be purchased in advance at the Zoo’s website or through Goldstar at a discounted price (see below).
Note: Ticket prices listed here were accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 10/05/18. Please verify prices at each of the provided ticket links.
The Central Park Zoo is located in Central Park, at 64th Street & 5th Avenue. The Zoo is open year-round. Visit the Zoo’s website for hours of operation.
The films are screened outdoors in Central Park, in the area between the Sheep Meadow and the 72nd Street Cross Drive
The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.
Gates open at 6:30 pm. Pre-show programming and music from 6:30 pm. Movie starts at dusk. Event is subject to cancellation due to weather. Check the Central Park Alerts and Closures page for updates.
2018 Film Schedule:
August 14: Hair – 1979 (PG)
August 15: Crooklyn – 1994 (PG-13)
August 16: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – 1964 (PG)
August 17: The Muppets Take Manhattan – 1984 (G)
Check the Central Park Alerts and Closures page for updates.
A great way to learn about Central Park is to take one of the tours offered by the folks responsible for maintaining the park, the Central Park Conservancy.
The Conservancy offers both paid and free tours. We’re going to focus on the free tours here, but the paid tours, priced at just $15, are also a good deal and you can find out all about them at the Conservancy’s website.
Free Central Park Conservancy Tours:
Southern Welcome Tour – Introductory tour to the southern portion of the park. Highlights include Grand Army Plaza, Chess & Checkers House, Wollman Rink, Gapstow Bridge, Dairy Visitor Center and Gift Shop, The Pond. No registration required
Heart of the Park Tour – This tour takes you straight through the heart of the park. Space is limited, so registration is suggested.
East Side Evening Stroll – This tour starts at 6:00 p.m. and covers the area from the southeast corner of the Park to Bethesda Terrace. No registration required.
Discovery Walks for Families – Special, kid-friendly tour for families with kids age 5 +. Space is limited and registration is required.
Rhiannon Giddens will perform a free SummerStage concert at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on Saturday June 16, 2018. The concert starts at 7:00 p.m., doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Son Little will also join Giddens for the concert.
Use Promo Code CPS50BRA at Central Park Sightseeing for a 50% discount on bike rentals. Just enter the promo code at checkout and your bike rental fee will be discounted by 50%!
Central Park Sightseeing has Cannondale Hybrid 24-Speed Men’s and Ladies’ bikes available for rent, plus kids bikes, tandem bikes, and Cannondale CAAD8 road bikes.
In addition to the bike, your rental comes with a helmet, basket or bike bag, bike lock, and a map of Central Park.
With the 50% discount, you can get a 4 hour hybrid rental for just $15 or a day pass for just $20.
Central Park is huge and if you want to see much of the park, a bike is a great way to get around.
Three bike pick-up locations are available, at 56 W 56th Street, 111 W 110th Street, and 346 W 57th Street.
Each year, Central Park hosts a Pumpkin Flotilla as part of their Halloween Celebrations.
Participants bring carved pumpkins to the Dana Discovery Center at the northern end of Central Park. The first 50 pumpkins received are set afloat on the waters of Harlem Meer.
The 2017 event takes place Sunday, October 29th. The lit pumpkin flotilla will be launched at twilight (around 6:30 p.m.)
In addition to the Pumpkin Flotilla, there will be Halloween stories and crafts from 4:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. and a Halloween costume parade from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
You probably need to be a pretty advanced bicyclist to navigate New York City’s busy streets, but the city’s parks are excellent places for cyclists of all abilities.
If you shop around a little, you can usually find a two hour bike rental for under $10 and full day rentals for under $20.
Current Offers
Central Park Sightseeing offers bike rentals that include use of the bike, a helmet, lock, and basket. You’ll pick up your bikes at 56W 56th Street (three blocks south of Central Park).
Bike Central Park is running a deal on LivingSocial that offers 2 hour bike rentals for $8, 4 hours for $12, and all-day rentals for $17. See the offer details.
Special note for New York Pass holders – The New York Pass includes a bike rental from Central Park Sightseeing, so there’s no need to book one separately.
ABC Morning Show Good Morning America has been hosting free summer concerts in Central Park since 2009.
The concerts are held on Friday mornings at Rumsey Playfield, which is located on the East Side of Central Park, at 71st Street.
The concerts runs from 7:00 to 9:00 in the morning.
The GMA website suggests that audience members arrive at Rumsey Playfield via Central Park’s 72nd Street entrance at 6:00 a.m., when the park opens to the public.
