Belvedere Castle

Where we got engaged! This is a hidden gem and so glad we went here.

Beautiful place to see the scenery of Central Park. I believe it’s one of the best views. Also great place to take pictures. There were some bride and grooms taking pictures. Better to come during the weekdays where it’s less crowded otherwise it’s hard to get pictures. The castle itself isn’t so big. But there are a lot of ways for you to still capture the view. There was also a cello player nearby playing some lovely music to go with the ambiance.

The Belvedere castle is my favourite spot in Central Park. The view of the city, the turtle pond and the great lawn is amazing. During the night the castle gets lit up not only by lights but also from fireflies, that is a beautiful, relaxing sight.

After browsing Unilocal for some cool and potentially cost free stuff to do while on a date in New York City, I stumbled on Belvedere Castle, which had great reviews and pictures. I’ve been to Central Park many times and it’s so huge that I’m not sure any one person who doesn’t work there day in and out has ever seen all of it.
Having said that, I didn’t even know about this castle. But how could I be on a NY date and we not go to a NY castle? We had to ! So we caught the train to the park which let us out at a perfect space: Right in front of the Museum of Natural History. Since I’ve been to CP a few times and had never seen/​heard of it, I knew the task of finding it might be daunting so I tried to key it in on the GPS to help. If you’ve ever used GPS to WALK some place, then you already know how confusing this can be sometimes, especially when geographically challenged. Every time I go to New York (which is yearly), I leave knowing east from west and north from south. Every time I return, I am confused up until it’s almost time to leave again.
Because we had an obvious sign of ‘we’re lost’ on our faces, a runner stopped and tried to help us. She directed us some pathway, which was not where the GPS was taking us, so we followed her directions. Either we missed our turn or couldn’t find the bridge she told us to look for, but either way, we went out of the way another 10 minutes and were even more lost. Luckily, we found a map stand with a live person in it. That’s where we found help.
Only, it didn’t help. Well, it did overall, but after following our 3^rd set of directions and stopping for a kiss by the lake, we were lost again. So much so that my date climbed atop some rocks to see if he could see the castle sticking out from any point. Surely we were close. This was also our last day and we were touristing on borrowed time as checkout for both our hotel AND the car were drawing near. We spent at least close to 30 minutes trying to find what the GPS said was .7 miles away when we first arrived. O. O
After a few last ditch efforts, we finally found it. THere were trails from all directions that led to it. I love Central Park because of all it’s hidden gems, rocks, trails and sites but this was stressful and took some of the fun out of the castle. But nonetheless, we got there and went in. You have to watch the staircase which leads up to the first level (there’s also a second tier). It’s a spiral staircase and you can’t see who’s coming down or up without using the mirror that is placed there for that reason. It’s also only big enough for one person, two if you both turn in opposite directions and sidewalk up or down. That was one of the downfalls because depending on how many people are leaving or entering, you might find yourself waiting for a long time just to walk up the steps. Once you get to the top, you walk out on the castle deck and see the beauty.
It was late fall but the trees were still beautiful shades of yellow, browns and reddish oranges. The view was incredible. You are able to see partly how big CP really is. There was a tennis court we saw, an amphitheater, an area of trees only, an area like the one you always see on tv where people are laying in the grass with books and playing frisbee. …it was all classic NY. It’s pretty busy at the castle, which isn’t surprising because it’s free, but the noise level is rather low and there is no shortage or hindrance for photo ops. It’s also spacious. Once you arrive at the top of your floor, you go outside. There is no interior hanging out unless you want to look out of the windows, but the decks outside are pretty spacey.
The next level is the same, just higher. No one is pushing you to leave or stay or purchase anything (there is a gift store) or turn any tourist tricks so if you are looking for a simple NY attraction to take some cute and flirty photos at and to be able to say you’ve been to a castle, I recommend Belvedere Castle. I mean, it’s FREE NEW YORK CITY!!! Why wouldn’t you???
The only thing I would do differently is bring a shot of belvedere to commemorate my visit and follow my GPS. * wink *

