Wagner Park

Home to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park is located just north of Battery Park. Characterized by lush lawns, attentively curated gardens and wide benches, the park is the perfect place to toss a Frisbee or just laze around with a newspaper. In addition, a large concrete structure know as the Park Pavilions houses a restaurant and cafe with a rooftop deck that offers jaw-dropping views of the Hudson and the Statue of Liberty.

But the park's greatest claim to fame is its cornucopia of public artworks. Those with a soft spot for sculpture will be especially rewarded with Jim Dine's whimsical Ape & Cat (At the Dance), Louise Bourgeios' bulbous Eyes, and Tony Cragg's Resonating Bodies, which purports to be a sculpture of two musical instruments but to our eye resembles something that might come out the non-barking end of a really, really big dog.

By Tom