Concert admittance is on a first-come-first-served basis. No tickets are required for most of the concerts. However, The 2017 Chainsmokers concert on June 9th does require a ticket, which you can get free, online through the 1iota website.
The 2017 GMA Summer Concert Series kicked off this morning with a performance by Green Day. See the full 2017 concert calendar below.
2017 GMA Summer Concerts in Central Park:
May 19 – Green Day
May 26 – Florida Georgia Line & Nelly
June 2 – Fifth Harmony
June 9 – The Chainsmokers (ticket required)
June 16 – The Lumineers
June 23 – Little Big Town
June 30 – Bebe Rexha (this concert at the GMA Times Square Studio)
July 7 – Big Sean
July 14 – Lady Antebellum
July 21 – Zedd featuring Alessia Cara
July 28 – Imagine Dragons
August 4 – Linkin Park
August 11 – Bleachers
August 18 – Eric Church
August 25 – Paramore
September 1 – Jason Derulo
Date TBD – Dierks Bentley
Visit the GMA website for 2017 concert series details.
View of the Delacorte Theater from Belvedere Castle
Shakespeare in the Park is an annual event, with free plays produced by The Public Theater staged at the outdoor stage at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater. Two plays are presented each summer. The productions often feature well-known actors and directors.
Shakespeare in the Park is free to attend, but you can’t just walk up to the door and get in. This is a very popular event and tickets aren’t necessarily easy to get. You’ll either need to wait in line or try your luck with the ticket lottery.
All shows start at 8:00 p.m. The folks at Shakespeare in the Park take the concept of “the show must go on” pretty seriously. Here’s a quote from their website regarding weather, “We will never cancel a performance before it is scheduled to begin. Rain at 7:30pm may clear by 8:00pm, so it is best to always assume the show will perform as scheduled. In the event of rain or severe weather, the start of the performance may be delayed; however, the performance will begin as soon as it is possible to do so. Performances may also pause for sudden changes in weather, but will resume as soon as weather permits.” You can’t use umbrellas in the theater, so if the weather is iffy, bring some rain gear.
How to Get Tickets for Shakespeare in the Park
Here are five ways you can get free tickets.
You can wait in line (often a long line) at the Delecorte Theater on the day of the performance. The tickets are distributed at noon, on a first-come-first-served basis. Each person age 5 and older can get up to two tickets, while supplies last. Some people start lining up before the park opens at 6:00 a.m.
You can wait in line at one of the alternative ticket voucher distribution locations throughout the season. These alternative distribution sites change daily and are primarily located outside of Manhattan. See the boroughs ticket distribution schedule.
You can try the in-person lottery at the Public Theater downtown. A limited number of vouchers are available through an in-person lottery held at the Public Theater’s downtown facility on the day of the performance. The address is 425 Lafayette Square at Astor Place. Sign-up for the lottery begins in the Lobby of The Public at 11:30 a.m.. The lottery will be drawn at 12:00 p.m (noon). Each entrant (age 5+) if selected, is allowed two (2) vouchers, and each voucher is good for one ticket. Those selected must redeem the voucher(s) for ticket(s) between 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater Box Office. Vouchers are only valid until 7:30 p.m. for performances on the day they are issued. Please visit the Public Theater website to verify details.
Or, you can enter the virtual ticket lottery online to try to get tickets. You can enter the lottery between midnight and noon on the day of the performance and you’ll receive an email after noon letting you know if you were selected to receive tickets.
The last-minute option is to try the standby line at the Delacorte. The standby line starts forming after the last tickets for that day’s show are distributed. Unclaimed tickets are distributed, one per person, if available.
The 2017 Shakespeare in the Park productions are Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
May 23 – June 18, 2017 – Julius Caesar. A contemporary rendition starring House of Cards cast members Corey Stoll and Elizabeth Marvel, plus Tony Award winner Nikki James and Pulizer Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis.
July 11 – August 13, 2017 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Lear deBessonet. Cast includes Broadway actors Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park with George) and Danny Burstein (Fiddler on the Roof).
The least expensive way to see the Central Park Zoo is with a General Admission ticket. A General Admission ticket provides access to the main zoo and the children’s zoo, but does not include the 4-D Theater (that’s $7 extra for General Admission ticket holders). If you want to include the theater in your visit to the zoo, the Total Experience Ticket is the way to go (see below).
Halloween Pumpkin Flotilla