Hidden Gem in Central Park!!! I can’t tell you how I got here because I don’t remember what trail we took. I think it is a little past the boathouse. It’s right by the turtle pond, only thing I remembered.
I think this place has the BEST views of central park and NYC. Totally reminded me of a fairy tale. It’s open to the public certain times (usually day– closes at 5) and you can climb two flights of stairs to get to the top.
Reasons to come here:
–Free!
–It’s a castle in NYC
–Instagramable views
–Romantic Spot to impress your date or tourist friends
–Good photo shoot spot by pond if you’re into that hipster/​inspirational stuff

Seriously awesome views of Central Park. It’s like a fairy tale inside and outside. You’d have to be silly not to go here if you’re in the park, IT’S FREE!

Great views of Central Park! We were there on a Saturday afternoon and walking to the top took a little time. The passage is so narrow that it can only hold one-​way traffic. It’s worth the trek and the time if you’re wanting impressive photos of Central Park.

It’s a castle in the middle of Central Park. If you are gonna walk around Central Park, you might as well storm a castle while your at it.
1) It’s Free
2) Takes a few minutes to go through
3) Good pit stop for photos

There’s a castle in Central Park? Take me take me!
1) It’s free admission (donation is greatly appreciated).
2) Great view
3) Great photo shoot
4) Great for making out and stuff…
5) It’s a freaking CASTLE!
I hope you give this place a visit. Cheers!

Great stop when visiting central park! You get some of the best views of the whole park from the top of the castle. You can also learn a bit of history of the area and the castle itself. Love that their is a castle in the middle of this enormous city!

Central Park is full of all sorts of good stuff but one of my favorites is the lovely Belvedere Castle. what’s more fun that wandering the park to find an enchanting 150 year old castle. If it’s not too crowded — take a walk up the narrow stairs to the top most point for some great views of Central Park.

A miniature castle built a long time ago to help attract people to Central Park. The best part of the castle are the views of the city

Belvedere castle was on my «30 before 30» list so I was excited to check it out this spring. We went on a chillier day which was great because it meant few crowds (the stairs leading up to the castle allow for only one person at a time so when it’s crowded it could take a while to get up or down). There are two floors of outdoor viewing areas in the small castle and both offer very impressive views of Central Park. Perfect spot for some fantastic photos. We also caught a wedding going on right next to the castle and this would be a nice spot for wedding or engagement photography. It’s a great free attraction that I’d highly recommend to share with visiting friends. They also have a small gift shop with some Central Park themed gifts and plenty of maps of the park!
Fun facts:
–Belvedere castle means «beautiful view» in Italian
–It’s the site of the weather station (I.e., when you hear them say on the news «in Central Park, the weather is _​_​_​_​» it’s being measured here!

Stumbled upon here on a walk through Central Park one winter, and now I always come here when I visit Central Park. It’s hard to imagine there’s a castle in this huge park, but it exists and it’s quite pretty, with good views of the theatre below, the baseball fields and the pond below, surrounded by the skyscrapers of the UES and UWS. Definitely worth a trip here if you visit Central Park!

