OF COURSE you will go to the top of the Empire State Building, no doubt standing in line to do so. Of course you will go to the newly refurbished Museum of Modern Art - and have, of course, the pleasure of another line.

Of course you'll try (and probably fail) to get a reservation at the Waverly Inn, downtown Manhattan's hippest new/old eating house... but once you have tired of worthy queues and rude receptionists, clear your mind and stroll into Central Park. It's beautiful. It's free. And this year, it's 150 years old.

When I was a child growing up in New York, I thought that Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead's masterpiece of urban architecture was nothing of the kind. I was certain that a piece of nature in the raw had simply been left in the middle of the island for the pleasure of its inhabitants.

This could be seen either as a fine tribute to the builders' skill - or an odd insight into a future journalist's youthful inability to notice fountains and statues.

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I like to think of it as the former, of course. Can you imagine Manhattan without Central Park? For a time, in the 19th century, that seemed perfectly possible - indeed, agreeable to the moneymen who were eager for more rent from houses and shops. But in 1853 the state legislature authorised the city of New York to take more than 700 acres (280ha) of central Manhattan - thereby displacing large and stable communities of Irish, German and African-American residents. Five years later, Olmstead and Vaux's “greensward plan” - based on a New World notion of the English pastoral landscape - was approved, and 20,000 workers began toiling on a site that would, by 1863, expand to its present size of 843 acres.

In its early days Central Park was the place to be seen, as far as New York's high society was concerned... but by the time I was growing up half a mile away, things had changed. The Central Park of my childhood was run-down and skanky, a place of bald lawns, deserted playgrounds and a sense of danger; a victim, as so much in New York was, of the city's fiscal crisis. But in 1980 the Central Park Conservancy was founded - and things took a turn for the better. The Conservancy is a private, not-for-profit organisation that has invested $450 million in the Park - an astonishing 85per cent of the park's annual operating budget of $27 million comes from the Conservancy's funds.

The transformation has been astonishing. The Park is now a lovely, loved and well-cared-for place, and to watch its lawns and field and paths blossom over the years of its regeneration has been a privilege. The only difficulty is choosing highlights for the visitor. The Park has a six-mile (10km) perimeter - but there are 58 miles of pedestrian paths. Where to begin? Here are a few of my personal favourites.

“The Angel of the Waters” and the Bethesda Terrace (mid-park at 72nd Street): The sculpture also known simply as the Bethesda Fountain was the first public sculpture to be commissioned from a woman - Emma Stebbins - in New York City. Conceived as the heart of the park, the terrace, recently restored, remains so, centrally placed and with a fine view of the Lake and the Loeb Boathouse - where, if you don't want to go rowing, you could get yourself a cup of coffee... or a cocktail.

The Ramble (mid-park from 73rd to 79th Street): Its 38 acres of artificial “wilderness” are being restored, but it's still a haven for birds: 230 species have been spotted here, the Conservancy tells us. It's still remarkable to find yourself in the middle of a woodland - in the centre of Manhattan.

The Reservoir (85th Street to 96th Street, east to west): Until 2003 the breathtaking views that the track around the Reservoir affords were partly blocked by an ugly chain-link fence; but now that a replica of the original cast-iron fence has been installed, you may want to pause on your run around the perimeter (one lap is a little over a mile and a half) just to gaze across the water at the beautiful panoramas of the city and the park.

Conservatory Garden (East Side from 104th to 106th Streets): Switch off your phone, take off your Rollerblades; the Park's only formal garden is a six-acre haven of peace, quiet and, in spring and summer, gorgeous blossoms. Italian, French and English styles of gardening are all represented.

The trouble with lists, as we all know, is what gets left out. How could I not have mentioned the Great Lawn, the host of playgrounds, the Delacorte Theatre for Shakespeare in the Park, the drinking fountains spouting New York's delicious tap water and even - that rarest of rarities in what's otherwise a civilised city, plenty of clean, public lavatories?

In fast-moving Manhattan, Central Park is a wonder that deserves celebration - and your visit.

Need to know

Virgin Atlantic (0870 5747747, www.virginatlantic.com) flies from Heathrow to New York from £297 return.

Staying Jumeirah Essex House (001 212 247 0300, www.jumeirahessexhouse.com) on Central Park South has room-only doubles from £217.

Reading Creating Central Park by Morrison H. Heckscher (Yale University Press, 2008), an illustrated history.

Red-tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park by Marie Winn (Bloomsbury): the story of two hawks, dubbed Pale Male and Lola, and their nest overlooking 5th Avenue.

Further infortmation www.centralparknyc.org lists events and children's activities; www.nycgovparks.org/parks/centralpark, the official Parks Department website.

Four other city garden favourites

Englischer Garten, Munich

The English Garden, named for its naturalistic landscaping, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe. It features nude sunbathers on the lawns in summer and a lakeside beer garden.

www.muenchen.de

Ueno Park, Tokyo

Where toute Tokyo gathers to party under clouds of pink cherry blossoms in spring, the setting for a clutch of national museums, a zoo, and a lotus-filled lake with a temple.

www.jnto.go.jp

Botanical Gardens, Sydney

Large and lush, almost 200 years old and home to a huge colony of flying foxes (large bats) and rare butterflies. Self-guided and escorted walks focus on the country's Aboriginal heritage. The restaurant has sweeping views of Sydney harbour.

www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

Stanley Park, Vancouver

With the sea on three sides and downtown on the other, the park offers forests, lakes, meadows and beaches. There are totem poles, a miniature railway, aquarium and zoo.

http://vancouver.ca/parks

Kirstenbosch, National Botanical Garden, Cape Town

The estate sits against Table Mountain. Guests are encouraged to spot wild animals such as the grysbok, rooikat and Cape fox.

www.sanbi.org

Caroline Hendrie

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