I didn’t know there was a separate Unilocal page for this attraction. So much for checking in, but whatever. Here we go!
A HAVEN for photo-​ops! Ahh, I remember visiting this FREE GEM when I was a little kid with a scooter. I enjoyed the views of the park at that time. Now, I got to enjoy this as an adult. Nothing has changed ever since my previous visit, which was a good thing!
As we continued to walk around in Central Park, we decided to head up to the castle for some breathtaking views and photo opportunities. Because the castle is small, it can only hold so many tourists. We had to wait in a line which moved at a reasonable speed. After that, we slowly climbed up the steep, narrow spiral staircase up to the highest public floor of the building.
Along the way, we came across a middle floor with a balcony for some mid-​level views. Also on the mid-​floor was a room with a interactive TV which revealed facts about the NWS. This is because the castle itself is used for weather-​related observations. It was interesting, but we still proceeded to the highest public level for the views.
Finally, we got to the top floor of the castle. This was when we had to step outside. Here, we got to see the views of the Delacorte Theater, a reservoir, and of course the other parts of the park. The top part of some skyscrapers were also available in the backdrop.
The views of the Delacorte Theater were quite interesting, but the views of the reservoir and parts of the park with skyscrapers in the backdrop were simply breathtaking. As soon as a spot for photo-​taking opened up, we immediately grabbed that spot and snapped away. I was able to snap very nice photos of the reservoir, park, and skyscrapers from my point of view. I was even able to produce a panoramic of my views as well. Folks, if your smartphone has a panoramic feature or an app that creates panoramic photos, make sure you have that queued. Because you’re going to need that feature or app to create breathtaking panoramic photos while you’re on the top floor of this castle.
As soon as we were done, we waited in a smaller line to go down stairs. This was because the staircase was very steep and narrow, and can only support those who are going in just one direction. Once we proceeded downstairs, we exited through the gift shop. The gift shop itself simply sold souvenirs as well as some information about the history of Central Park. We walked out feeling very happy.
This free attraction is a MUST-​SEE for anyone who wants to snap breathtaking photos of park from a higher platform. Even though you have to wait in line to enter, it will be worth the wait. Even though you have to climb the steep, narrow staircase, it will be worth the climb. In fact, you’ll be burning some calories as you climb that narrow staircase. Enjoy the views and photo-​snap away!

Belvedere Castle is a free NYC attraction. It was built in 1869 as a place to view the great lawn to the north and the Ramble to the south. It’s now a visitor center and has a gift shop. We enjoyed the music of a street performer playing the violin. During our Memorial Day weekend visit the views from the top were more trees than city but it is a great spot in the middle of Central Park.

If you’re looking for an awesome view, go to the top of Belvedere Castle. It’s not as popular as the zoo in the park or the ponds, but it’s such an incredible view and it’s so peaceful. I went during the winter in the snow so getting to the castle was a big difficult. Keep that in mind when trying to walk there.

This is free to visit in Central Park and should take no more than 15 minutes. The castle is not that big but there’s a visitor’s center inside with more info if you’re interested. Otherwise, this is a sightseeing stop.
I suppose the amazing thing is there’s a castle inside Central Park! Well, a small version of a castle. You can get a good view of the city at the top. Rest, take pics, and then onward.

It is a castle-​shaped, but don’t expect a castle-​like scale! Belvedere Castle is a small tower structure located in the center of Central Park and serves as the point for New York City’s weather forecast. If you are exploring Central Park, put this as one of your checkpoints!
You can access the top of the Belvedere Castle tower for free. However, you have to go through an extremely narrow staircase that allows only one person to pass at once so consider going at a less crowded times. Sure, Belvedere Castle is not the Empire State Building or the Rockefeller Center, but because it is Central Park’s tallest structure, you get unhindered view of the whole park especially the impressive Great Lawn and the park’s urban surrounding!
Definitely worth a visit if you are within the Central Park to really witness grand scale of the ultimate park!

Hubby’s all about photography when we take a trip somewhere, so since NYC is a photographer’s dream (especially for first-​timers like us), a lot of research was done to find places to take special pictures.
Since we knew we were going to be at AMNH, we decided we’d hit up Central Park across the street, and then walk to Belvedere Castle. Personally, I wasn’t too thrilled, since it didn’t seem it was gonna be all that great an NYC experience. Gladly, I was wrong! We happened to catch the one day on our trip that was bright and sunny, and the views from the top of the castle were just awesome. Overlooking the Turtle Pond, over the great field, seeing into the amphitheater, seeing both the Upper East and West side, viewing the landscape of NYC from that vantage point… all was spectacular. Hubby got quite a few great pics, for sure.
And, as others have mentioned, Belvedere Castle seems to be a popular place for weddings. We just so happened to see a couple get hitched in the «gazebo/​covered» area, and it was lovely.
Honestly, if hubby hadn’t done the research, I’d have never known to come to this place. So glad we did… and I’m sure when we hit up NYC again, we’ll be back here to take some of what will be some truly amazing sunset pics. This really is a cool place to visit in NYC, so make some time if you can :)